Climate Change Linked to Suicide Increase

July 27, 2018

New research from Stanford University finds that higher temperatures are leading to more suicides. And by 2050, the study predicts, thousands of additional suicides will have occurred in North America alone due to the rising temperatures caused by climate change.

Published in the journal Nature Climate Change, the study examined decades of county-level suicide data — nearly 1.5 million observations spanning all of the United States and Mexico — as well as data that tracked monthly temperatures in each area. The team used data going back as far as 1968.

According to the research, a monthly rise in temperature of 1 degree Celsius leads to “about a 1 to 2 percent increase in the suicide rate,” says Dr. Marshall Burke, assistant professor of earth system science at Stanford University and lead author of the study.

Burke says there is “emerging physiological evidence” that the parts of the brain involved with regulating emotion are also used when dealing with heat. While “there is a plausible link here,” he says, the mechanism linking heat to suicide remains an open question.

“We need a movement in this country, more than anywhere, that makes it unacceptable for political leaders to […] not meet their climate obligations, or to deny that climate change is even a real thing,” he says.

-WBUR, Justin Kaplan

Full article: http://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2018/07/23/global-warming-deaths-by-suicide 

Power Path

On Friday, July 27, the full moon will pass through the shadow of the Earth for 103 minutes. It will be the longest “blood moon” lunar eclipse of the century, as the moon turns red in the shadow of the Earth for nearly two hours.

This is a rather intense full moon, (some of you have been feeling it for days already), that creates a window to speak your truth, embrace your personal power, and step up to a new level of integrity, maturity and confidence It is a perfect time for a bid for Power. What do you really and truly want that you either feel you don’t deserve, you don’t have the skills or time to create, or you simply don’t believe it could happen? Face your doubts, fears and anxieties, and ask for help and support for your bigger dreams.

This is a great time for transformation, expansion and clearing of some very deep old emotional insecurities and wounding. It is a good sign if you feel slightly unbalanced, emotional and vulnerable. Great healing is possible and forgiveness is a key.
It is a good time also to revisit the details of your physical environment and to put some energy into what will support you better. Take a look with fresh eyes at what you have been putting up with and make some decisions to improve your surroundings. Be proactive with this time and beware of falling into judgment, negativity, lethargy and despair. If it happens, focus on something that inspires you, that makes you happy and feel good.

-Power Path ☆