I really appreciate Adams mesh of the science and social science worlds. Using his psychological expertise, Adams attempts to resolve environmental issues, calling for a change of attitude in mindset. Our actions reflect our inner-attitudes. We are the ones who created the problem, and so we are the ones who can alter it through a change of consciousness.
One of the major problems is human egoism. However it is important to realize that this has great effect on all human interactions, not just nature. We seek dominance over everything- people, nations, and animals and vegetation. Instead of looking out for the weak, we view them as an opportunity to conquer. Just as Adams mentions that we know about extinction, but do not actually comprehend its full meaning, because of lack of contact, this is also the case with how humans react to the death of someone they never knew. In both instances, people can go about their day without actually internalizing the tragic impact. This is clearly a deep and prevalent issue. Its time we give just a little more thought to our actions, try to take in the situation at hand and its consequence, and then maybe just maybe we can act better towards our fellow humans and nature.
An additional problem is that humans see themselves apart from nature, asking questions like why should we spend money on conserving species when people are suffering, when in reality we are interconnected. We must come to realize that the well being of one results in the wellbeing of others.
Another psychological issue, which Adams did not really touch on, is a short-term mentality. America and Spain both rank low on a their ability to think in the long term and not coincidentally their environmental efforts.
This first step to making progress clearly does not require financial resources. We are all capable of it, if we really put our minds to it.
