Check Out These Blog Posts From Steve McEllistrem

I worry at times that I’m not a better steward of the environment. Walking along a path in the park, I often spot a discarded can, bag, wrapper, etc. and sometimes hesitate to pick it up. What is my responsibility to the world with respect to this item? Do I have an obligation to clean up someone else’s mess? I could bring a trash bag or bucket along on my walks like I’ve occasionally done in the past, but that ...

I accept that we can’t solve the big problems in America (and around the world) because there’s just too much divergence of opinion and animosity to the opposite point of view. But it turns out we can’t solve even a lot of smaller problems either – like changing the clocks twice a year. With big issues like climate change, inequality, Covid-19 and inflation, there are plenty of loud voices pushing for their side’s solutions. On climate change, for example, ExxonMobil, ...

There is evidence of God everywhere. And there is evidence of the lack of a God everywhere. It all depends on your point of view. Some point to the intricacies of life, the sheer magnitude of chance that brought about creatures such as humans, with all their complexities, as proof that they could only have come from God. Others point to the archaeological records that show unmistakable evidence of evolution and assert that if we evolved from lesser creatures, there ...

When I first moved into my home, there was no garage, only a small shed for storing tools and my one-human-power reel lawnmower, which gave me plenty of exercise. The previous owners of the property made do for nearly thirty years parking on the street or the gravel driveway that ended in front of a small fence. My shed sufficed for several years and perhaps would have served me longer, but a particularly heavy snowfall one winter caused the roof ...