7. Easing Eco-Anxiety Through Joyful Daily Action with Heather White

Take Back Your Health

This week, I welcomed Heather White on my show to discuss the impacts of climate change on mental health and share actionable advice for living more sustainably. In addition to having decades of experience in environmental advocacy, Heather is also a mom of two and is driven by her own children’s deep concern about the future. She shared a staggering statistic from a recent global study of 10,000 young people (ages 16-25): 47% of respondents said climate anxiety interfered with their daily life.

Though it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, Heather’s goal is to empower individuals to take meaningful and joyful daily actions to ease eco-anxiety. Drawing from her wealth of experience, she shares actionable advice aimed at fostering a more eco-conscious and health-oriented lifestyle. We explore a range of topics, from the importance of deciphering product labels to practical strategies for reducing food waste. Heather underscores the significance of everyday choices, whether it's opting for safer personal care products, environmentally-friendly cleaning agents, or embracing sustainable fashion.

Heather White is an author, speaker, consultant, and expert in environmental health, green living, and eco-anxiety, the mental health impacts of the climate crisis. She is also founder of the nonprofit OneGreenThing.org. White's two decades of experience include serving as presidential campaign staffer to Al Gore, as the environmental counsel to a US senator, and as the executive director to three national environmental nonprofits, including EWG (Environmental Working Group). Her new book, 60 Days to a Greener Life, will be released nationwide next Tuesday, April 9th.

Tune in as we discuss practical ways of easing eco-anxiety and discover the power that small, daily actions can have in building a more sustainable future.

00:00 Meet Heather White: A Champion for Environmental Health

00:39 Heather White's Journey

01:25 The Importance of Eco-Friendly Products

03:18 Navigating the World of Safe Products

10:51 Eco Anxiety

15:45 Empowering Actions Against Climate Change

18:24 The Power of Individual Actions

23:50 Progress Over Perfection

24:14 The Power of Whole Foods

25:36 Introducing 'One Green Thing' and '60 Days to a Greener Life'

27:47 Tackling Sustainable Fashion

30:52 Indoor Air Quality

36:15 Affordable and Practical Steps Towards Sustainability

38:59 Embracing a Sustainable Lifestyle

42:32 Starting Small: Practical Tips

46:47 Final Takeaways

Resources Mentioned

Environmental Working Group (EWG) - https://www.ewg.org/

Think Dirty app - https://www.thinkdirtyapp.com/

Made Safe certification - https://madesafe.org/

Consumer Reports - https://www.consumerreports.org/

EWG's Healthy Living app - https://www.ewg.org/apps/

Dr. Bronner's soap - https://www.drbronner.com/

Beauty Counter - https://www.beautycounter.com/

Grove Collaborative - https://www.grove.co/

True Botanicals - https://truebotanicals.com/

Well People - https://www.wellpeople.com/

Branch Basics - https://branchbasics.com/

One Green Thing Book - https://www.amazon.com/One-Green-Thing-Discover-Hidden/dp/0785291296

60 Days to a Greener Life - https://www.amazon.com/60-Days-Greener-Life-Eco-Anxiety/dp/B0CB1WV8NT

Green Guard certification - https://greenguard.org/

Sustainable Furnishings Council - https://sustainablefurnishings.org/

Connect with Heather White

Website: https://www.heatherwhite.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heatherwhiteofficial

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heatherwhiteofficial/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherbwhite/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/heatherwhiteofc

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