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We’re building a guide for everyday life, where experts will educate you about our world.
Author Spotlight
Christine Jacobson is a cultural heritage professional.
Maryellen MacDonald is a cognitive scientist who focuses on psycholinguistics.
Emma Rae Lierley is a senior communications manager at Rainforest Action Network. A lifelong writer and environmentalist, she works to harness the power of storytelling for social change.
Monique Mikhail is the campaigns director of the agriculture and climate finance program at Friends of the Earth.
Evan Thompson is a writer and professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia.
Monica Murphy is a veterinarian and a writer.
Katrina Fischer Kuh is the Haub Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.
Anne Petermann is the executive director of Global Justice Ecology Project.
Sasha Archibald is a writer and editor whose work explores art, history, books, and cultural iconoclasts.
Isabelle Métivier specializes in nonprofit communications and strategic initiatives.
Guides
Our financial system originated in Mesopotamia, where it was designed to ensure economic stability for a community. Over time it has transformed into something much more predatory.
editorKatherine Dolan
sourceHuman Bridges Project
areaThis guide explores the evolutionary origins of aesthetics in humans, otherwise known as bioaesthetics. Bioaesthetics is an interdisciplinary field that bridges biology, psychology, philosophy, and art to investigate aesthetic perception and how we perceive certain forms. Emerging research underlines the fact that our sense of beauty isn't purely cultural and has biological underpinnings.
editorIrina Matuzava
sourceHuman Bridges Project
areaAs people live longer and face increasingly complex end-of-life decisions, understanding death and dying has never been more important. This guide explores the emerging movement of death literacy, offering practical tools, knowledge, and community resources to help individuals navigate mortality with clarity and confidence. From fostering open conversations about death to exploring near-death experiences and preparing for end-of-life care, these articles provide insights into how we can approach death as a natural, supported, and meaningful part of life.
editorReynard Loki
sourceThe Observatory
areaThe Observatory’s '''Guide to Wildlife and Ecosystem Protection''' explores the interconnected challenges facing wild animals and the habitats they depend on. It examines how human activities—such as deforestation, industrial agriculture, wildlife trade, pollution, and climate change—are driving species decline and ecosystem instability. By highlighting the importance of biodiversity, including the role of apex predators, healthy forests, and intact habitats in maintaining ecological balance, the guide connects conservation science with real-world threats and solutions, offering a clear understanding of how protecting wildlife also safeguards human health, prevents future pandemics, and supports resilient ecosystems.
editorReynard Loki
sourceEarth Food Life Project
areaThe Observatory’s '''Guide to Companion Animals and Human Responsibility''' explores the complex relationships between humans and the animals who live alongside us. It examines how pet ownership, breeding, and the global pet industry affect animal welfare, biodiversity, and ecosystem balance. From the ecological impact of free-roaming cats to ethical questions about domestication and dependency, the guide highlights both care and consequence. It also considers how human choices—from feeding practices to habitat encroachment—shape the lives of companion animals and wildlife alike. By bringing these perspectives together, the guide encourages more responsible, informed, and compassionate relationships with animals in human care.
editorReynard Loki
sourceEarth Food Life Project
areaFood production shapes the health of ecosystems, communities, animals, and the climate. Yet many modern agricultural systems rely on practices that contribute to soil degradation, biodiversity loss, water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and animal suffering. As concerns about the environmental and social costs of industrial agriculture continue to grow, farmers, researchers, Indigenous communities, and advocates are developing and refining alternative approaches.
This guide explores a range of alternatives to industrial agriculture, including organic farming, small-scale farming, regenerative agriculture, carbon farming, veganic farming, Indigenous land stewardship practices, and emerging innovations such as agrivoltaics. Together, these approaches offer different pathways toward producing food while protecting ecosystems, improving soil health, supporting biodiversity, reducing environmental impacts, and building more resilient agricultural systems for future generations.
editorReynard Loki
sourceEarth Food Life Project
areaThe Observatory’s '''Guide to Animals in Science and Research''' examines the role of nonhuman animals in scientific experimentation and biomedical development. It explores the ethical, regulatory, and scientific debates surrounding animal testing, including concerns about welfare, transparency, and the limits of animal models in predicting human outcomes. The guide highlights practices involving primates and laboratory animals, as well as growing calls for reform, improved oversight, and the development of alternative research methods. By connecting policy, science, and ethics, it offers a clearer understanding of how animals are used in research—and what a more humane and effective system might look like.
editorReynard Loki
sourceEarth Food Life Project
areaHuman ecology begins in the most intimate corners of our lives. Every breath we take, every meal shared, every relationship nurtured within a neighborhood depends on the health of the living environments around us. Human ecology helps us see how daily choices are woven into larger social and ecological systems—and how those systems, in turn, shape our bodies, minds, and spirits. It invites us to consider both our material needs—food, water, shelter—and our psychosocial needs—belonging, purpose, and agency—and to understand how inseparably they are linked.
editorEach lens in this Guide encourages us to notice relationships: between people, communities, and the natural world. It examines how governance can support quality of life, how neighborhoods grow and adapt, how education shapes our understanding of one another, and how cultures share resources and respond to change. The Guide offers practical ways to live more gently—and more courageously—with one another and with the planet, showing that the patterns we create carry consequences across places and generations.
At its core, human ecology is about caring for ourselves, the communities that shape us, and the ecosystems that sustain every moment of life. When society teaches that human well-being and environmental health are part of the same story, a new possibility emerges: that future generations may inherit not only knowledge, but wiser, more balanced ways of living on Earth.Sandra Ericson
sourceThe Observatory
areaConscious consumption means recognizing that everyday purchasing decisions shape the well-being of nonhuman animals, ecosystems, and human communities. It includes choosing foods that minimize harm, supporting ethical and sustainable production, avoiding products linked to environmental destruction, and rejecting exploitative labor practices. From humane food labels and plant-based alternatives to shade-grown coffee, eco-friendly wine, and reduced reliance on fast fashion and fossil fuels, each choice carries impact. The Observatory’s '''Guide to Conscious Consumption''' brings together practical tools and deeper context to help you make informed decisions that support your health, reduce harm, and contribute to a more just and sustainable world.
editorReynard Loki
sourceEarth Food Life Project
areaEnvironmental health explores how the natural and built environments influence human well-being. Factors such as air and water quality, climate change, toxic chemical exposures, food systems, and ecosystem health can all affect physical and mental health. Pollution, environmental degradation, and hazardous substances contribute to a wide range of health risks, while healthy ecosystems help provide clean water, nutritious food, disease regulation, and other essential services. Understanding these connections can help societies develop policies and practices that protect both human health and the environments on which life depends.
editorReynard Loki
sourceEarth Food Life Project
areaNew Additions
Long before modern science warned of global warming, the Founding Fathers believed human activity was reshaping the planet’s climate—and they set out to prove it.
By: Raphael Calel
Humans have long used language, writing, and storytelling to make sense of the world—and to shape how it is understood. Writing takes many forms, extending from literature and journalism to scholarship, personal reflection, and everyday communication. Together, language and writing help develop our critical thinking, awareness, and curiosity.
The '''Observatory Guide to Language Arts and Writing''' explores how language and storytelling shape the human mind, foster empathy, and serve as tools for understanding ourselves, connecting with others, imagining new possibilities, solving problems, and questioning the status quo. Drawing on literature, history, psychology, neuroscience, and the social sciences, the guide highlights how writing and narrative shape not only expression, but perception, meaning, and action.
By:
Throughout history, negative human impulses (such as divisiveness, greed, aggression, etc.) have birthed periods of societal crisis. For example, polarizing political agendas and greedy economic policies not only create trauma and suffering, but they also narrow the “we” by destroying community coalitions. Fortunately, we can shift the paradigm in favor of goodwill for all. This guide provides a framework for understanding this toxic societal polarization pattern and demonstrates how we have repeatedly navigated our way out of it. By reflecting on human nature and historical examples, we can create a more inclusive future for the “we” collective.
By:
Common sense is contested terrain.
By: Colin Greer and Eric Laursen
Simple daily practices can help us slow down, notice, and build empathy with the more-than-human world—fostering both personal well-being and planetary care.
By: Bridget A. Lyons
Blending science with spiritual insight, a compassionate approach to pet care utilizes the “happiness protocol”—centered on listening, trust, and connection—to enhance animal well-being and foster deeper human awareness.
By: Jeff Feinman
From hands to feet, voice to vision, our digital tools extend, transform, and sometimes erase the human body.
By: Vanessa Chang
Classics