In Society
Putting the Care into Mental Health Care
As a society and as individuals, we find it easy to have empathy for someone who is suffering from physical illness. Diseases or conditions affecting the body’s physical structures or systems tend to be visible. Tend to be tangible. Physical ailments can usually be diagnosed through physical examinations. Symptoms can be traced back to known root causes and explained in straightforward terms we can understand.
Since we all have bodies, we can all relate.
Given this common understanding, it follows that public health discussions often default to the physical as well. While a critical aspect of public health, dialogue surrounding mental health is far less common. Unlike most physical disorders, mental health challenges are typically not well understood. This unfamiliarity can breed fear and fear, in turn, creates stigma. Stigma is a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person. It causes negative stereotypes, discrimination, and prejudice against people based on some distinguishing characteristic or condition. Most importantly, stigma is one of the primary barriers to improving mental health outcomes.
David Suzuki: Scientist, Broadcaster, Eco-Warrior
In the world of environmental activism, few names resonate as powerfully as that of David Suzuki. For decades, this Canadian scientist, broadcaster, and author has dedicated his life to championing the cause of environmental conservation and sustainability. With a career that spans over half a century, Suzuki’s relentless passion for the planet has made him an iconic figure in the global environmental movement.
Born in Vancouver, Canada, in 1936, David Suzuki’s early years were marked by a deep connection to nature. His Japanese-Canadian upbringing laid the foundation for his lifelong commitment to protecting the natural world. Suzuki’s career took flight as a geneticist, where his pioneering research on fruit flies contributed to our understanding of genetics. However, he soon realized that his scientific knowledge could be a powerful tool for environmental advocacy.
Deforestation 101
Forests cover about 30% of the planet, but deforestation is clearing these essential habitats on a massive scale. What is deforestation? Find out the causes, effects, and solutions to deforestation.
Mike Libby’s Retro-Futuristic Wonders
Mike Libby, a multi-disciplinary artist hailing from the scenic landscapes of Maine, has a portfolio of eclectic sculptures, models, collages, drawings, and installations that radiate meticulous craftsmanship and boundless conceptual curiosity.
Libby’s Insect Lab project, born out of a love for science fiction, natural history, and storytelling, has truly turned heads and captured imaginations. It is a marriage of preserved insects and meticulously crafted mechanical components – a series that blurs the lines between science fiction and science fact.
Zaria Forman: Drawing Attention to a Changing World
Zaria Forman, a contemporary artist residing in New York, creates astonishingly realistic drawings of arctic landscapes. Her extraordinary talent and methodology have gained her critical acclaim, establishing her as one of today’s most influential artists.
Forman uses her fingers and the palm of her hands almost exclusively to create her drawings of quickly disappearing glaciers and icebergs.
Gary White: Making Waves in the Fight for Clean Water
Gary White, Co-founder and CEO of Water.org and WaterEquity, is a visionary leader dedicated to addressing the worldwide water crisis. His commitment originated from observing the severe conditions experienced by communities in Honduras lacking safe water and sanitation facilities.
Committed to effecting change, he arranged a fundraising dinner that generated sufficient resources to provide water to a village. This act served as inspiration for establishing WaterPartners International, presently recognized as Water.org, an organization that has significantly improved the well-being of millions of individuals worldwide.
Clean Water: A Basic Need for Health and Survival
Clean water is essential for all life on Earth to thrive. The water cycle is not contained within our countries’ borders or boundaries, which makes it a challenge to monitor, maintain and implement improvements and changes. Ownership of, and access to, this essential natural resource has been at the forefront of many disputes around the world, between neighboring countries and communities, and even countries on opposite sides of an ocean. Across the globe we are observing conflicts, wars and water refugees as people struggle for equal access to what has been widely termed as Blue Gold.
Economies on both a national and local level depend upon clean freshwater and saltwater regions. In theory, a thriving economy has the ability to fund infrastructure projects and provide basic needs for all of its citizens. However, even wealthy countries are struggling to provide sufficient standards of clean water, with each region negotiating its own bespoke complications.
Sebastião Salgado’s Monochromatic Odyssey
Sebastião Salgado, known for his astonishing monochrome images that capture the raw core of human existence and the marvels of nature, has made an enduring impact on the realm of photography.
Born on February 8, 1944, in Aimorés, Brazil, Salgado’s journey towards becoming a renowned photographer was not a straightforward one. Initially, he pursued a career in economics and obtained a master’s degree in the field. However, his wife Lélia Wanick Salgado bought a Pentax Spotmatic II camera and once Sebastião picked it up – his life was never the same.
Vicky Tauli-Corpuz: Illuminating the Path for Indigenous Rights
Vicky Tauli-Corpuz is an exceptional activist who has played a significant role in promoting indigenous rights globally, thus becoming a prominent figure within the realm of human rights struggles.
Tauli-Corpuz hails from the Cordillera region in the Philippines, specifically belonging to the Kankanaey Igorot indigenous community. Her upbringing exposed her to the difficulties experienced by her community, which encompassed discrimination, marginalization, and the desecration of their ancestral territories. Driven by an unwavering resolve to combat such inequities, Tauli-Corpuz embarked on a lifelong mission to empower her people and provide them with a platform to express their concerns amidst challenging circumstances.
Trillion Trees: Communities Working to Restore Forests
In 2019, Trillion Trees partner The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) received support from Ecosia, the search engine that plants trees, to restore tree cover to Tanzania’s Southern Highlands. Working in collaboration with district council and community-based organizations, the project aims to restore degraded areas, protect water catchments and create community woodlots, with the ambition of planting 900,000 new trees over two years, making a lasting difference for people, nature and the climate.