Nature Calls

“Exposure to nonthreatening natural stimuli, scientists have discovered, lowers blood pressure, reduces stress-hormone levels, promotes physical healing, bolsters immune-system function, raises self-esteem, improves mood, curtails the need for painkillers, and reduces inflammation.” Outside’s Aaron Reuben on the nature cure. Ask Your Doctor If Nature Is Right For You. (I might start with getting an office with a window. Baby steps.)

+ The trouble with nature as a cure is that we seem to be ruining nature at an alarming pace. From the NYT: “Humans are transforming Earth’s natural landscapes so dramatically that as many as one million plant and animal species are now at risk of extinction, posing a dire threat to ecosystems that people all over the world depend on for their survival.”

+ The notion that cures for human ills would be detrimental to the world around us is hardly novel. The Atlantic: Human Drugs Are Polluting the Water—And Animals Are Swimming in It.