Climate change is typically viewed as an ''environmental'' problem rather than the psychological issue that it represents. Given that barriers to proenvironmental behavior are rooted in psychological processes, solution approaches to combating climate change must incorporate significant psychological adaptations. Reframing climate change as a public health problem, highlighting success stories and health benefits, focusing on the here and now, providing specific direction for behavior change, and acknowledging moral, ethical, religious, and altruistic imperatives are all important components of successfully addressing the wicked problem of climate change.
It is widely accepted that physical and psychological health are interconnected and interdependent. Although human well-being and survival depends on the natural environment, environmental health is often treated as separate and distinct. A review of the literature reveals significant associations between various industrial, consumer, and household chemicals and psychological and physiological ailments such as developmental disabilities, mental health issues, neurological impairments, reproductive abnormalities, and cancer. Given that the health of humans is inextricably connected with the health of other species and the planet itself, psychologists and other health professionals play a critical role in addressing the risks associated with toxic exposures.
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