Health Journal Online

Tag: Environment

What Green Spaces Can Do For Your Body, Your Mind & Your Practice

I live in the heart of a city, and although our neighborhood is usually pretty calm, there’s still that frenetic energy to my surroundings that exists in all urban areas. I sometimes don’t fully clock how busy and bright and beep-y my daily life is until I go somewhere truly far away—a hike on the wild North Shore of Lake Superior, or a cabin where the night sky is genuinely dark and the loudest thing is the birdsong.

But even here in my city, I am lucky enough to have easy access to green spaces galore. Three lakes are within walking distance, along with public gardens, miles of walking and biking trails, even a bird sanctuary. It’s an embarrassment of riches that I am daily grateful for.

Every time I step outside—into a nearby park, my own backyard garden, or even a small green strip between buildings—something shifts. My shoulders drop, and my breath deepens. That thing that was churning in my mind a moment ago seems a little less urgent. It’s not gone, but it is quieter. This shift is rarely dramatic, but more just a gentle signal that it’s okay to slow down and let down my defenses.

Nothing about my external circumstances has changed. Things in my life and in the world are still messy and anxiety-producing. I’ve still got little piles of grief, resentments, obligations, and worries in the dusty corners of my mind and heart. Being human still continues.

Still, I know that the experience I’m having when I get outside isn’t just a nice feeling. Something subtle but real is happening in my brain and my body. And while the mind/body/heart delineation is always somewhat contrived—after all, we’re always whole beings having all these varied physical and emotional experiences—a growing body of research is saying: what’s happening in these natural spaces is worth paying attention to.

What Happens in Your Body

When we talk about nature being soothing, we’re not just speaking poetically. When we take time to walk through or sit in the natural world, it is actually dialing down our stress hormones in real time.

In a 2019 study published in Frontiers in Psychology, researchers tracked urban dwellers over eight weeks and found that a nature experience produced a 21.3% per hour drop in cortisol levels, with the most concentrated benefits occurring between 20 and 30 minutes outside. A 2025 meta-analysis across 78 studies confirmed the pattern: exposure to green spaces decreased salivary cortisol by 21% and salivary amylase by 28%, which is a fancy way of saying that even our spit provides evidence of significant reductions in the body’s stress response.

Stepping outside for half an hour might be one of the most underrated meditation preparations we have.

Salivary amylase is a marker of sympathetic nervous system activation—the same fight-or-flight wiring that gets overworked when we’re anxious, overwhelmed, doom-scrolling (I know it’s not just me, right?), or simply living in the modern world.

When it drops, the body is shifting toward a sense of safety and rest. It’s settling into the very state that meditation practitioners often spend years learning to access.

What if stepping outside for half an hour is one of the most underrated meditation preparations we have?

What Happens in Your Heart

There’s something else that nature does, a little harder to quantify but no less real: it stops us in our tracks. It makes us feel small—but in the most expansive way.

Researchers (and poets and mystics) call this “awe,” and natural environments are among its most reliable triggers. In one fascinating study, students who spent just one minute looking up at a stand of tall eucalyptus trees showed measurable increases in awe and significantly more generous, helpful behavior than those who had looked at a building. Imagine the implications if sixty seconds of looking at trees makes us kinder and more gracious towards others.

Awe is a way to feel small that is deeply enlivening, because part of awe is also a feeling of being held and connected by something larger, more beautiful, and communal.

We generally don’t like to feel small, and a lot of our current state of nonstop agitation comes from armoring ourselves against the fear and defensiveness that arises in us when we feel pressed down by larger, more aggressive forces that seem to want us to feel insignificant.

Awe is a way to feel small that is also deeply enlivening, because part of awe is also a feeling of being held and connected to something larger, more beautiful, and communal. The group of astronauts on the recent Artemis II mission talked about this often and openly, and their shared sense of wonder magnetically drew in millions of followers. They offered living proof that there’s something bigger than this moment of strife. That sense of connection they described—the truth of our interdependence, which I think deep down we are all starved to feel and believe in again—is quieter and much more real than the blaring comment sections of social media that are constantly shouting at us about how separate and hopelessly broken we all are.

The sterility and atomization of modern life tends to rob us of these essential human experiences of awe and wonder, and the natural world tends to replenish them.

The Paradox of Awe, Surrender, and Beginner’s Mind

What research is finding is something contemplatives have long pointed to: a loosening of the ego, a softening of that grasping sense that we have to be the center of everything in order to feel alright. In meditation, this letting go of our need to feel special and smart is a quality we sometimes call “beginner’s mind.” It’s a place where it is okay to admit that we don’t know a whole bunch of things, maybe most things, and it’s also okay that we don’t know.

Yes, life is serious sometimes, but often not in the ways we imagine. Meditation is, in part, a way of gently reminding ourselves that we don’t have to take ourselves so dang seriously all the time.

As the poet Mary Oliver wrote while watching a gathering of goldfinches:

...it is a serious thing

just to be alive
  on this fresh morning
  in the broken world.
I beg of you,

do not walk by
  without pausing
to attend to this…

The great irony, of course, is that in that moment of surrender, we actually open ourselves up to a fresh set of possibilities that our certainty and desperate need to feel big tend to foreclose us to. The “I don’t know” becomes the doorway to wisdom, and the “I don’t have to be special by the world’s standards” becomes a way to access a sense of real, unconditional belonging and belovedness, even in our imperfection.

Meditation can help unlock these states of expansive, cradled surrender. It turns out a canopy of trees, a wide-open field, or the particular shimmering quality of late-afternoon light through leaves can take us there, too.

Meditation can help unlock these states of expansive, cradled surrender. It turns out a canopy of trees, a wide-open field, or the particular shimmering quality of late-afternoon light through leaves can take us there, too.

What Happens in Your Mind

If you’ve ever tried to meditate after a long day at the computer and found your mind spinning, there’s a reason for that—and spending some time in green spaces can help with this, too.

Attention Restoration Theory proposes that mental fatigue and concentration can be improved by time spent in, or even just looking at, green spaces. It suggests that natural environments encourage more effortless brain function, allowing directed attention to rest and replenish itself. Our focused, striving attention—the kind we use to meet deadlines, manage inboxes, and navigate hard conversations—is a finite resource. It gets depleted. And ordinary urban environments, with their constant demands and stimulation, keep drawing from that well.

Natural environments evoke what researchers call “soft fascination.” Isn’t that a gorgeous phrase? This is an effortless, gentle form of attention, similar to mind-wandering but still directed outward. It allows our directed attention to rest while the mind quietly restores itself. Think of how your whole being feels when you’re watching a drifting cloud or noticing the way wind undulates a field of wild grasses, or what happens when you just sit and listen to the sound of rain drop-drop-dropping into a lake. These things don’t demand anything of us. They simply invite us to be present—which is, of course, the whole point.

A Gentle Green-Space Invitation

The research is compelling, but I know that you don’t need a study to tell you what you’ve likely already felt. Nature returns us to something. It slows us down, opens us up, and reminds us that we are part of something much larger than the constantly-shuffling contents of our minds.

Whether it’s a 20-minute walk before your morning sit, a lunch break in the park, or simply pausing to notice a patch of sky—time outside is time well spent. It offers a balm for your nervous system, nurtures your sense of wonder, and encourages the quiet, open awareness that sits at the heart of our practice.

Source link

April 28, 2026
Jane Fonda at Spirit Rock: Mindfulness, Climate Action, and Community

Jane Fonda did not come to Spirit Rock to offer comfort.

She came to invite attention toward what we’re inheriting, what we’re losing, and what we still have to protect.

For different generations, Jane Fonda has arrived in various forms. Some of us know her as an Oscar-winning actress whose early roles challenged cultural norms in films like Klute and Coming Home; others might remember her from her iconic fitness workouts in the early 80s (if you know, you know.)

But Jane Fonda doesn’t just redefine herself decade after decade, she reframes and rebuilds the very structures and movements she’s a part of. Whether that’s turning fitness into accessible self-care for women, relaunching the Committee for the First Amendment (free speech, anyone?), taking on the climate crisis by starting the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, or redefining vitality for anyone later in life through her role on the beloved show Grace and Frankie. These chapters, however, only hint at a deeper through-line.

Jane Fonda models a form of mindful leadership rooted not in legacy, but in invitation, showing how presence, curiosity, and connection can awaken action in every generation.

For decades, Fonda has leveraged her visibility as a platform, founding media outlets, funding grassroots organizing, lending her body to protests, and repeatedly engaging in uncomfortable conversations in service of collective change. Today, she directs that same attention toward the climate crisis, whether by forging relationships with younger artists like Maggie Rogers, who went on to more openly use her platform for climate and social advocacy after connecting with Fonda, or by studying with Roshi Joan Halifax to deepen her meditation practice and the way she shows up in the world.

One thing is for sure: Jane Fonda models a form of mindful leadership rooted not in legacy, but in invitation, showing how presence, curiosity, and connection can awaken action in every generation.

Mindfulness As Training, Not Escape

Fonda recently spoke as part of Spirit Rock’s EcoDharma & Transformational Culture Program (ETCP), a three-year initiative launched in January 2025 that explores how mindfulness and contemplative practices can support more intentional responses to climate change. While this program draws on Buddhist teachings, it is intentionally inclusive, inviting participants from diverse faiths and backgrounds.

In ETCP’s context, “spiritual” refers to practices that help cultivate awareness, compassion, and resilience—tools for understanding and responding to climate-related stress. The program addresses the intersection of mindfulness, ecological issues, and the urgent need for thoughtful, effective action.

For many readers of Mindful, meditation may feel like refuge, a place to step away from the unrelenting churn of news cycles, politics, and ecological grief. What this gathering at Spirit Rock made clear is that mindfulness was never meant to be an escape hatch. It was meant to be training.

At a moment when the climate crisis feels simultaneously overwhelming and dangerously normalized, Fonda’s presence at Spirit Rock Meditation Center landed with the weight of lived experience—decades of activism, moral reckoning, and an unshakeable belief that we cannot separate inner work from outer action. Her conversation with climate journalist Greg Dalton functioned as a deeply reflective inquiry into what it means to stay awake, empathetic, and engaged as time runs out.

For many readers of Mindful, meditation may feel like refuge, a place to step away from the unrelenting churn of news cycles, politics, and ecological grief. What this gathering at Spirit Rock made clear is that mindfulness was never meant to be an escape hatch. It was meant to be training.

Freepik.com | DC Studio

Urgent & Hopeful

Fonda spoke with respect to urgency, but not from a place of hopelessness. Instead, she framed this moment as one that demands both honesty and courage. “This is a moment when we have to bring our empathy to the fore,” she said, speaking to the deep divisions defining public life. Empathy, for her, is not a passive feeling—it is an active discipline, one she traces directly to her life in the arts.

“Acting is a profession of empathy,” Fonda explained. “We have to enter the skin of another human being and understand them … You can’t do that without empathy. And you have to have empathy even for somebody that you don’t like.”

That capacity, to stay open rather than armored, has helped to shape her activism as much as her performances. Fonda spoke candidly about how long it took her to soften what she called an “armored heart,” and how belonging to movements, rather than acting alone, made vulnerability possible. “There can come a moment in life when you enter a situation and, you know, this is where I’m supposed to be,” she said. “If you’re not alone, if you’re part of a movement, that sense allows you to become vulnerable and to open your heart.”

This insistence on collective action, grounded in relationship rather than righteousness, ran through the entire conversation.

ETCP’s mission is twofold: to support interfaith leaders and activists in meeting climate trauma with resilience and joy, and to empower a new generation of global citizens.

Over the next three years, ETCP will offer online lectures, class series, in-person retreats, and training programs designed to support communities engaging with climate change not only as a scientific or political issue, but also as a profoundly emotional and spiritual one. The program is guided by a core planning team of respected teachers and leaders, including Ayya Santacitta, Bonnie Duran, Carol Cano, James Baraz, Kirsten Rudestam, Kristin Barker, Mark Coleman, and Yong Oh, in collaboration with partners such as One Earth Sangha, Braided Wisdom, Aloka Earth Room, and Awake in the Wild.

Its mission is twofold: to support interfaith leaders and activists in meeting climate trauma with resilience and joy, and to empower a new generation of global citizens. At its heart is a radical proposition—that joy, mindfulness, and love for the Earth are not distractions from climate action, though essential to sustaining it.

When Mindfulness Meets the Climate Crisis

For many meditators, the connection between mindfulness and climate change is not apparent. Sitting quietly with the breath can feel worlds away from melting ice caps, polluted water systems, or data centers sprawling across the landscape.

Fonda expressed concern about AI and the rapid speed of technological advancement. “I’m horrified by it,” she admitted, acknowledging her own complicated relationship with technology. “I have ChatGPT on my phone. I feel guilty… I don’t understand it well enough to know how to combat it.”

Rather than offering easy answers, Fonda modeled something rarer: the willingness to stay with not-knowing without disengaging. Climate action, she suggested, does not begin with mastery; it starts with attention.

Her reflections on Indigenous knowledge underscored what has been lost through disconnection. Recalling time spent learning about the Ecuadorian rainforest, she talked about communities that live in conjunction with the land. “They showed us which plants heal which diseases,” she said. “We once knew how to listen to plants. We’ve forgotten how.”

Mindful engagement does not mean doing everything. It means doing something with intention, alongside others.

EcoDharma, as Spirit Rock frames it, is precisely this remembering—not as nostalgia, but as practice. And the key part of practice, when we hold both the Dharma and the environment front and center in our minds, is to understand that we all have something to do, no matter how small the task or step may be. As ETCP leaders emphasize, mindful engagement does not mean doing everything. It means doing something with intention, alongside others.

Identifying Our Unique Role to Play

A recurring question throughout the retreat was one many people quietly carry: What can I do?

Fonda’s answer was pragmatic and unsentimental. After years of protest through Fire Drill Fridays, she and a small group of collaborators recognized a gap between public pressure and policy change. “We haven’t got the legislation that’s commensurate with what science is saying we have to have,” she said. “The reason is that so many elected officials take money from the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries.”

That realization led to the creation of Jane Fonda Climate Pac, a political action committee focused on down-ballot races and state and local positions that often receive little attention but wield enormous influence over climate outcomes. “Public utilities, school boards, city councils, state legislatures, attorneys general,” Fonda noted. “All these people have huge power.”

The results have been striking: hundreds of climate champions elected, many of them women and women of color, willing to stand up publicly for environmental rights. “It’s working,” she said.

Alternate Entry Points to Climate Action

For those wary of politics, Spirit Rock’s EcoDharma program offers additional entry points and ways to engage, with an emphasis on joy-based action, interconnection, and resilience. This programming is designed precisely for people who feel overwhelmed, polarized, or exhausted by climate discourse.

Perhaps the most resonant moment of listening to Fonda speak was when she was asked about courage—how she continues to speak so openly, without becoming defensive, after decades in the public eye.

“It has been a process,” she said. “It took me a long, long time to open my heart.” What changed was not confidence, but belonging. “Being part of a movement… allows you to become vulnerable.”

She spoke about care—sleep, community, working with people she admires—as essential, not indulgent. “I’m a late bloomer,” she said with a smile. “But being a late bloomer is okay as long as you don’t miss the flower show. And I’m in the midst of a flower show.”

EcoDharma does not ask practitioners to abandon stillness. It asks them to let stillness inform their response. To allow mindfulness to widen into care, and care into action.

In that image, flowers blooming against the odds was a quiet invitation. EcoDharma does not ask practitioners to abandon stillness. It asks them to let stillness inform their response. To allow mindfulness to widen into care, and care into action.

As Fonda reminded the room, hope is not something we wait for.
It is something we practice—together.

For more ways to connect, here’s a mindful action guide to use & share. Links are also provided below.

Source link

February 11, 2026
Plastic Pollution Treaty Not Dead In The Water: UN Environment Chief

The UN’s environment chief insists that a landmark global treaty tackling plastic pollution remains achievable, despite talks twice imploding without agreement, and the chair suddenly resigning this week.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) executive director Inger Andersen told AFP in an exclusive interview that countries were not walking away, regardless of their sharp differences on combating the ever-growing problem, including in the oceans.

A large bloc wants bold action such as curbing plastic production, while a smaller clutch of oil-producing states wants to focus more narrowly on waste management.

Supposedly final talks in South Korea in 2024 ended without a deal — and a resumed effort in Geneva in August likewise collapsed.

Countries voiced anger and despair as the talks unravelled, but said they nonetheless wanted future negotiations.

“We left with greater clarity. And no-one has left the table,” said Andersen.

“No-one has walked away and said, ‘this is just too hopeless, we’re giving up’. No-one. And all of that, I take courage from.”

The plastic pollution problem is so ubiquitous that microplastics have been found on the highest mountain peaks, in the deepest ocean trench and scattered throughout almost every part of the human body.

More than 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year, half of which is for single-use items.

While 15 percent of plastic waste is collected for recycling, only nine percent is actually recycled.

Nearly half, or 46 percent, ends up in landfills, while 17 percent is incinerated and 22 percent is mismanaged and becomes litter.

Annual production of fossil fuel-based plastics is set to triple by 2060.

As things stand, there is no timetable for when further talks might be held, and no countries have made formal offers to host them.

But Andersen “absolutely” thinks a deal is within reach.

“This is totally doable. We just need to keep at it,” she said.

UNEP has been shepherding the talks process, which began in 2022.

Summarising where countries are at, Andersen said: “The mood music is: ‘we’re still in the negotiations. We are not walking away. We have our red lines, but we have a better understanding of the others’ red lines. And we still want this’.”

Andersen said Norway and Kenya convened a well-attended meeting at the UN General Assembly in New York last month.

The COP30 climate summit in Brazil in November will provide another opportunity to put the feelers out, ahead of the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi in December.

Luis Vayas Valdivieso, Ecuador’s ambassador to Britain who chaired the last three of six negotiation rounds, has announced he is stepping down, leaving the process rudderless.

Vayas’s Geneva draft treaty text was instantly ripped apart by countries in brutal fashion, and while a revised effort gained some traction, the clock ran out.

British newspaper The Guardian reported that staff from Andersen’s UNEP team held a covert meeting on the last night in Geneva, aimed at coaxing members of civil society groups into pressuring Vayas to quit.

“This is a very, very serious allegation,” Andersen said.

“I did not know and obviously had not asked anyone to do something of this sort.”

She said the allegation had been referred to the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services.

“I’ve been in this business for 40 years, and I have never, ever done such a thing, and I would never have asked a staff of mine, or anyone else for that matter, to go and have covert meetings and quote my name and ask to undo a seated chair who is elected by member states. It’s outrageous.”

As for whether a new chair could provide fresh momentum, she said: “As always, when there’s change, there is a degree of a different mood.”

Countries were unable to find common ground on tackling the scourge of plastic pollution

Global plastic production in one year

Six rounds of talks have failed to seal an agreement on dealing with plastic pollution

Luis Vayas Valdivieso has announced he is stepping down as chair of the plastic pollution treaty talks

Source link

October 11, 2025
From Clutter to Clean: How a Minimalist Lifestyle Can Help the Environment
Introduction

In recent years, the world has witnessed a significant shift in the way people live, consume, and interact with their environment. The rapid pace of industrialization, urbanization, and technological advancements has led to an unprecedented increase in waste, pollution, and environmental degradation. As a result, many individuals are now adopting a minimalist lifestyle as a means to reduce their ecological footprint and contribute to a more sustainable future. In this article, we will explore the concept of minimalism, its benefits for the environment, and provide practical tips on how to transition to a clutter-free and eco-friendly lifestyle.

What is Minimalism?

Minimalism is a lifestyle that emphasizes simplicity, sustainability, and intentional living. It involves reducing unnecessary clutter, consumption, and waste, and instead, focusing on what is truly essential and valuable. Minimalists prioritize experiences, relationships, and personal growth over material possessions, and strive to live in harmony with the environment. By embracing minimalism, individuals can significantly reduce their impact on the planet, conserve natural resources, and promote a more sustainable and equitable world.

The Environmental Benefits of Minimalism

The environmental benefits of minimalism are numerous and significant. By reducing consumption and waste, minimalists can help to:
- Decrease greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change
- Conserve natural resources, such as water, energy, and land
- Reduce pollution and waste, including plastic, paper, and textile waste
- Promote sustainable agriculture and reduce the demand for resource-intensive foods
- Support eco-friendly industries and technologies, such as renewable energy and sustainable manufacturing
How to Adopt a Minimalist Lifestyle

Adopting a minimalist lifestyle can be a challenging but rewarding experience. Here are some practical tips to help you get started:
- Start with a decluttering process, where you sort through your belongings and separate items into categories, such as keep, donate, and discard
- Identify areas of your life where you can reduce consumption and waste, such as switching to reusable bags, containers, and water bottles
- Set intentional goals and priorities, and focus on what is truly essential and valuable to you
- Practice mindful consumption, and consider the environmental, social, and economic impacts of your purchasing decisions
- Develop sustainable habits, such as recycling, composting, and reducing energy consumption
Minimalism and Consumption

One of the key principles of minimalism is reducing consumption and waste. This can be achieved by:
- Buying second-hand or sustainable products, rather than new and resource-intensive ones
- Avoiding single-use plastics, and opting for reusable alternatives instead
- Choosing products with minimal packaging, or those that use biodegradable or recyclable materials
- Supporting local and sustainable businesses, and promoting fair trade and social justice
- Practicing mindful consumption, and considering the environmental, social, and economic impacts of your purchasing decisions
Minimalism and Waste Reduction

Minimalism is not just about reducing consumption, but also about reducing waste. Here are some tips to help you reduce waste in your daily life:
- Implement a recycling program, and ensure that you recycle as much as possible
- Compost food waste, and use it to fertilize your garden or indoor plants
- Avoid single-use plastics, and opt for reusable alternatives instead
- Choose products with minimal packaging, or those that use biodegradable or recyclable materials
- Donate or repurpose items that are still in good condition, rather than throwing them away
Minimalism and Sustainable Living

Minimalism is closely linked to sustainable living, as it involves reducing consumption, waste, and environmental degradation. Here are some tips to help you live a more sustainable lifestyle:
- Use public transport, walk, or cycle, rather than driving a car
- Reduce energy consumption, by using energy-efficient appliances and turning off lights and electronics when not in use
- Use eco-friendly cleaning products, and avoid harsh chemicals and toxins
- Support renewable energy, and consider investing in solar panels or a wind turbine
- Promote sustainable agriculture, and choose locally sourced and organic produce whenever possible
Conclusion

In conclusion, adopting a minimalist lifestyle can have a significant impact on the environment, by reducing consumption, waste, and environmental degradation. By embracing simplicity, sustainability, and intentional living, individuals can contribute to a more sustainable and equitable world. Remember, minimalism is a journey, and it’s okay to take it one step at a time. Start with small changes, and gradually work your way towards a more minimalist and eco-friendly lifestyle.

FAQs

Q: What is minimalism, and how does it relate to environmental sustainability?
A: Minimalism is a lifestyle that emphasizes simplicity, sustainability, and intentional living. It involves reducing unnecessary clutter, consumption, and waste, and instead, focusing on what is truly essential and valuable. By adopting a minimalist lifestyle, individuals can significantly reduce their impact on the planet, conserve natural resources, and promote a more sustainable and equitable world.

Q: How can I adopt a minimalist lifestyle, and what are the benefits?
A: Adopting a minimalist lifestyle can be a challenging but rewarding experience. Start by decluttering your space, reducing consumption and waste, and setting intentional goals and priorities. The benefits of minimalism include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, conserving natural resources, reducing pollution and waste, and promoting sustainable agriculture and eco-friendly industries.

Q: What are some practical tips for reducing consumption and waste?
A: Some practical tips for reducing consumption and waste include buying second-hand or sustainable products, avoiding single-use plastics, choosing products with minimal packaging, and supporting local and sustainable businesses. You can also implement a recycling program, compost food waste, and donate or repurpose items that are still in good condition.

Q: How can I live a more sustainable lifestyle, and what are the benefits?
A: Living a more sustainable lifestyle involves reducing energy consumption, using eco-friendly cleaning products, supporting renewable energy, and promoting sustainable agriculture. The benefits of sustainable living include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, conserving natural resources, reducing pollution and waste, and promoting a more equitable and just world.

Q: What is the relationship between minimalism and sustainable living?
A: Minimalism is closely linked to sustainable living, as it involves reducing consumption, waste, and environmental degradation. By embracing simplicity, sustainability, and intentional living, individuals can contribute to a more sustainable and equitable world. Minimalism and sustainable living are interconnected, and adopting a minimalist lifestyle can be an effective way to promote sustainable living and reduce your ecological footprint.
September 21, 2025
The Rise of Eco-Friendly Building Materials: A Game-Changer for the Environment
Introduction

The construction industry is one of the largest consumers of natural resources and producers of waste and pollution. The traditional building materials used in construction, such as concrete, steel, and wood, have a significant impact on the environment. However, with the increasing awareness of environmental issues, the demand for eco-friendly building materials has been on the rise. In recent years, there has been a significant shift towards sustainable and environmentally friendly building materials, which is transforming the construction industry. In this article, we will explore the rise of eco-friendly building materials, their benefits, and their potential to revolutionize the construction industry.

What are Eco-Friendly Building Materials?

Eco-friendly building materials are materials that are sustainable, renewable, and have a low impact on the environment. These materials are designed to reduce the negative impact of construction on the environment, while also providing a healthy and comfortable living space. Eco-friendly building materials can be made from natural materials, such as bamboo, straw, and recycled materials, or they can be synthetic materials that are designed to mimic the properties of natural materials.

Benefits of Eco-Friendly Building Materials

The benefits of eco-friendly building materials are numerous. Some of the most significant advantages include:
- Reduced environmental impact: Eco-friendly building materials have a lower impact on the environment than traditional materials. They reduce the demand on natural resources, decrease waste and pollution, and help to mitigate climate change.
- Improved indoor air quality: Eco-friendly building materials are designed to improve indoor air quality by reducing the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other pollutants.
- Energy efficiency: Eco-friendly building materials can help to reduce energy consumption by providing better insulation, reducing heat gain, and improving natural lighting.
- Cost-effective: While eco-friendly building materials may be more expensive upfront, they can provide long-term cost savings through reduced energy consumption and maintenance costs.
Types of Eco-Friendly Building Materials

There are many types of eco-friendly building materials available, each with its own unique benefits and characteristics. Some of the most popular eco-friendly building materials include:
- Bamboo: Bamboo is a highly renewable and sustainable material that can be used for a variety of applications, including flooring, walls, and roofing.
- Recycled materials: Recycled materials, such as recycled glass, recycled plastic, and reclaimed wood, can be used to reduce waste and minimize the demand on natural resources.
- Low-carbon concrete: Low-carbon concrete is a type of concrete that is made with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) that reduce the amount of cement required, resulting in a lower carbon footprint.
- Straw bale: Straw bale is a natural, renewable material that can be used for insulation and wall construction.
- Green roofs: Green roofs are roofs that are covered with vegetation, which provides insulation, reduces stormwater runoff, and creates habitats for wildlife.
Case Studies: Successful Implementation of Eco-Friendly Building Materials

There are many successful examples of eco-friendly building materials being used in construction projects around the world. For example:
- The Bullitt Center in Seattle, Washington, is a commercial building that is made from eco-friendly materials, including reclaimed wood, low-carbon concrete, and a green roof.
- The VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, is a building that is made from natural materials, including wood, stone, and plants.
- The Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California, features a green roof and uses eco-friendly materials, such as reclaimed wood and low-carbon concrete.
Challenges and Limitations

While eco-friendly building materials have many benefits, there are also some challenges and limitations to their adoption. Some of the most significant challenges include:
- Higher upfront costs: Eco-friendly building materials can be more expensive than traditional materials, which can be a barrier to adoption.
- Limited availability: Eco-friendly building materials may not be widely available, which can make it difficult to source them.
- Lack of standardization: There is currently a lack of standardization in the eco-friendly building materials industry, which can make it difficult to compare products and ensure quality.
Future of Eco-Friendly Building Materials

The future of eco-friendly building materials is promising. As concern about the environment continues to grow, the demand for eco-friendly building materials is expected to increase. Governments and industry leaders are working to develop new sustainable materials and to improve the sustainability of existing materials. Some of the most exciting developments in eco-friendly building materials include:
- Bioplastics: Bioplastics are plastics that are made from renewable biomass sources, such as corn starch or sugarcane.
- Graphene: Graphene is a highly conductive and strong material that is made from carbon atoms. It has the potential to revolutionize the construction industry by providing a sustainable and high-performance material for a variety of applications.
- 3D printing: 3D printing is a technology that allows for the creation of complex structures using sustainable materials, such as recycled plastics and natural fibers.
Conclusion

The rise of eco-friendly building materials is a game-changer for the environment. These materials have the potential to reduce the negative impact of construction on the environment, while also providing a healthy and comfortable living space. While there are challenges and limitations to the adoption of eco-friendly building materials, the benefits are clear. As concern about the environment continues to grow, the demand for eco-friendly building materials is expected to increase, driving innovation and development in the industry. By adopting eco-friendly building materials, we can create a more sustainable future for generations to come.

FAQs

Q: What are eco-friendly building materials?
A: Eco-friendly building materials are materials that are sustainable, renewable, and have a low impact on the environment.
Q: What are the benefits of eco-friendly building materials?
A: The benefits of eco-friendly building materials include reduced environmental impact, improved indoor air quality, energy efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.
Q: What are some examples of eco-friendly building materials?
A: Examples of eco-friendly building materials include bamboo, recycled materials, low-carbon concrete, straw bale, and green roofs.
Q: Are eco-friendly building materials more expensive than traditional materials?
A: Eco-friendly building materials can be more expensive upfront, but they can provide long-term cost savings through reduced energy consumption and maintenance costs.
Q: What is the future of eco-friendly building materials?
A: The future of eco-friendly building materials is promising, with developments in bioplastics, graphene, and 3D printing expected to drive innovation and growth in the industry.
Q: How can I incorporate eco-friendly building materials into my construction project?
A: You can incorporate eco-friendly building materials into your construction project by researching and selecting sustainable materials, working with a sustainable builder or architect, and considering the environmental impact of your project.
Q: What are some common challenges to adopting eco-friendly building materials?
A: Common challenges to adopting eco-friendly building materials include higher upfront costs, limited availability, and lack of standardization.
Q: How can I ensure that the eco-friendly building materials I choose are high-quality and effective?
A: You can ensure that the eco-friendly building materials you choose are high-quality and effective by researching the manufacturer, reading reviews and testimonials, and considering third-party certifications, such as LEED or GreenGuard.
June 15, 2025
Microplastics a growing challenge to health and the environment

Home / News / Microplastics a growing challenge to health and the environment

iStock/Svetlozar Hristov

January 2, 2025 – Over the past few months, Harvard Chan faculty have been sharing evidence-based recommendations on urgent public health issues facing the next U.S. administration. Shruthi Mahalingaiah, an assistant professor of environmental, reproductive, and women’s health, offered her thoughts on the challenges posed by microplastics and the need for more public awareness about the surprising sources of a stealthy and growing hazard that demands multifaceted and creative solutions.

Q: Why are microplastics a pressing public health issue?

A: For a long time, oceanographers and marine biologists have focused on the threat to oceanic life for good reason. We have a floating garbage patch of plastic halfway between Hawaii and California that covers an area that is twice the size of Texas. And that is just the largest of five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the world’s oceans. The terrible impact on marine and wildlife species is clear.

What people may not realize is that microplastics are also a pressing human health issue. These plastics are showing up everywhere, including throughout our bodies—and even within the human reproductive system, not only in placentas but also in testes and semen. What is worse, we don’t know what the accumulation of these plastics in our bodies might mean for us. Research points to potentially serious issues, including vascular disease, cancers, respiratory disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, as well as dizziness and neurological symptoms. We have much more to learn. We know microplastics and their impacts vary based on composition, size, and surface area. The smaller the particle, the deeper it can go into the body.

There are many important questions to answer. For instance, in the human system, how do the chemical properties of the nanoparticles within the microplastics interact with nutrients and normal repair processes that prevent disease and slow aging? Is the way we produce and recycle plastic helping—or are these processes increasing unsafe exposures? It’s essential that we ask these types of questions and do the research to find out.

Q: What are the biggest challenges facing the next administration around microplastics?

A: It will be challenging to correct the deeply entrenched idea that consumer diligence in recycling plastics can or could ever solve the plastic waste and pollution crisis. The reality is that only about 9% of the world’s plastic is recycled—it’s often not economically or technically possible to recycle the rest and the vast majority of plastics end up in landfills or get incinerated or dumped into the environment.

It is encouraging that the California attorney general has filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil, the world’s largest producer of polymers, which are materials used to create single-use plastics, including plastic utensils, drink bottles, and packaging. The lawsuit alleges that the company for decades has used marketing campaigns to create a “myth” around the impact of recycling, leading consumers to buy more single-use plastic than people would if they knew most plastic never goes away.

To make real impact, we need to be more strategic. In 2022, member states in the United Nations endorsed a resolution to end plastic pollution and forge an international legally binding agreement by 2024. It focuses on moving government and businesses away from single-use plastics. In late November, the fifth session of the negotiating committee to develop that treaty, which includes about 175 nations, met in South Korea. I hope a treaty will be adopted soon.

It’s important that we expand both the public conversation as well as scientific research to investigate all sources of microplastics. For instance, a surprising source of microplastics is wear and tear on tires. When you drive your car, how fast you go and how often you accelerate and decelerate ultimately makes an impact. Research shows that tire wear-and-tear contributes up to 10% of the plastics that end up in our oceans and enter our food chain—an issue that requires both our awareness and creative action—including carpooling, using public transportation, increasing walking to close by areas, and so on.

The challenges ahead are multifaceted. We have to understand all the sources and the complex ecosystem of microplastics for our mitigation efforts to work. We have to understand the full scope of the health impacts of microplastics. And as we work to address the problem, we have to take care not to introduce another threat, a different downstream effect created by substituting a microplastic with something that ultimately also poses health risks—so we can’t have blinders on, we must always look at the big picture in order to mitigate wisely.

Q: What are your top two to three recommendations for policies to address microplastics?

A: It’s important for relevant industries to consider the concept, “First, do no harm.” We need the wide range of industries that produce plastics as waste to take responsibility and develop creative solutions to shift away from the use of plastics.

For instance, the medical-industrial complex uses a lot of single-use plastic. As a physician, I know that routine surgeries generate a bag or more of plastic trash and time-intensive surgeries yield up to six bags. And when harm is noted, as is the case with microplastics, we owe it to our patients, community, ecosystem, and to planetary health to move to ameliorate the impact. We need a wave of creative solutions across the medical-industrial complex. For example, we can create greener labs by adopting sustainable practices that minimize plastic use. All of us must start somewhere and act.

And we must individually work to reduce microplastics in ways that extend far beyond recycling. We must be aware that microplastics are all around us, that tiny fragments of plastics exist in car tires, clothing, bedding, and all kinds of textiles, including the microplastics stripped off our clothing by friction and turbulence in the washing machine that end up in our wastewater. One solution to the latter example involves installing a filter on your washing machine to stop microfiber pollution.

Q: What’s the evidence supporting these recommendations?

A: There is a lot of evidence that single-use plastic is a problem and, as mentioned earlier, only 9% of plastic gets recycled.

We know that people are consuming and breathing a lot of plastic. One analysis shows that Americans ingest and inhale up to 121,000 microplastic particles every year, and people who drink bottled water may be ingesting an additional 90,000 microplastics per year. Put another way, scientific research shows we probably ingest the weight of a plastic credit card every week without realizing it.

I highly recommend a book by science journalist Matt Simon, A Poison Like No Other, which details a lot of the scientific research about the ubiquity of microplastics and their ability to penetrate into so many things, including our food chains and our bodies.

Q: What do you hope could be accomplished in this field in the next four years?

A: My big hope is that we get rid of single-use plastic. I want to see innovation in packaging, food storage, and especially in the medical sector where we should be rethinking single-use items and moving toward the use of sterilization of reusable equipment. Overall, I hope to see major systems across diverse sectors re-engineered in innovative ways, with the urgent reduction in microplastics a top priority.

Last Updated

Get the latest public health news

Stay connected with Harvard Chan School

Source link

January 3, 2025
Diet, health and the environment
How can dietitians support eating practices that improve diet quality and reduce environmental impacts? In this episode with Principal Research Scientist Dr Brad Ridoutt from CSIRO, we dive into the latest research that unpacks the impact of diet on the environment – in particular, the overconsumption of food and drinks. Dr Ridoutt shares practical tips for dietitians to help their clients minimise food waste through eating in line with dietary guidelines, getting creative with leftovers and storing food safely.

Hosted by Brooke Delfino

Biography

Dr Brad Ridoutt is a Principal Research Scientist with Australia’s national science agency – The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). His expertise is in life cycle sustainability assessment in the agriculture and food sectors which is used to address strategic challenges in relation to climate change, water scarcity, sustainable food systems, and sustainable diets. Dr Ridoutt is engaged in a range of international processes relating to the standardization of sustainability assessment and environmental labeling. His research is creating the main evidence base concerning the environmental impacts of dietary habits in Australia.
In this episode, we discuss:

Factors to consider when thinking about the environmental impact of what Australians eat

Why portion guidance is key for health and the environment

Strategies for reducing food waste, as outlined in the Australian Dietary Guidelines (2013)
Additional resources
- Click here to read the Australian Dietary Guidelines (referenced in this episode – Appendix G, page 130)
- Click here to watch our recent webinar Empowering balanced meals with no food waste
Supported by

The content, products and/or services referred to in this podcast are intended for Health Care Professionals only and are not, and are not intended to be, medical advice, which should be tailored to your individual circumstances. The content is for your information only, and we advise that you exercise your own judgement before deciding to use the information provided. Professional medical advice should be obtained before taking action. The reference to particular products and/or services in this episode does not constitute any form of endorsement. Please see  here  for terms and conditions.
Source link
September 17, 2024
Obesity and a Toxic Food Environment

Implausible explanations for the obesity epidemic serve the needs of food manufacturers and marketers more than public health and an interest in truth.

When it comes to uncovering the root causes of the obesity epidemic, there appears to be manufactured confusion, “with major studies reasserting that the causes of obesity are ‘extremely complex’ and ‘fiendishly hard to untangle,’” but having just reviewed the literature, it doesn’t seem like much of a mystery to me.

It’s the food.

Attempts at obfuscation—rolling out hosts of “implausible explanations,” like sedentary lifestyles or lack of self-discipline—cater to food manufacturers and marketers more than the public’s health and our interest in the truth. “When asked about the role of restaurants in contributing to the obesity problem, Steven Anderson, president of the National Restaurant Association stated, “Just because we have electricity doesn’t mean you have to electrocute yourself.” Yes, but Big Food is effectively attaching electrodes to shock and awe the reward centers in our brains to undermine our self-control.

It is hard to eat healthfully against the headwind of such strong evolutionary forces. No matter what our level of nutrition knowledge, in the face of pepperoni pizza, “our genes scream, ‘Eat it now!’” Anyone who doubts the power of basic biological drives should see how long they can go without blinking or breathing. Any conscious decision to hold your breath is soon overcome by the compulsion to breathe. In medicine, shortness of breath is sometimes even referred to as “air hunger.” The battle of the bulge is a battle against biology, so obesity is not some moral failing. It’s not gluttony or sloth. It is a natural, “normal response, by normal people, to an abnormal situation”—the unnatural ubiquity of calorie-dense, sugary, and fatty foods.

The sea of excess calories we are now floating in (and some of us are drowning in) has been referred to as a “toxic food environment.” This helps direct focus away from the individual and towards the societal forces at work, such as the fact that the average child is blasted with 10,000 commercials for food a year. Or maybe I should say ads for pseudo food, as 95 percent are for “candy, fast food, soft drinks [aka liquid candy], and sugared cereals [aka breakfast candy].”

Wait a second, though. If weight gain is just a natural reaction to the easy availability of mountains of cheap, yummy calories, then why isn’t everyone fat? As you can see below and at 2:41 in my video The Role of the Toxic Food Environment in the Obesity Epidemic, in a certain sense, most everyone is. It’s been estimated that more than 90 percent of American adults are “overfat,” defined as having “excess body fat sufficient to impair health.” This can occur even “in those who are normal-weight and non-obese, often due to excess abdominal fat.

However, even if you look just at the numbers on the scale, being overweight is the norm. If you look at the bell curve and input the latest data, more than 70 percent of us are overweight. A little less than one-third of us is normal weight, on one side of the curve, and more than a third is on the other side, so overweight that we’re obese. You can see in the graph below and at 3:20 in my video.

If the food is to blame, though, why doesn’t everyone get fat? That’s like asking if cigarettes are really to blame, why don’t all smokers get lung cancer? This is where genetic predispositions and other exposures can weigh in to tip the scales. Different people are born with a different susceptibility to cancer, but that doesn’t mean smoking doesn’t play a critical role in exploding whatever inherent risk you have. It’s the same with obesity and our toxic food environment. It’s like the firearm analogy: Genes may load the gun, but diet pulls the trigger. We can try to switch the safety back on with smoking cessation and a healthier diet.

What happened when two dozen study participants were given the same number of excess calories? They all gained weight, but some gained more than others. Overfeeding the same 1,000 calories a day, 6 days a week for 100 days, caused weight gains ranging from about 9 pounds up to 29 pounds. The same 84,000 extra calories caused different amounts of weight gain. Some people are just more genetically susceptible. The reason we suspect genetics is that the 24 people in the study were 12 sets of identical twins, and the variation in weight gain between each of them was about a third less. As you can see in the graph below and at 4:41 in my video, a similar study with weight loss from exercise found a similar result. So, yes, genetics play a role, but that just means some people have to work harder than others. Ideally, inheriting a predisposition for extra weight gain shouldn’t give a reason for resignation, but rather motivation to put in the extra effort to unseal your fate.

Advances in processing and packaging, combined with government policies and food subsidy handouts that fostered cheap inputs for the “food industrial complex,” led to a glut of ready-to-eat, ready-to-heat, ready-to-drink hyperpalatable, hyperprofitable products. To help assuage impatient investors, marketing became even more pervasive and persuasive. All these factors conspired to create unfettered access to copious, convenient, low-cost, high-calorie foods often willfully engineered with chemical additives to make them hyperstimulatingly sweet or savory, yet only weakly satiating.

As we all sink deeper into a quicksand of calories, more and more mental energy is required to swim upstream against the constant “bombardment of advertising” and 24/7 panopticons of tempting treats. There’s so much food flooding the market now that much of it ends up in the trash. Food waste has progressively increased by about 50 percent since the 1970s. Perhaps better in the landfills, though, than filling up our stomachs. Too many of these cheap, fattening foods prioritize shelf life over human life.

But dead people don’t eat. Don’t food companies have a vested interest in keeping their consumers healthy? Such naiveté reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the system. A public company’s primary responsibility is to reap returns for its investors. “How else could we have tobacco companies, who are consummate marketers, continuing to produce products that kill one in two of their most loyal customers?” It’s not about customer satisfaction, but shareholder satisfaction. The customer always comes second.

Just as weight gain may be a perfectly natural reaction to an obesogenic food environment, governments and businesses are simply responding normally to the political and economic realities of our system. Can you think of a single major industry that would benefit from people eating more healthfully? “Certainly not the agriculture, food product, grocery, restaurant, diet, or drug industries,” wrote emeritus professor Marion Nestle in a Science editorial when she was chair of nutrition at New York University. “All flourish when people eat more, and all employ armies of lobbyists to discourage governments from doing anything to inhibit overeating.”

If part of the problem is cheap tasty convenience, is hard-to-find food that’s gross and expensive the solution? Or might there be a way to get the best of all worlds—easy, healthy, delicious, satisfying meals that help you lose weight? That’s the central question of my book How Not to Diet. Check it out for free at your local library.

This is it—the final video in this 11-part series. If you missed any of the others, see the related posts below.

Source link

September 16, 2024