Shame and embarrassment have long been considered uniquely human emotions since, as psychologist Marc D. Hauser has argued, these feelings “depend critically on a sense of self and others”, giving us “a moral sense that no animal is likely to attain.” Without self-awareness, in other words, there can be no shame. However, biologist Marc Bekoff…
View Post
The decision to go flight-free for the sake of the climate is becoming an increasingly popular decision, encouraged by the flygskam (flight shame) movement – started in Sweden in 2018 and popularised by climate activist Greta Thunberg – and campaign groups like Stay Grounded and Flight Free UK (I wrote about my own decision to…
View Post
Ecotourism, a term that emerged in the 1980s, refers to a niche segment of tourism in natural areas. According to David E. Fennell, “Ecotourism is a sustainable form of natural resource-based tourism that focuses primarily on experiencing and learning about nature, and which is ethically managed to be low-impact, non-consumptive, and locally-oriented (control, benefits, and…
View Post
As much as psychedelics hold great promise in alleviating all kinds of psychological distress, they are not a mental health panacea, which they are sometimes touted to be. Based on positive media stories surrounding psychedelic research and anecdotal reports of people being forever cured of chronic, severe mental illnesses, it’s easy to get the impression…
View Post
It can be hard to know exactly what a sustainable diet looks like. For instance, a study from the University of Oxford, published in Climatic Change, found that the vegan diet produces the least greenhouse gas emissions. Comparisons were made between meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians, and vegans. In this way, a plant-based diet would be considered…
View Post