As a psychotherapist I've done my share of counseling squabbling couples and have learned to listen carefully to both partners in any dispute, looking for common ground to build on.

Lately I've begun to apply this method to politics, with some fascinating results. As I put aside my own particular...

Can city life harm your memory and stunt your ability to control yourself?

New research is revealing how urban living can actually harm the human brain.

After millennia of living surrounded by nature in small tribes and villages, ancient peoples began to gather in early cities in the Middle...

Permaculture's popping up all over. It's really catching on with young green activists like Juno star Ellen Page, who recently took a break from Hollywood to talk on the Ellen DeGeneres show about her experiences studying permaculture design in an eco-village near Eugene, Oregon.

Teen Hollywood reports that Page "spent...

New research from the University of Rochester suggests that nature-connection makes us less selfish and helps us care more for each other.

Journalist Tom Jacobs, on the Miller McCune website, reports that a new series of studies by a research team led by psychologist Netta Weinstein suggests that immersion...

Modern society is based on a Big Lie: that it is possible for humans to be separate from -- and be superior to -- the rest of nature.

The delusion that we can continue to suicidally trash our planetary life-support systems and exploit nature's seemingly endless resources without respect...

Trick question: if Monsanto or a coal company put up a few solar panels on the roof of their corporate headquarters, would that get them certified as "green"?

You think not? Well then you haven't heard that a McDonald's in Santa Barbara, California, has been certified green for installing waterless...

A lot of people who are trying to live more sustainably are starting to complain about the crazy-making clash between industrial/cyber time and sustainable, nature-paced time.

Let's say, for example, that you are one of the millions of Americans who have recently taken up the delightful but time-demanding process of...

On Monday, Sept 21 a new British film, The Age of Stupid, will have its global premiere. In the US, the hip, youth-oriented, drama-documentary-animation movie on "climate change, oil, war, politics, consumerisim and human stupidity" will launch from a solar-powered cinema tent in New York live to over 400 movie...

A recent post of mine (on the new American Psychological Association report on climate change behavior) got hijacked by climate change deniers -- who are unfortunately an aggressive and nasty-mouthed lot -- so as a psychotherapist and ecotherapist, I'm becoming curious about the psychology behind the virulence.

Why are these...

Why don't people respond to the threat of global climate disruption by changing their behavior? The newly-released report of the American Psychological Association Task Force on Climate Change has some answers.

The APA says psychological factors help explain our slow reaction to the threat of global warming. "While most...

In a new article adapted from his book, Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization , famed environmentalist Lester R. Brown worries that our society may now have reached a "Tipping Point" for civilization. Like many in green circles, he has become convinced that the cutting edge of the...

I've been reading a lot lately about the disastrous scenarios the experts are predicting if humans don't make rapid and radical changes in how we do things on this fragile planet. The scientific evidence is very alarming and the expert consensus is that if we don't change NOW, humanity is...

Time journalist Bryan Walsh reports on "'Eco-Therapy' for Environmental Depression":

A new and growing group of psychologists believes that many of our modern-day mental problems, including depression, stress and anxiety, can be traced in part to society's increasing alienation from nature...

"[People] began to get the impression that we were...

The big word these days in green and sustainability circles is "Relocalization."

Aware of the community and environmental destruction involved in importing everything from everywhere else, more and more towns are encouraging the return to supporting local businesses and farms.

So how are the big international...

Have you been following the sad story of the Palestinian olive trees being attacked and destroyed by Israeli settlers? Just today there are new reports of chopping, slashing and burning these innocent, food-bearing plants -- some of them very ancient. This agricultural slaughter has been going on for over a...

If the trucks ran short of fossil fuel and the supermarkets sold off their 3 days worth of food, is there anything to eat in your garden -- or on your patio or balcony? Or in your neighbor's yard?

Most suburban yards (and government and business landscapes) are chock full...

Wondering what one action you could take that will yield maximum beneficial results to both your own life and the environment? Make the commitment to buy and eat only sustainably grown food.

Your body, family and the planet will all say "thank you." (And don't forget your psyche: healing...

Tempted to splurge to beat the blues or deal with stress? A study by the University of Essex in the UK says you're better off taking a walk in nature.

Researchers compared a walk in a country park with a walk in an indoor shopping center. Mind, the leading British...

In a new blog post, Sonoma State University college professor and ecotherapist Shepherd Bliss reports on a pediatrician who was shocked to see a three-year-old using a cell phone.

"The three-year-old just walked right past me, talking into a cell phone," the Santa Rosa, CA, pediatrician said. "I was...

Instead of asking "What's your favorite method of connecting with nature?" maybe I should ask "What's your favorite way to connect with the rest of nature?" -- we're all part of the great Whole. The illusion (or delusion) of separateness causes so many of our problems.

Skeptics might ask: "Why...