Combating Climate Change:  Politics & Policy

My mom always told me never to talk about politics or religion in mixed company. But if you want to combat climate change, you must consider politics. Government policies, programs, and departments control large movements in favor or against the environment. Last week we looked at several countries who have taken on climate change by …

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Combating Climate Change: Forest Bathing

The National Horticulture Society (NHS) Chelsey Flower Show 2024 winner for Best Show Garden was the Forest Bathing garden.  Forest Bathing is an ancient Japanese practice called Shinrin-yoku which basically means “bathing in the forest atmosphere and reconnecting with nature through our senses”  (rhs.org.uk).   The garden was designed by Ula Maria for the Muscular Dystrophy Association of the …

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Combating Climate Change: Energy and Transportation

Last week we talked about the impact of gardens and how the National Horticultural Society (NHS) stated that if just half the population of the UK (approx. 30 million people) planted a tree and nurtured it to full grown, it would “store the carbon equivalent to driving around the planet 11.4 million times! .”  “By adding more carbon …

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Combating Climate Change: Living Places, Bringing Nature Inside & Vertical Gardens in Urban Spaces

“Living Places Copenhagen was a partner project for the UIA World Congress of Architects in Copenhagen and consists of seven buildings – five open pavilions and two finished homes in full scale, showing our take on healthy and sustainable homes.” (Velux.com) Living Places is a Danish concept similar to the Living Buildings project I spoke …

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Combating Climate Change: Biophilic Design, Living Buildings, Gardens, and Transportation

Climate Change and Environmental psychology: How do we get people to interact with the natural world? And how do we get people to think differently about how they interact with the world? I have been interested in these questions for a long time. Then I came across The International Living Future Institute. Perfection! This is …

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Bionomics & Ecopsychology

“… nature plays on our health and well-being” (Jones & Mouloua, 2006) A Theoretical Framework of a Bionomic Approach to Improve Individual and Organizational Outcomes. Over 10 years ago, I developed a theory about how we could utilize elements of the natural environment to improve individuals’ health and well-being which could then improve organizational and …

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