Humanity&Planet

08/27/2025

Last week I provided public testimony to the EPA, opposing the proposed repeal of the Endangerment Finding, the backbone of U.S. climate change policy. I spoke about the devastating consequences to mental health that would happen due to this repeal. I’ll post more about that later, but for now: Submitting a public comment to EPA is a climate action! There are links on slide 3 to learn about the Endangerment Finding and also to learn about writing and submitting a public comment, with info from , , and . The more comments submitted, the better.

08/17/2025

Why does it matter whether you or your kids get up close and personal with the natural world? 🌻🐝

🏡 A recent study noted that human connection to nature has declined by 60% since the 1800s and that many children aren’t having the chance to get fully engaged with nature. This is often due to the increased built environment (that is, the things humans build), to fears people have about kids being outside (which are often stoked by headlines that cause people to overestimate risk), to increased screen time, to increased scheduling of children and less free play outdoors, and more.

🌿 But we humans evolved literally within the natural world; we lived in it, we are part of it, and it is part of us. And what’s amazing is that our mental and physical health reflect that, with research showing that time spent in nature improves our moods, attention, and stress levels, decreases blood pressure (even if your blood pressure isn’t problematic), and improves sleep.

🪺 If we don’t take the time to experience nature up close, we lose all these benefits! And also we lose the desire to protect the natural world. When it comes to climate change, getting outside and really being *with* nature, and helping kids do the same, is really essential. And of course it’s also enjoyable!

☀️ After you listen to these bees and notice the details of these purple coneflowers, notice how you can be really present in that experience for a moment. Where might you go and have that feeling outside today, and every day?

(You can read about the 60% study here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/09/human-connection-to-nature-has-declined-60-in-200-years-study-finds?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other)

08/13/2025

In hard times, and always, the natural world sustains us. We can derive feelings of strength, solace, and other emotional qualities from our interconnection with the more-than-human world. And research shows that it improves our mental and physical health even if we’re not paying attention. But the natural world is being damaged by the effects of global warming. Protecting it is about caring—and that includes genuinely caring for ourselves.🌲🌳🪾

08/08/2025

Sometimes people feel an oversized sense of responsibility for taking action on climate change, as if you have to do it all. But it’s not up to just you. Climate action matters, yes—it’s crucial!—but it’s easy to feel completely frozen, overwhelmed, or guilt-ridden when faced with feeling like you have to somehow do the impossible by fixing everything yourself. (And people can *feel* that way even if they know they can’t actually achieve this.)

When we freeze, we don’t act. Truth is, it frees us up to know that each of us has only our own part to play—our own valuable part, connected with billions of other valuable parts played by other people, together creating a team where everyone uses their own skills or abilities and contributes in their own way.

My part on the global team is being a climate psychologist. What’s yours? ☀️🌳🌎

08/04/2025

History reminds us, if we listen. The beautiful stones and fossils of Lake Michigan tell stories both of humankind and of nature that’s hundreds of millions years old. Petoskey stones, Charlevoix stones, and fossiliferous limestone (you can see all of these in our small rock haul from a beach walk here) are fossilized coral from the Devonian period, when Lake Michigan was a tropical saltwater sea. In contrast, Leland blues, whose bright blues are also fun to find (and which you can also see here), aren’t rocks but remnants of iron ore slag from the late 1800s, when an iron smelting industry dumped slag into the town of Leland’s harbor. Back then, what’s now the charming and lovely beach town of Leland was a smog-filled industrial town, according to Leelanau.com.

The flourishing nature of Earth. The deleterious impact of humans on the skies and waters. And importantly, the ability of people and industries to learn and change, and to not pollute. These lessons are all around us, never more relevant than they are today, when our air quality and our ability to fight climate change itself are threatened by changes to the EPA’s endangerment finding.

What are the human-and-nature stories in your neck of the woods?

08/02/2025

We are creatures of the natural world—we evolved within it, we’re part of it, we’re bonded with it in mutual belonging in the dance of life. Here’s to our beloved places that make us whole.

08/02/2025

07/31/2025

Easing climate anxiety isn’t about becoming desensitized to what’s happening; it’s support for being awake to it.

07/22/2025

When we talk about climate change, and our feelings about climate change, we open ourselves to being in community with others who care about our world. We need each other, now and going forward, and every day is an opportunity to begin to connect and build or strengthen that community.

Quotes pulled from ‘s interview with me for a few months back.

07/18/2025

Summer sunset.

07/15/2025

And climate change is caused by fossil fuels. Full stop.

07/07/2025

Texas. Asheville. Altadena. We’re angry; we’re grieving. It’s a lot to hold. Here are some of my thoughts about it in my second Substack newsletter. If you’re interested in climate change, psychology, and being a person these days, I hope you’ll give it a read and a follow. I’m at humanityandplanet on Substack and you can also find the link to it in my bio.