7gen Bloc

So...what's the big environmental news of the past two weeks? Don't ask me. I have absolutely no idea.

Still bathing in post-electoral afterglow, I've been on a break from my daily wade through the never-ending tide of eco-news. I was focused on the recent election to the exclusion of all else and after it was over I simply stayed on mental vacation. It was refreshing not to have to confront climate change or chemical contamination on a daily basis. It was a relief to temporarily ignore imperiled species and endangered habitats. I thoroughly enjoyed my short chance to just look the other way.

I spent my brain-clearing time walking in the skeletal elegance of Vermont's early winter woods. I stacked firewood in my shed with zen-like focus. I watched milkweed pods scatter floss across the yard. I listened to geese as they crossed painted skies. It was mild and sunny, a rare November concurrence of happy meteorological circumstance, and I took advantage of it by abandoning routine and heading outside.

So it was interesting to return to the fray and fresh evidence that my instinct to head for the hills was more right than I knew.

In the first piece of news, researchers at Glasgow University found that putting some green spaces in your life will make that life longer. Their analysis of mortality data found that the difference in life expectancy between the rich and the poor is dramatically smaller among those who live in areas with parks and trees.

A second study at the University of Illinois found that being in nature eases the symptoms of ADHD. Children with the condition who took a 20-minute walk in the park were able to concentrate better than those who took a similar walk in a developed area.

Both studies return us to an ancient idea we'd be wise to consider: that human beings need nature for more than clean air and fresh water. The mere presence of the outdoors in our lives provides us with those moments we need to refresh and refocus. Nature is timeless grace, whether a single tree or an untrammeled mountain forest, the one eternal thing that our minds and our bodies have evolved to depend upon for true and lasting health. When we tear at this fabric, we tear at ourselves. When it unravels our own days follow suit.

We can say we need nature for the "services" it provides, for the air and water and food and materials it delivers, and we do. But our work to preserve and restore the natural world is about much more than that. It's about saving our souls. And all it takes to know this truth is a few small moments awash in the November sun.

photo: JonF119