The Human Operating Manual

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Environmental Resources

The Environment section drew from environmental toxicology, microbiome research, circadian biology, air pollution epidemiology, nature exposure research, environmental psychology, environmental justice, planetary health, and the substantial popular wellness literature on each. The sources below are organised by topic rather than by sub-page, with each source appearing once and cross-referenced where relevant.

 

The strongest findings (air pollution and mortality from Pope and Dockery onward, lead and cognitive development from Lanphear, the hygiene hypothesis from Strachan and its microbiome successors, light and circadian rhythm from Czeisler and Foster, sauna and cardiovascular mortality from Laukkanen, the 120-minute nature exposure threshold from White, the Lancet planetary health commission) are well-replicated and substantive. The contested areas (EZ water and structured water, deuterium-depleted water, dirty electricity at residential levels, non-thermal RF EMF effects, glyphosate as a primary cause of contemporary disease, grounding mat physiology, many specific Boundless-style biohacker protocols) are genuinely mixed. The resources below try to honour both: confidence where it is warranted and humility where it is not.

 

A second note on the popular wellness literature. Several widely cited authors and books appear below that mix solid evidence with speculative claims. Reading these critically requires engagement with the underlying primary research rather than acceptance of the popular synthesis. Where authors have published in contested territory beyond their core empirical contributions, the entries flag that context.

 

Foundational Researchers and Their Major Works

  • David Abram — Phenomenology of Place: The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World (1996, Vintage). Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology (2010, Vintage). Philosophical and ecological writing on perception, place, and the embeddedness of human cognition in sensory ecology.
  • Mathias Basner — Noise and Sleep: WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines systematic review on environmental noise and sleep effects (2018, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15(3): 519). At the University of Pennsylvania. The leading research on how even noise that doesn’t wake people produces measurable changes in sleep architecture.
  • Robert Becker — Bioelectricity: The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life (1985, with Gary Selden, William Morrow). The foundational book on bioelectricity in tissue regeneration. Becker’s primary research on bioelectric regulation of healing is widely respected; his later conclusions about environmental EMF harm extrapolate beyond his own empirical work and warrant calibration against the contemporary EMF research literature.
  • Marc Berman, John Jonides, Stephen Kaplan — Cognitive Benefits of Nature: The Cognitive Benefits of Interacting with Nature (2008, Psychological Science 19(12): 1207–1212). Foundational research on Attention Restoration Theory empirical effects.
  • Wendell Berry — Agrarian Environmental Thinking: Cross-referenced from Purpose Resources. Particularly relevant to the Environment section through his work on place-based living, agricultural systems, and the ecological dimensions of meaningful work.
  • Martin Blaser — Microbiome and Antibiotics: Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues (2014, Henry Holt). The accessible book on antibiotic damage to commensal microbiome across generations. Blaser’s work on Helicobacter pylori and the unintended consequences of its elimination provides the empirical anchor for the broader concern about microbiome depletion.
  • Gregory Bratman — Nature and Mental Health: Stanford research on nature walking and rumination (2015, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112(28): 8567–8572). The neuroimaging study showing nature exposure reduces subgenual prefrontal cortex activation associated with rumination.
  • Michael Brauer — Global Burden of Disease Air Pollution: University of British Columbia. Co-author on the substantial air pollution mortality estimates from the Global Burden of Disease research consortium.
  • Robert Bullard — Environmental Justice: Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class and Environmental Quality (1990, 3rd ed. 2000, Westview Press). The foundational synthesis of environmental justice research. At Texas Southern University. The empirical documentation that hazardous waste facilities, polluting industries, and contaminated sites are systematically located in lower-income communities and communities of colour at rates that economic factors alone do not explain.
  • Richard Burnett — Air Pollution Mortality Modelling: Co-author on the Lelieveld et al. cardiovascular air pollution mortality work and on the broader Global Burden of Disease air pollution research. Health Canada.
  • Rachel T. Buxton — Natural Sounds and Health: A Synthesis of Health Benefits of Natural Sounds and Their Distribution in National Parks (2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118(14): e2013097118). The empirical anchor for the distinct effects of natural soundscapes compared to mechanical noise.
  • John Cacioppo, Louise Hawkley — Loneliness Research: Cross-referenced from Connection Resources. Relevant to environmental health through social isolation’s interaction with environmental exposures.
  • Colin Capaldi — Nature Connectedness Meta-Analysis: The Relationship Between Nature Connectedness and Happiness (2014, Frontiers in Psychology 5: 976). The meta-analytic synthesis of the nature connectedness construct and wellbeing outcomes.
  • Robin Carhart-Harris — DMN and Psychedelics: Cross-referenced from Purpose Resources. Relevant to environmental considerations through psychedelic effects on default mode network and rigidity of perception.
  • Nessa Carey — Epigenetics: The Epigenetics Revolution: How Modern Biology Is Rewriting Our Understanding of Genetics, Disease, and Inheritance (2012, Columbia University Press). Accessible scientific writing on epigenetic mechanisms and their implications for environment-gene interaction.
  • CDC Biomonitoring: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals (updated periodically). The leading US biomonitoring data resource documenting chemical exposure prevalence.
  • Theo Colborn — Endocrine Disruption: Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence, and Survival? (1996, with Dianne Dumanoski and John Peterson Myers, Dutton). The foundational endocrine disruption synthesis for general readers. Colborn’s research at the World Wildlife Fund established the picture that synthetic chemicals interfere with hormonal signalling at extremely low doses, with effects often non-monotonic and developmental.
  • Thomas Cowan — Contested Wellness Literature: Human Heart, Cosmic Heart (2018, Chelsea Green) and earlier work contain useful clinical cardiology observations alongside speculative framing. His more recent work, including positions on germ theory and COVID-19, places him outside mainstream medical consensus on multiple questions. Engagement requires knowing this context.
  • Charles Czeisler — Circadian Light Biology: Bright Light Resets the Human Circadian Pacemaker Independent of the Timing of the Sleep-Wake Cycle (1986, with Allan, Strogatz et al., Science 233(4764): 667–671). The Harvard circadian research that established the basis for light therapy and the morning light intervention. Cross-referenced from Sleep & Circadian Rhythm.
  • Brian Cummings & Michael Waring — Plants and Indoor Air: Potted Plants Do Not Improve Indoor Air Quality (2020, Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology 30(2): 253–261). The critical analysis showing the original NASA plant air-purification finding doesn’t translate to real-home conditions.
  • Richard Dawkins — Gene-Centric Picture: The Selfish Gene (1976, Oxford University Press). The accessible book that articulated the gene-centric picture critiqued by Denis Noble. Included for intellectual context.
  • Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello — Birth Mode and Microbiome: Delivery Mode Shapes the Acquisition and Structure of the Initial Microbiota Across Multiple Body Habitats in Newborns (2010, with Costello, Contreras et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107(26): 11971–11975). At NYU. Foundational research on how birth mode shapes infant microbiome development.
  • Douglas Dockery — Air Pollution Epidemiology: Co-author on the foundational Six Cities Study (1993, with Pope et al., New England Journal of Medicine 329(24): 1753–1759). Harvard School of Public Health. The empirical research that established the link between long-term PM2.5 exposure and all-cause mortality.
  • Susan Egert & Reto Simmering — Skin Microbiome: The Microbiota of the Human Skin (2016, Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 902: 61–81). Foundational review of skin microbiome composition and function.
  • Markus Ege — Farm Effect Microbial Signatures: Exposure to Environmental Microorganisms and Childhood Asthma (2011, with Mayer, Normand et al., New England Journal of Medicine 364(8): 701–709). The paper identifying specific microbial signatures in farm dust associated with allergy protection.
  • Mircea Eliade — Initiation and Religious Experience: Cross-referenced from Purpose Resources. Relevant to environmental thinking through his cross-cultural anthropology of place-based ritual.
  • B. Brett Finlay & Marie-Claire Arrieta — Childhood Microbiome: Let Them Eat Dirt: Saving Your Child from an Oversanitized World (2016, Algonquin Books). Accessible book on the practical implications of the hygiene hypothesis and microbiome research for parenting.
  • Russell Foster — Circadian Biology: Circadian Rhythms: A Very Short Introduction (2017, with Leon Kreitzman, Oxford University Press). At Oxford. The accessible introduction to circadian biology. Cross-referenced from Sleep & Circadian Rhythm.
  • Karl Friston — Free Energy Principle: Cross-referenced from Purpose Resources. Relevant to environmental thinking through the predictive processing picture of perception-environment interaction.
  • Howard Frumkin — Nature and Health Review: Co-author on Nature and Health (2014, with Hartig, Mitchell, de Vries, Annual Review of Public Health 35: 207–228). At University of Washington. The leading review of nature exposure and health research.
  • Mireia Gascon — Urban Green Space Mortality Meta-Analysis: Residential Green Spaces and Mortality: A Systematic Review (2016, with Triguero-Mas, Martínez et al., Environment International 86: 60–67). The meta-analysis documenting cardiovascular and mental health benefits of urban green space exposure.
  • Jack Gilbert & Rob Knight — Microbiome and Child Development: Dirt Is Good: The Advantage of Germs for Your Child’s Developing Immune System (2017, St. Martin’s Press). Accessible book on the practical applications of microbiome research. Knight at UCSD founded the American Gut Project.
  • Philippe Grandjean — Environmental Toxicology: Harvard School of Public Health and University of Southern Denmark. Foundational research on environmental neurotoxicology and developmental effects of chemical exposure.
  • Tarah Haahtela — Karelia Studies and Biodiversity Hypothesis: The Biodiversity Hypothesis and Allergic Disease (2013, with Holgate, Pawankar et al., World Allergy Organization Journal 6(1): 3). The Helsinki research comparing Finnish and Russian Karelian populations.
  • Rolf Halden — Antibacterial Soap Consensus: Lead author of The Florence Statement on Triclosan and Triclocarban (2017, with Lindeman, Aiello et al., Environmental Health Perspectives 125(6): 064501). The consensus statement by over 200 scientists.
  • Michael Hamblin — Photobiomodulation Research: Mechanisms and Applications of the Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Photobiomodulation (2017, AIMS Biophysics 4(3): 337–361). At Harvard Medical School. The leading photobiomodulation research.
  • Ilkka Hanski — Biodiversity and Microbiota: Environmental Biodiversity, Human Microbiota, and Allergy Are Interrelated (2012, with von Hertzen, Fyhrquist et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109(21): 8334–8339). The biodiversity hypothesis paper.
  • Terry Hartig — Nature and Health Review: Co-author on Nature and Health (2014, Annual Review of Public Health 35: 207–228). At Uppsala University. The leading nature exposure and health review.
  • Tyrone Hayes — Atrazine Research: Atrazine Induces Complete Feminization and Chemical Castration in Male African Clawed Frogs (2010, with Khoury, Narayan et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107(10): 4612–4617). Berkeley professor of integrative biology. The atrazine research that documented endocrine disruption in amphibians. The industry response to his work is substantively documented in Rachel Aviv’s 2014 New Yorker piece “A Valuable Reputation.” His work has been independently replicated.
  • Bill Hesselmar — Pacifier Cleaning Study: Pacifier Cleaning Practices and Risk of Allergy Development (2013, with Sjöberg, Saalman et al., Pediatrics 131(6): e1829–e1837). The specific empirical study showing parental pacifier-licking is associated with lower allergy rates than sterilising between uses.
  • Patrick Hill & Nicholas Turiano — Purpose and Mortality: Cross-referenced from Purpose Resources. Relevant to environmental health through purpose-environment interactions.
  • Andrew Huberman — Stanford, Neuroscience Synthesist: Stanford School of Medicine, neuroscience. Accessible podcast and writing on neuroscience including light exposure, cold/heat protocols, and circadian biology. Useful for accessible synthesis with appropriate caveats on specific claims that may exceed the underlying research.
  • Sarah Hrdy — Cooperative Breeding: Cross-referenced from Connection Resources. Relevant to environmental thinking through her work on human evolution in relation to environment.
  • International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC): IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans. Volume 102 (2013) on non-ionising radiation Group 2B classification. Plus the glyphosate Group 2A classification (Guyton et al. 2015, The Lancet Oncology 16(5): 490–491).
  • Institute of Medicine — Damp Indoor Spaces: Damp Indoor Spaces and Health (2004, The National Academies Press). The foundational US National Academies report establishing the link between damp indoor environments and respiratory and other health effects.
  • Zipporah Iheozor-Ejiofor — Water Fluoridation Cochrane Review: Water Fluoridation for the Prevention of Dental Caries (2015, with Worthington, Walsh et al., Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 6: CD010856).
  • Peter Kahn — Technological Nature: Technological Nature: Adaptation and the Future of Human Life (2011, MIT Press). At University of Washington. The philosophical and empirical work on mediated nature experience.
  • Rachel and Stephen Kaplan — Attention Restoration Theory: The Experience of Nature: A Psychological Perspective (1989, Cambridge University Press). At University of Michigan. The foundational ART work.
  • Robin Wall Kimmerer — Indigenous Ecology: Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants (2013, Milkweed Editions). At SUNY-ESF. Potawatomi botanist integrating Indigenous ecological knowledge with academic plant science.
  • Rob Knight — American Gut Project: Co-founder of the American Gut Project at UCSD. Co-author with Gilbert of Dirt Is Good (2017). Foundational microbiome methodology research.
  • Katri Korpela — Antibiotic Exposure and Pediatric Outcomes: Intestinal Microbiome Is Related to Lifetime Antibiotic Use in Finnish Pre-School Children (2016, with Salonen, Virta et al., Nature Communications 7: 10410).
  • Henry Lai — RF Non-Thermal Effects: A Summary of Recent Literature (2007–2017) on Neurobiological Effects of Radiofrequency Radiation (2018, in Mobile Communications and Public Health, CRC Press). At University of Washington. Body of work documenting non-thermal RF effects on DNA damage and oxidative stress. Contested within mainstream electromagnetic biology.
  • Bruce Lanphear — Lead and Cognitive Development: The Impact of Toxins on the Developing Brain (2017, Annual Review of Public Health 38: 211–230). Plus the foundational lead epidemiology including Lanphear, Hornung, Khoury et al. (2005, Environmental Health Perspectives 113(7): 894–899). At Simon Fraser University.
  • Jari Laukkanen — Sauna Mortality Research: Association Between Sauna Bathing and Fatal Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality Events (2015, with Khan, Zaccardi et al., JAMA Internal Medicine 175(4): 542–548). At University of Eastern Finland. The Kuopio cohort sauna research showing 4–7 sessions per week associated with approximately 50% lower cardiovascular mortality.
  • Jos Lelieveld — Air Pollution Cardiovascular Mortality: Cardiovascular Disease Burden from Ambient Air Pollution in Europe Reassessed Using Novel Hazard Ratio Functions (2019, with Klingmüller, Pozzer et al., European Heart Journal 40(20): 1590–1596). At Max Planck Institute for Chemistry.
  • Timothy Lenton — Earth System Science: Selection for Gaia Across Multiple Scales (2018, with Daines, Dyke et al., Trends in Ecology & Evolution 33(8): 633–645). The contemporary rehabilitation of Gaia-like thinking within Earth system science.
  • Hagai Levine — Sperm Count Meta-Analysis: Lead author with Jørgensen, Martino-Andrade et al. on Temporal Trends in Sperm Count (2017, Human Reproduction Update 23(6): 646–659). At Hebrew University Jerusalem. The 50% decline finding.
  • Qing Li — Forest Bathing Research: Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness (2018, Viking). At Nippon Medical School. The accessible synthesis of the shinrin-yoku research. Plus the foundational empirical work including Li, Morimoto, Nakadai et al. (2007, International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology 20: 3–8) on forest bathing and natural killer cell activity.
  • Alan C. Logan — Environmental Microbiology: Dysbiotic Drift: Mental Health, Environmental Grey Space, and Microbiota (2015, Journal of Physiological Anthropology 34(1): 23). The environmental microbiology and health framework.
  • Richard Louv — Nature Deficit Disorder: Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder (2005, Algonquin Books). The popular articulation of declining childhood nature exposure.
  • James Lovelock — Gaia Hypothesis: Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth (1979, Oxford University Press). Plus Lovelock & Margulis (1974, Tellus 26: 2–10). The foundational and accessible articulations. Contested within evolutionary biology at original publication; substantially rehabilitated through Earth system science.
  • Christopher Lowry — Mycobacterium vaccae and Mood: Identification of an Immune-Responsive Mesolimbic Serotonergic System (2007, with Hollis, de Vries et al., Neuroscience 146(2): 756–772). The foundational paper on soil bacterium and mood effects.
  • Susan Lynch — Infant Microbiome and Atopy: Neonatal Gut Microbiota Associates with Childhood Multisensitized Atopy and T Cell Differentiation (2016, Fujimura, Sitarik, Havstad et al., Nature Medicine 22(10): 1187–1191). At UCSF.
  • Felicia Mar — Fiction Reading and Theory of Mind: Cross-referenced from Purpose Resources. Relevant to environmental thinking through the broader picture of cognitive shaping by exposure.
  • Lynn Margulis — Symbiogenesis: Symbiosis in Cell Evolution (1981, W.H. Freeman). Plus Acquiring Genomes (2002, with Dorion Sagan, Basic Books). The foundational symbiogenesis research that established cooperation and merging as central evolutionary mechanisms.
  • Ivy Mason — Light During Sleep: Light Exposure During Sleep Impairs Cardiometabolic Function (2022, with Grimaldi, Reid et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119(12): e2113290119).
  • F. Stephan Mayer & Cynthia Frantz — Connectedness to Nature Scale: The Connectedness to Nature Scale: A Measure of Individuals’ Feeling in Community with Nature (2004, Journal of Environmental Psychology 24(4): 503–515). The foundational CNS instrument.
  • Anthony McMichael — Climate and Health: Climate Change and the Health of Nations: Famines, Fevers, and the Fate of Populations (2017, Oxford University Press, posthumous). The Australian epidemiologist who founded climate-health research as a field.
  • Daniel McDonald — American Gut Project: American Gut: An Open Platform for Citizen Science Microbiome Research (2018, with Hyde, Debelius et al., mSystems 3(3): e00031-18). The plant-diversity finding.
  • Nicholas Mills — Edinburgh Diesel Research: Diesel Exhaust Inhalation Causes Vascular Dysfunction and Impaired Endogenous Fibrinolysis (2005, with Törnqvist, Robinson et al., Circulation 112(25): 3930–3936). The University of Edinburgh research on diesel exhaust and cardiovascular function during exercise.
  • Yoshifumi Miyazaki — Shinrin-Yoku Co-Pioneer: At Chiba University. Co-pioneer with Qing Li of the empirical shinrin-yoku research programme.
  • Paul Mohai, David Pellow, J. Timmons Roberts — Environmental Justice Review: Environmental Justice (2009, Annual Review of Environment and Resources 34: 405–430). The major review of environmental justice empirical research.
  • Thomas Münzel — Noise and Cardiovascular Disease: Transportation Noise Pollution and Cardiovascular Disease (2021, with Sørensen and Daiber, Nature Reviews Cardiology 18(9): 619–636). The leading review at University Medical Centre Mainz.
  • Erika von Mutius — Farm Effect Research: Farm Living: Effects on Childhood Asthma and Allergy (2010, with Vercelli, Nature Reviews Immunology 10(12): 861–868). At University of Munich. The major researcher in the farm effect literature including the GABRIELA, PARSIFAL, and ALEX studies.
  • John Peterson Myers — Endocrine Disruption: Co-author with Theo Colborn on Our Stolen Future (1996).
  • National Toxicology Program — Cell Phone Radiation: NTP Technical Report on the Toxicology and Carcinogenesis Studies in Rats Exposed to Whole-Body Radio Frequency Radiation (2018, TR 595). Plus NTP Monograph on the State of the Science Concerning Fluoride Exposure and Neurodevelopmental and Cognitive Health Effects (2024). US Department of Health and Human Services.
  • Elizabeth Nisbet — Nature Relatedness Scale: The Nature Relatedness Scale (2009, with Zelenski and Murphy, Environment and Behavior 41(5): 715–740). Plus the NR-6 revision (2013, Frontiers in Psychology 4: 813).
  • Denis Noble — Biological Relativity: The Music of Life: Biology Beyond Genes (2006, Oxford University Press). Dance to the Tune of Life: Biological Relativity (2016, Cambridge University Press). Plus the foundational mathematical cardiac model (1960, Nature 188(4749): 495–497). At Oxford. The multi-level causation account of biology that grounds the open-systems thinking running through the manual.
  • Dennis Ownby — Pet Exposure and Allergy: Exposure to Dogs and Cats in the First Year of Life and Risk of Allergic Sensitization at 6 to 7 Years of Age (2002, with Johnson and Peterson, JAMA 288(8): 963–972).
  • Martin Pall — VGCC EMF Framework: Electromagnetic Fields Act Via Activation of Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels (2013, Journal of Cellular and Molecular Mediicne 17(8): 958–965). The voltage-gated calcium channel framework for non-thermal EMF effects. Contested within mainstream electromagnetic biology.
  • Pia Pannaraj — Breast Milk Microbiome: Association Between Breast Milk Bacterial Communities and Establishment and Development of the Infant Gut Microbiome (2017, with Li, Cerini et al., JAMA Pediatrics 171(7): 647–654).
  • Nicolas Pineault — Popular EMF Literature: The Non-Tinfoil Guide to EMFs: How to Fix Our Stupid Use of Technology (2017). Popular journalism synthesising worst-case readings of the EMF literature. Engagement requires distinguishing the precautionary advice (reasonable) from the alarmist framing (exceeds evidence).
  • Gerald Pollack — Exclusion Zone Water: The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor (2013, Ebner & Sons). At University of Washington. Serious researcher whose specific claims about H₃O₂ structured water and the broader health framework built on them have not been replicated by mainstream chemistry. The phenomenon of structured water near hydrophilic surfaces may describe a real local effect; the broader popular framework exceeds the evidence.
  • C. Arden Pope III — Air Pollution Mortality: Co-author on the foundational Six Cities Study (1993, with Dockery et al., New England Journal of Medicine 329(24): 1753–1759). At Brigham Young University. The empirical research establishing the link between long-term PM2.5 exposure and all-cause mortality.
  • Ilya Prigogine — Dissipative Structures: Order Out of Chaos: Man’s New Dialogue with Nature (1984, with Isabelle Stengers, Bantam Books). The accessible book on dissipative structures theory. Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1977. The empirical and theoretical work establishing that ordered patterns emerge and maintain themselves in far-from-equilibrium systems with sustained energy flow.
  • Robert Putnam — Social Capital: Cross-referenced from Connection Resources. Relevant to environmental thinking through community capacity for environmental stewardship.
  • Cândida Ramos — Indoor Gym Air Quality: Exposure to Indoor Air Pollutants During Physical Activity in Fitness Centers (2014, with Wolterbeek and Almeida, Building and Environment 82: 349–360).
  • Miles Richardson — Pathways to Nature Connectedness: Beyond Knowing Nature (2017, with Lumber and Sheffield, PLOS One 12(5): e0177186). At University of Derby. The empirical research on pathways through which nature connectedness develops.
  • Jonathan Rochester & Ashley Bolden — BPA Replacement Chemicals: Bisphenol S and F: A Systematic Review and Comparison of the Hormonal Activity of Bisphenol A Substitutes (2015, Environmental Health Perspectives 123(7): 643–650). The empirical analysis showing BPA replacements have similar endocrine activity.
  • Johan Rockström — Planetary Boundaries: A Safe Operating Space for Humanity (2009, with Steffen, Noone et al., Nature 461(7263): 472–475). At Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The foundational planetary boundaries paper.
  • Marina Romanello — Lancet Countdown: Lead author on the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change annual reports. The substantial synthesis of climate change health effects.
  • Graham Rook — Old Friends Hypothesis: The Hygiene Hypothesis and the Increasing Prevalence of Chronic Inflammatory Disorders (2003, Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 97(2): 121–122). Plus Hygiene Hypothesis and Autoimmune Diseases (2012, Clinical Reviews in Allergy & Immunology 42(1): 5–15). At University College London. The refinement of Strachan’s hygiene hypothesis into the old friends framework.
  • Martin Röösli — Cell Phone Epidemiology: Brain and Salivary Gland Tumors and Mobile Phone Use (2019, with Lagorio, Schoemaker et al., Annual Review of Public Health 40: 221–238). The synthesis of population-level cell phone and brain cancer epidemiology.
  • George Rubin — Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity: Electric and Magnetic Field Sensitivity (2005, with Munshi and Wessely, Psychosomatic Medicine 67(2): 224–232). The provocation-study research showing EHS sufferers don’t reliably identify when they’re being exposed.
  • Erwin Schrödinger — Life and Entropy: What Is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell (1944, Cambridge University Press). The foundational lectures articulating the relationship between life and the second law of thermodynamics.
  • Wesley Schultz — Inclusion of Nature in Self Scale: The Structure of Environmental Concern (2001, Journal of Environmental Psychology 21(4): 327–339). The INS visual single-item measure.
  • Stephanie Seneff — Contested Glyphosate Claims: MIT computer scientist whose work on glyphosate as the cause of autism and many other conditions has been substantively criticised by environmental scientists and epidemiologists. The glyphosate–autism causal claim is not supported by the empirical literature. Engagement requires knowing this context.
  • Ritchie Shoemaker — Mould Protocols: Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) and Exposure to Water-Damaged Buildings (2006, with House, Neurotoxicology and Teratology 28(5): 573–588). Specific clinical protocols used by some clinicians; the specific biotoxin pathways he proposes are contested in mainstream environmental medicine. The broader recognition of severe individual responses to mould exposure has been increasingly accepted.
  • Niels Skakkebæk — Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome: Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome (2001, with Rajpert-De Meyts and Main, Human Reproduction 16(5): 972–978). Plus Male Reproductive Disorders and Fertility Trends (2016, Physiological Reviews 96(1): 55–97). At University of Copenhagen.
  • Justin & Erica Sonnenburg — Fibre and Microbiome: The Good Gut (2015, Penguin Press). Plus the primary research including Sonnenburg, E.D. et al. (2016, Nature 529(7585): 212–215) on diet-induced microbial extinctions and Wastyk et al. (2021, Cell 184(16): 4137–4153) on fermented foods and immune markers. At Stanford.
  • Susanna Søberg — Cold Exposure Metabolism: Altered Brown Fat Thermoregulation and Enhanced Cold-Induced Thermogenesis in Young, Lean, Winter-Swimming Men (2021, with Löfgren, Philipsen et al., Cell Reports Medicine 2(10): 100408). The Søberg principle of ending temperature exposure on the cold side.
  • Stephen Stansfeld — Noise and Children’s Cognition: Aircraft and Road Traffic Noise and Children’s Cognition and Health (2005, with Berglund, Clark et al., The Lancet 365(9475): 1942–1949). At Queen Mary University of London. The RANCH study.
  • Will Steffen — Planetary Boundaries Update: Planetary Boundaries: Guiding Human Development on a Changing Planet (2015, with Richardson, Rockström et al., Science 347(6223): 1259855).
  • Sandra Steingraber — Environmental Cancer: Living Downstream: An Ecologist’s Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment (1997, Addison-Wesley). Raising Elijah: Protecting Our Children in an Age of Environmental Crisis (2011, Da Capo Press). Biologist and cancer survivor.
  • David Strachan — Foundational Hygiene Hypothesis: Hay Fever, Hygiene, and Household Size (1989, British Medical Journal 299(6710): 1259–1260). The foundational paper.
  • Elsie Sunderland — PFAS: A Review of the Pathways of Human Exposure to Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) (2019, with Hu, Dassuncao et al., Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology 29(2): 131–147). At Harvard.
  • Jordi Sunyer — Air Pollution and Child Cognition: Association Between Traffic-Related Air Pollution in Schools and Cognitive Development in Primary School Children (2015, with Esnaola, Alvarez-Pedrerol et al., PLOS Medicine 12(3): e1001792).
  • Shanna Swan — Sperm Decline: Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts (2021, with Stacey Colino, Scribner). At Mount Sinai. The accessible book synthesising the sperm decline research.
  • Bahi Takkouche — Hair Dye and Cancer: Personal Use of Hair Dyes and Risk of Cancer: A Meta-Analysis (2005, with Etminan and Montes-Martínez, JAMA 293(20): 2516–2525).
  • Jerry Tennant — Popular EMF Literature: Healing Is Voltage: The Handbook (2010, self-published). Popular framework on cellular voltage. The framework speculates beyond the well-established biology of cellular membrane potentials.
  • Yvan Touitou — Light at Night: Association Between Light at Night, Melatonin Secretion, Sleep Deprivation (2017, with Reinberg and Touitou, Life Sciences 173: 94–106).
  • Roger Ulrich — Hospital Window Views: View Through a Window May Influence Recovery from Surgery (1984, Science 224(4647): 420–421). The foundational empirical research on biophilic design effects on clinical outcomes.
  • Wouter van Marken Lichtenbelt — Brown Adipose Tissue: Cold-Activated Brown Adipose Tissue in Healthy Men (2009, with Vanhommerig, Smulders et al., New England Journal of Medicine 360(15): 1500–1508).
  • Vladimir Vernadsky — Biosphere: The Biosphere (1926; English translation by Mark McMenamin 1998, Springer-Verlag). Ukrainian-Soviet geochemist who articulated the biosphere as integrated planetary system.
  • Carmen Villanueva — Disinfection Byproducts: Disinfection Byproducts and Bladder Cancer: A Pooled Analysis (2004, with Cantor, Cordier et al., Epidemiology 15(3): 357–367).
  • Ad Vingerhoets — Leisure Sickness: Cross-referenced from Purpose Resources. Relevant to environmental thinking through the leisure-environment-stress interaction.
  • Frederick vom Saal — BPA Low-Dose Effects: An Extensive New Literature Concerning Low-Dose Effects of Bisphenol A (2005, with Hughes, Environmental Health Perspectives 113(8): 926–933). At University of Missouri.
  • Hannah Wastyk — Fermented Foods Study: Gut-Microbiota-Targeted Diets Modulate Human Immune Status (2021, with Fragiadakis, Perelman et al., Cell 184(16): 4137–4153). At Stanford. The fermented foods microbiome diversity study.
  • John West — High Altitude Physiology: High Altitude Medicine and Physiology (5th ed. 2012, with Schoene, Luks, Milledge, CRC Press). The reference work on high-altitude physiology.
  • Mathew White — BlueHealth and 120-Minute Threshold: Spending at Least 120 Minutes a Week in Nature Is Associated with Good Health and Wellbeing (2019, with Alcock, Grellier et al., Scientific Reports 9: 7730). Plus Coastal Proximity, Health and Well-Being (2013, Health & Place 23: 97–103). At University of Exeter.
  • Sarah Whitmee — Planetary Health Commission: Lead author on Safeguarding Human Health in the Anthropocene Epoch: Report of the Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on Planetary Health (2015, with Haines, Beyrer et al., The Lancet 386(10007): 1973–2028).
  • Florence Williams — Nature Fix: The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative (2017, W.W. Norton). Accessible journalism synthesising the nature exposure research.
  • David Sloan Wilson — Group Selection and Religion: Cross-referenced from Purpose Resources. Relevant to environmental thinking through evolutionary perspectives on human-environment relationship.
  • E.O. Wilson — Biophilia: Biophilia (1984, Harvard University Press). The foundational biophilia hypothesis. Plus Wilson’s broader contributions to evolutionary biology, sociobiology, and biodiversity research.
  • World Health Organisation — Environmental Health Reference Standards: WHO Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality (2010). Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region (2018). Plus the broader WHO position statements on electromagnetic hypersensitivity, fluoride, mercury amalgam (2009), and other environmental health questions.
  • Tyson Yunkaporta — Indigenous Relational Thinking: Cross-referenced from Connection Resources. Particularly relevant to environmental thinking through Sand Talk and relational frameworks for human-environment relationship.

 

Additional Books Worth Reading

Books not directly cited in the rebuild but valuable as supporting reading. Organised by topic.

 

On Biohacking and Environmental Optimisation

  • Biohacker’s Handbook: Upgrade Yourself and Unleash Your Inner Potential — Olli Sovijärvi, Teemu Arina, Jaakko Halmetoja (2019, Biohacker Center). Comprehensive contemporary biohacking book covering nutrition, sleep, movement, work environment, and related topics. Source for substantial portions of the original Lifestyle Design content. Mixes solid practical advice with speculative claims; engage critically.
  • Boundless: Upgrade Your Brain, Optimize Your Body, & Defy Aging — Ben Greenfield (2020, Victory Belt). Substantial book covering broad performance optimisation. Source for much of the original Environment section content. Mixes solid evidence-based content (sleep, light, exercise) with substantial speculative content (EMF protection products, EZ water, exotic supplementation, specific biohacks beyond evidence). Engagement requires distinguishing the categories.
  • Super Human: The Bulletproof Plan to Age Backward and Maybe Even Live Forever — Dave Asprey (2019, Harper Wave). Anti-aging and longevity book. Asprey’s broader Bulletproof framework mixes some evidence-supported practices with substantial speculation; the anti-aging claims often exceed the empirical evidence.

 

On Sleep and Circadian Biology

  • Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams — Matthew Walker (2017, Scribner). The major popular sleep science synthesis. Walker is at UC Berkeley. Some specific claims in the book have been critiqued (Alexey Guzey’s analysis identifies several errors and overstatements), but the broader picture is consistent with the established sleep science. Cross-referenced from Sleep & Circadian Rhythm.

 

On Bioelectricity and EMF (with caveats)

  • Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever? — Clinton Ober, Stephen Sinatra, Martin Zucker (2010, Basic Health Publications). The popular grounding book. The empirical research base for grounding is dominated by authors with commercial interests in grounding products; independent replication is limited. Engagement requires substantial scepticism about the more dramatic claims while acknowledging that barefoot contact with earth is enjoyable and free.
  • Healing Is Voltage: The Handbook — Jerry Tennant (2010, self-published). Speculative framework on cellular voltage and disease. Engagement requires careful distinction between the well-established biology of membrane potentials and the broader speculative framing.
  • The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life — Robert Becker & Gary Selden (1985, William Morrow). The foundational book on bioelectricity in regeneration. Becker’s primary research on bioelectric regulation of tissue healing is widely respected; his broader environmental EMF conclusions extend beyond his own empirical work and warrant calibration against the contemporary literature.

 

On Hunter-Gatherer Living and Evolutionary Mismatch

  • A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century — Heather Heying & Bret Weinstein (2021, Portfolio). Cross-referenced from Purpose Resources. The contemporary articulation of evolutionary mismatch. The book’s evolutionary biology content stands on its own scientific merits; the broader political framing reflects one position within a contested intellectual landscape, and their positions on specific topics (particularly transgender development in minors and aspects of COVID-19 pandemic response) are contested in clinical and scientific literature.

 

On Climate Change

  • The Physics of Climate Change — Lawrence Krauss (2021, Post Hill Press). Accessible book on climate physics by the theoretical physicist. Useful for the physical mechanisms underlying climate change without the political framing common in other climate books.
  • The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming — David Wallace-Wells (2019, Tim Duggan Books). Substantial popular synthesis of the most concerning climate change scenarios. Wallace-Wells acknowledged in the introduction that he had skewed toward the worst-case readings; the book remains useful for understanding the range of possible futures.
  • Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? — Bill McKibben (2019, Henry Holt). McKibben’s broader synthesis of the planetary crisis.

 

On Microbiome and Hygiene

  • Let Them Eat Dirt: Saving Your Child from an Oversanitized World — B. Brett Finlay & Marie-Claire Arrieta (2016, Algonquin Books). Already covered above in researcher entries.

 

On Food Systems and Environmental Health

  • Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life — Barbara Kingsolver (2007, HarperCollins). Memoir of a year of local eating, with reflection on the environmental costs of the modern food system.
  • The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals — Michael Pollan (2006, Penguin Press). Cross-referenced from Nutrition Resources — when that section is built.
  • Eating Animals — Jonathan Safran Foer (2009, Little, Brown). The ethical and environmental case against industrial animal agriculture.

 

On Indigenous Environmental Knowledge

  • Braiding Sweetgrass — Robin Wall Kimmerer (2013, Milkweed). Already covered above.
  • Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World — Tyson Yunkaporta (2019, Text Publishing). Cross-referenced from Connection Resources.

 

On Environmental Justice

  • Dumping in Dixie — Robert Bullard (1990, Westview Press). Already covered above.
  • Toxic Communities: Environmental Racism, Industrial Pollution, and Residential Mobility — Dorceta Taylor (2014, NYU Press).

 

On the Built Environment and Health

  • Designing Healthy Cities — Hugh Barton, Marcus Grant, Richard Guise (2010, Routledge). The textbook on the built environment-health interaction.
  • Healthy Cities: Public Health Through Urban Planning — Karen Lee (2018). Accessible synthesis on urban planning and health.

 

On Personal Care Chemistry

  • Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry — Stacy Malkan (2007, New Society Publishers). Investigative book on cosmetic industry chemistry.
  • Slow Death by Rubber Duck: How the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Life Affects Our Health — Rick Smith & Bruce Lourie (2009, Knopf Canada). Accessible book on consumer product chemical exposure.

 

On Sound and Quiet

  • In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise — George Prochnik (2010, Doubleday).
  • The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World’s Wild Places — Bernie Krause (2012, Little, Brown).

 

Primary Research Citations by Topic

Primary research not individually attributed to a researcher above, organised by topic for direct reference.

 

Light and Circadian Biology

  • Czeisler, C.A., Allan, J.S., Strogatz, S.H., et al. (1986). Bright light resets the human circadian pacemaker. Science, 233(4764), 667–671. Cross-referenced from Sleep & Circadian Rhythm.
  • Touitou, Y., Reinberg, A., & Touitou, D. (2017). Association between light at night, melatonin secretion, sleep deprivation. Life Sciences, 173, 94–106.
  • Mason, I.C., Grimaldi, D., Reid, K.J., et al. (2022). Light exposure during sleep impairs cardiometabolic function. PNAS, 119(12), e2113290119.
  • Hamblin, M.R. (2017). Mechanisms and applications of the anti-inflammatory effects of photobiomodulation. AIMS Biophysics, 4(3), 337–361.

 

Air Pollution and Health

  • Dockery, D.W., Pope, C.A. III, Xu, X., et al. (1993). An association between air pollution and mortality in six US cities. NEJM, 329(24), 1753–1759. The Six Cities Study.
  • Lelieveld, J., Klingmüller, K., Pozzer, A., et al. (2019). Cardiovascular disease burden from ambient air pollution. European Heart Journal, 40(20), 1590–1596.
  • Sunyer, J., Esnaola, M., Alvarez-Pedrerol, M., et al. (2015). Air pollution and children’s cognitive development. PLOS Medicine, 12(3), e1001792.
  • Mills, N.L., Törnqvist, H., Robinson, S.D., et al. (2005). Diesel exhaust inhalation. Circulation, 112(25), 3930–3936.
  • de Hartog, J.J., Boogaard, H., Nijland, H., & Hoek, G. (2010). Do the health benefits of cycling outweigh the risks? Environmental Health Perspectives, 118(8), 1109–1116.
  • Ramos, C.A., Wolterbeek, H.T., & Almeida, S.M. (2014). Exposure to indoor air pollutants during physical activity. Building and Environment, 82, 349–360.
  • Institute of Medicine (2004). Damp Indoor Spaces and Health. National Academies Press.
  • WHO (2010). WHO Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality: Selected Pollutants.

 

Water and Fluoride

  • Iheozor-Ejiofor, Z., Worthington, H.V., Walsh, T., et al. (2015). Water fluoridation for the prevention of dental caries. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 6, CD010856.
  • National Toxicology Program (2024). NTP Monograph on Fluoride Exposure and Neurodevelopmental and Cognitive Health Effects.
  • Villanueva, C.M., Cantor, K.P., Cordier, S., et al. (2004). Disinfection byproducts and bladder cancer. Epidemiology, 15(3), 357–367.
  • Bernard, A., Carbonnelle, S., Dumont, X., & Nickmilder, M. (2007). Infant swimming practice and respiratory disease. Pediatrics, 119(6), 1095–1103.
  • Sunderland, E.M., Hu, X.C., Dassuncao, C., et al. (2019). PFAS exposure pathways and health effects. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, 29(2), 131–147.

 

Lead and Heavy Metals

  • Lanphear, B.P., Hornung, R., Khoury, J., et al. (2005). Low-level environmental lead exposure and children’s intellectual function. Environmental Health Perspectives, 113(7), 894–899.
  • Lanphear, B.P. (2017). The impact of toxins on the developing brain. Annual Review of Public Health, 38, 211–230.
  • Reyes, J.W. (2007). Environmental policy as social policy? Lead exposure and crime. The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy.
  • WHO (2009). Future Use of Materials for Dental Restoration.
  • Aaseth, J., Crisponi, G., & Andersen, O. (Eds.) (2016). Chelation Therapy in the Treatment of Metal Intoxication. Academic Press.
  • Leung, A.M., & Braverman, L.E. (2014). Consequences of excess iodine. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 10(3), 136–142.

 

Electromagnetic Fields

  • IARC Working Group (2013). Non-Ionizing Radiation, Part 2: Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields. IARC Monographs Vol. 102.
  • National Toxicology Program (2018). NTP Technical Report on RF Radiation in Rats. NTP TR 595.
  • Röösli, M., Lagorio, S., Schoemaker, M.J., et al. (2019). Brain and salivary gland tumors and mobile phone use. Annual Review of Public Health, 40, 221–238.
  • Lai, H. (2018). A summary of recent literature on neurobiological effects of radiofrequency radiation. In Mobile Communications and Public Health. CRC Press.
  • Pall, M.L. (2013). Electromagnetic fields act via activation of voltage-gated calcium channels. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, 17(8), 958–965.
  • Chevalier, G., Sinatra, S.T., Oschman, J.L., Sokal, K., & Sokal, P. (2012). Earthing: health implications of reconnecting the human body to the Earth’s surface electrons. Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2012, 291541. Note: research dominated by commercial-interest authors.
  • Rubin, G.J., Munshi, J.D., & Wessely, S. (2005). Electric and magnetic field sensitivity. Psychosomatic Medicine, 67(2), 224–232.

 

Hygiene Hypothesis and Microbiome

  • Bach, J.F. (2002). The effect of infections on susceptibility to autoimmune and allergic diseases. NEJM, 347(12), 911–920.
  • Strachan, D.P. (1989). Hay fever, hygiene, and household size. BMJ, 299(6710), 1259–1260.
  • Rook, G.A.W. (2003). The hygiene hypothesis and the increasing prevalence of chronic inflammatory disorders. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 97(2), 121–122.
  • Rook, G.A.W. (2012). Hygiene hypothesis and autoimmune diseases. Clinical Reviews in Allergy & Immunology, 42(1), 5–15.
  • Belkaid, Y., & Hand, T.W. (2014). Role of the microbiota in immunity and inflammation. Cell, 157(1), 121–141.
  • The Human Microbiome Project Consortium (2012). Structure, function and diversity of the healthy human microbiome. Nature, 486(7402), 207–214.
  • Sonnenburg, E.D., Smits, S.A., Tikhonov, M., et al. (2016). Diet-induced extinctions in the gut microbiota. Nature, 529(7585), 212–215.
  • Wastyk, H.C., Fragiadakis, G.K., Perelman, D., et al. (2021). Gut-microbiota-targeted diets modulate human immune status. Cell, 184(16), 4137–4153.
  • McDonald, D., Hyde, E., Debelius, J.W., et al. (2018). American Gut: an open platform for citizen science microbiome research. mSystems, 3(3), e00031-18.

 

Farm Effect and Biodiversity Hypothesis

  • Riedler, J., Braun-Fahrländer, C., Eder, W., et al. (2001). Farm exposure and asthma and allergy development. The Lancet, 358(9288), 1129–1133.
  • Ege, M.J., Mayer, M., Normand, A.C., et al. (2011). Exposure to environmental microorganisms and childhood asthma. NEJM, 364(8), 701–709.
  • von Mutius, E., & Vercelli, D. (2010). Farm living: effects on childhood asthma and allergy. Nature Reviews Immunology, 10(12), 861–868.
  • Stein, M.M., Hrusch, C.L., Gozdz, J., et al. (2016). Innate immunity and asthma risk in Amish and Hutterite farm children. NEJM, 375(5), 411–421.
  • Haahtela, T., Holgate, S., Pawankar, R., et al. (2013). The biodiversity hypothesis and allergic disease. World Allergy Organization Journal, 6(1), 3.
  • Hanski, I., von Hertzen, L., Fyhrquist, N., et al. (2012). Environmental biodiversity, human microbiota, and allergy. PNAS, 109(21), 8334–8339.

 

Early-Life Microbiome

  • Dominguez-Bello, M.G., Costello, E.K., Contreras, M., et al. (2010). Delivery mode shapes infant microbiota. PNAS, 107(26), 11971–11975.
  • Pannaraj, P.S., Li, F., Cerini, C., et al. (2017). Breast milk bacterial communities and infant microbiome. JAMA Pediatrics, 171(7), 647–654.
  • Fujimura, K.E., Sitarik, A.R., Havstad, S., et al. (2016). Neonatal gut microbiota and atopy. Nature Medicine, 22(10), 1187–1191.
  • Korpela, K., Salonen, A., Virta, L.J., et al. (2016). Intestinal microbiome and lifetime antibiotic use in pre-school children. Nature Communications, 7, 10410.
  • Hirsch, A.G., Pollak, J., Glass, T.A., et al. (2017). Early-life antibiotic use and subsequent food allergy. Clinical and Experimental Allergy, 47(2), 236–244.
  • Ball, T.M., Castro-Rodriguez, J.A., Griffith, K.A., et al. (2000). Siblings, day-care attendance, and asthma. NEJM, 343(8), 538–543.
  • Ownby, D.R., Johnson, C.C., & Peterson, E.L. (2002). Dogs and cats in the first year of life and allergic sensitization. JAMA, 288(8), 963–972.
  • Hesselmar, B., Sjöberg, F., Saalman, R., et al. (2013). Pacifier cleaning practices and risk of allergy development. Pediatrics, 131(6), e1829–e1837.
  • Lowry, C.A., Hollis, J.H., de Vries, A., et al. (2007). Mycobacterium vaccae and serotonergic mood regulation. Neuroscience, 146(2), 756–772.
  • Halden, R.U., Lindeman, A.E., Aiello, A.E., et al. (2017). The Florence Statement on Triclosan and Triclocarban. Environmental Health Perspectives, 125(6), 064501.

 

Biophilia and Nature Exposure

  • Wilson, E.O. (1984). Biophilia. Harvard University Press.
  • Ulrich, R.S. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science, 224(4647), 420–421.
  • Berman, M.G., Jonides, J., & Kaplan, S. (2008). The cognitive benefits of interacting with nature. Psychological Science, 19(12), 1207–1212.
  • Hartig, T., Mitchell, R., de Vries, S., & Frumkin, H. (2014). Nature and health. Annual Review of Public Health, 35, 207–228.
  • Bratman, G.N., Hamilton, J.P., Hahn, K.S., Daily, G.C., & Gross, J.J. (2015). Nature experience reduces rumination. PNAS, 112(28), 8567–8572.
  • Li, Q., Morimoto, K., Nakadai, A., et al. (2007). Forest bathing and natural killer activity. International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology, 20(2 Suppl 2), 3–8.
  • White, M.P., Alcock, I., Grellier, J., et al. (2019). 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Scientific Reports, 9, 7730.
  • White, M.P., Alcock, I., Wheeler, B.W., & Depledge, M.H. (2013). Coastal proximity, health and well-being. Health & Place, 23, 97–103.
  • Gascon, M., Triguero-Mas, M., Martínez, D., et al. (2016). Residential green spaces and mortality. Environment International, 86, 60–67.
  • Buxton, R.T., Pearson, A.L., Allou, C., et al. (2021). Health benefits of natural sounds. PNAS, 118(14), e2013097118.

 

Nature Connectedness

  • Mayer, F.S., & Frantz, C.M. (2004). The connectedness to nature scale. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24(4), 503–515.
  • Nisbet, E.K., Zelenski, J.M., & Murphy, S.A. (2009). The Nature Relatedness Scale. Environment and Behavior, 41(5), 715–740.
  • Nisbet, E.K., & Zelenski, J.M. (2013). The NR-6 brief measure. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 813.
  • Schultz, P.W. (2001). The structure of environmental concern. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21(4), 327–339.
  • Capaldi, C.A., Dopko, R.L., & Zelenski, J.M. (2014). Nature connectedness and happiness meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 976.
  • Lumber, R., Richardson, M., & Sheffield, D. (2017). Beyond knowing nature: pathways to nature connection. PLOS One, 12(5), e0177186.

 

Endocrine Disruption

  • Levine, H., Jørgensen, N., Martino-Andrade, A., et al. (2017). Temporal trends in sperm count. Human Reproduction Update, 23(6), 646–659.
  • Skakkebæk, N.E., Rajpert-De Meyts, E., & Main, K.M. (2001). Testicular dysgenesis syndrome. Human Reproduction, 16(5), 972–978.
  • Skakkebæk, N.E., Rajpert-De Meyts, E., Buck Louis, G.M., et al. (2016). Male reproductive disorders and fertility trends. Physiological Reviews, 96(1), 55–97.
  • vom Saal, F.S., & Hughes, C. (2005). Low-dose effects of bisphenol A. Environmental Health Perspectives, 113(8), 926–933.
  • Rochester, J.R., & Bolden, A.L. (2015). Bisphenol S and F: hormonal activity of BPA substitutes. Environmental Health Perspectives, 123(7), 643–650.
  • Hayes, T.B., Khoury, V., Narayan, A., et al. (2010). Atrazine induces feminization in male African clawed frogs. PNAS, 107(10), 4612–4617.
  • Guyton, K.Z., Loomis, D., Grosse, Y., et al. (2015). Carcinogenicity of glyphosate. The Lancet Oncology, 16(5), 490–491.
  • CDC. Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. Updated periodically.

 

Personal Care Chemistry

  • Bronaugh, R.L., & Maibach, H.I. (Eds.) (2005). Percutaneous Absorption (4th ed.). CRC Press.
  • Takkouche, B., Etminan, M., & Montes-Martínez, A. (2005). Hair dyes and cancer meta-analysis. JAMA, 293(20), 2516–2525.
  • Egert, M., & Simmering, R. (2016). The microbiota of the human skin. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, 902, 61–81.
  • Callewaert, C., Hutapea, P., Van de Wiele, T., & Boon, N. (2014). Deodorants and antiperspirants affect the axillary bacterial community. Archives of Dermatological Research, 306(8), 701–710.

 

Sound and Noise

  • WHO (2018). Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region.
  • Münzel, T., Sørensen, M., & Daiber, A. (2021). Transportation noise pollution and cardiovascular disease. Nature Reviews Cardiology, 18(9), 619–636.
  • Stansfeld, S.A., Berglund, B., Clark, C., et al. (2005). RANCH study: aircraft and road traffic noise and children’s cognition. The Lancet, 365(9475), 1942–1949.
  • Basner, M., & McGuire, S. (2018). WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines: noise and sleep. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(3), 519.

 

Cold and Heat Exposure

  • van Marken Lichtenbelt, W.D., Vanhommerig, J.W., Smulders, N.M., et al. (2009). Cold-activated brown adipose tissue. NEJM, 360(15), 1500–1508.
  • Søberg, S., Löfgren, J., Philipsen, F.E., et al. (2021). Brown fat thermoregulation in winter swimmers. Cell Reports Medicine, 2(10), 100408.
  • Laukkanen, T., Khan, H., Zaccardi, F., & Laukkanen, J.A. (2015). Sauna bathing and cardiovascular mortality. JAMA Internal Medicine, 175(4), 542–548.
  • West, J.B., Schoene, R.B., Luks, A.M., & Milledge, J.S. (2012). High Altitude Medicine and Physiology (5th ed.). CRC Press.

 

Mould

  • Shoemaker, R.C., & House, D.E. (2006). Sick building syndrome and water-damaged buildings. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 28(5), 573–588.

 

Indoor Air

  • Cummings, B.E., & Waring, M.S. (2020). Potted plants do not improve indoor air quality. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, 30(2), 253–261.

 

Open Systems and Biological Relativity

  • Noble, D. (1960). Cardiac action and pacemaker potentials. Nature, 188(4749), 495–497.
  • Vernadsky, V.I. (1926). The Biosphere. English translation by Mark McMenamin (1998). Springer-Verlag.
  • Lovelock, J.E., & Margulis, L. (1974). Atmospheric homeostasis by and for the biosphere: the Gaia hypothesis. Tellus, 26(1-2), 2–10.
  • Lenton, T.M., Daines, S.J., Dyke, J.G., et al. (2018). Selection for Gaia across multiple scales. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 33(8), 633–645.

 

Planetary Health

  • Whitmee, S., Haines, A., Beyrer, C., et al. (2015). Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch: Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on planetary health. The Lancet, 386(10007), 1973–2028.
  • Rockström, J., Steffen, W., Noone, K., et al. (2009). A safe operating space for humanity. Nature, 461(7263), 472–475.
  • Steffen, W., Richardson, K., Rockström, J., et al. (2015). Planetary boundaries: guiding human development on a changing planet. Science, 347(6223), 1259855.
  • Romanello, M., et al. (2023). The 2023 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change. The Lancet, 402(10419), 2346–2394.

 

Environmental Justice

  • Mohai, P., Pellow, D., & Roberts, J.T. (2009). Environmental justice. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 34, 405–430.
  • Logan, A.C. (2015). Dysbiotic drift: mental health, environmental grey space, and microbiota. Journal of Physiological Anthropology, 34(1), 23.

 

Practitioner Resources and Tools

Environmental Working Group (EWG)

ewg.org. The major consumer-facing resource on environmental health. Skin Deep cosmetics database, Tap Water Database, Dirty Dozen produce guide, Healthy Living app for product evaluation.

 

Healthy Building Network

healthybuilding.net. Building materials evaluation, chemical hazards in construction, healthy alternatives.

 

The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change

lancetcountdown.org. Annual report syntheses on climate change health effects.

 

WHO Environmental Health

who.int/health-topics/environmental-health. The major international resource on environmental health policy and guidelines.

 

CDC Environmental Health

cdc.gov/nceh. National Center for Environmental Health resources, including biomonitoring, exposure assessment, and emerging issues.

 

IARC Monographs

monographs.iarc.who.int. The International Agency for Research on Cancer evaluations of carcinogenic risks.

 

Local Air Quality Monitoring

AirVisual (iqair.com/air-quality-map), Plume Labs (plumelabs.com), AirNow (airnow.gov), and local government air quality monitoring stations.

 

Find a Spring

FindASpring.com. User-maintained directory of natural springs worldwide with quality assessments.

 

Mould Resources

SurvivingMold.com (Shoemaker’s clinical practice site, with the contested framing). Plus local environmental medicine clinicians for individual assessment.

 

Local Environmental Advocacy

Local Sierra Club chapters, watershed protection organisations, anti-pollution groups, environmental justice organisations, urban green space advocates. The most effective environmental health interventions are often collective rather than individual.