I’m a sixty-eight year-old native of Colorado. I have two grown children (I got a vasectomy soon after my second). I’ve been an advocate for our society to respect limits to growth for twenty years. But I’ll be the first to admit, my environmental/conservation ethic wasn’t always intact.

In 40-plus years as a professional filmmaker, I produced and directed a PBS series and then turned to producing films for over a dozen Fortune 500 companies, including Coca-Cola, IBM, several airlines, oil and chemical companies, and even Enron.

I learned and refined the art of spin. I filmed early fracking demonstrations, produced a documentary about the first experimental deep ocean mining expedition, helped a multi-level marketing behemoth defend against pyramid scheme accusations, and created spin for a chemical company accused of groundwater contamination. If there was a paycheck, I produced it. It was all in pursuit of “the American Dream.” I wanted all the symbols of success – fancy car, trophy house, country club membership and expensive vacations.

Eventually my moral compass started working again. In 2005 I began focusing my camera on our modern culture and what drives us to worship everlasting growth in the face of overwhelming evidence that we’ve hit the limit. I turned my back on my film/video business, the country club membership and my quest for “more,” in order to produce the 2011 documentary, GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth. The film premiered in Washington DC to a packed house, and was honored by over a dozen film festivals around the world.

In the midst of producing the film, I ran for Colorado Springs City Council – on the platform that growth won’t solve the problems it created. The public wasn’t quite ready for my message, but I did earn 43% of the vote against a well-funded incumbent. 

After finishing GrowthBusters, I continued managing the non-profit GrowthBusters public education project. I’ve been producing short films, speaking to groups, college classes and the media, and hosting webinars – all in an effort to guarantee my kids and future generations a decent life.

From 2015 to 2021 I also served as executive director of World Population Balance. I wrote a regular column for SHIFT magazine, I edit and write for the Ending Overshoot publication at Medium, and I co-host the GrowthBusters podcast about coming to terms with limits to growth.

I’ve put the GrowthBusters podcast on hold while I give this campaign full attention. But that attention includes launching a new YouTube channel and a new podcast, both called Dave the Planet. Follow both to keep up on campaign news and important discussion of the issues of my campaign.