Tiger Shark

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Global climate change causing a new kind of sadness?

According to this Wired.com article, global warming might not only be causing extinctions, water shortages, and hotter days: it might also be causing depression. According to philosopher Glenn Albrecht, his fellow Australians have shown increased symptoms of depression as their country has changed for the worse due to global warming. Albrecht calls this "solastalgia": a form of homesickness one gets when one is still at home.

The article mentions that though many of us are modern globe-hoppers with all kinds of gadgets to keep us in touch with our family and friends at home, we're still closely tied to where we live — we haven't evolved that much.

I can see the effects of global warming, or at least its causes, where I live: polluted waters, warmer days, dirtier skies. And I know for a fact that these things don't make me happy.