from The New York Times
Update: The following post is very rant-like, my apologies. The research on monkeys upsets me. Do we have to do this to these creatures who can’t make choices to prove that not getting outside and moving one’s body and eating poorly can be deleterious to health? I’m glad we have medical interventions that can help. I also wish that we all could observe a better social ethic around living healthily. Seeing monkeys and humans lose the graciousness of their being in this way makes me ache. There is no other way to say it.
* * *
This article in the NYTimes described obesity research being conducted on primates. Why does reading about primates confined to cages, eating bad foods as they gain pound after pound, tear me apart more than my knowledge of all the people who live this way? So many people get out of bed, trudge to work, eat donuts/muffins/bagel with coffee on the go, sit or stand all day enclosed in a small space, snack to forestall boredom and fatigue, eat unhealthy take-out lunch, then sit, stand and snack some more until its time to go home and watch TV (and snack). Are we any different than those poor research primates, save the fact that no one is studying us? (more…)
Ordinary Earth ™ 
Gulf Oil Spill
April 30, 2010from news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20003460-1.html
I’m working on pulling together words and ideas from psychological theory to explain why we let this happen, how it will affect us, and what we can do to encourage people to stop hurting our planet. As the sick and wounded wildlife covered in oil begin to appear, and as life forms are decimated- from the small organisms that are the foundations of existence to the people who died – this disaster looms large. My son tore his pillowcase to shreds. Kids who care feel pretty hopeless. I suppose adults can’t manage it any better, really. We have however signed up to volunteer. What follows are some helpful links to stuff that I have been reading and comments from colleagues. If you have others please send them along. I’ll be posting updates as I encounter them.
UPDATES from Glenn Albrecht and Renee Lertzman after the jump.
News: here, here, here and here
Blogs: here, here, here, here,here, and here
(more…)
Share this:
Like this:
Tags:Glenn Albrecht, gulf oil crisis, psychological comments on Gulf oil crisis, reactions to gulf oil crisis, Renee Lertzman, response to gulf oil crisis, thoughts about gulf oil crisis
Posted in ecopsychcology, environmental disaster, human animal interaction | 1 Comment »