Ecopsychology combines the study of ecology (the science of the relationship between organisms and their environment) with psychology (the science of mental processes and behaviour).
This relatively new field of study attempts to heal the planet and its inhabitants by examining core personality issues, in an attempt to understand environmental behavior.
Species (both plant and animal) extinction is occurring at an alarming rate. In the last century, Earth has lost more species than ever before and humans are to blame. We cut down the forests to clear land for housing and farming, we over-fish the oceans and pollute the air and water. We are an all consuming species with virtually no regard for the health of the planet that sustains us.
There is a direct relationship between Earth's ecological health and the mental health of its human inhabitants. Ecopsychologists believe that our destructive environmental behaviors are a direct result of our sense of disconnection to the natural world. The disconnection between self and earth is the reason individuals do not think about the relationship between their consumer choices and ecological destruction.
