Why humans are so bad at thinking about climate change

Summary

This script addresses the ineffectiveness of fear-based climate change messaging and proposes a shift towards more engaging strategies. It highlights the success of the UCLA Engage project, which used real-time energy usage data and social competition to motivate conservation. The script also discusses the role of behavioral science in driving change, with examples like Opower's social comparison reports and Virgin Atlantic's fuel-saving initiatives. It emphasizes the need for broader-scale changes and positive messaging to inspire action on climate change.

Takeaways

• 🌍 The urgency of climate change is highlighted, with warnings of irreversible damage and current impacts such as rising sea levels and pollution.
• 🐾 The speaker, a conservation scientist, emphasizes the need to shift the narrative on climate change from fear and guilt to more engaging and actionable messaging.
• 🌬️ The 'ozone hole' serves as a historical example of a successfully addressed environmental crisis, demonstrating that clear messaging and understanding can lead to collective action.
• 🏠 Invisible pollutants like CO2 are harder to tackle because they are not directly observable in our daily lives, unlike the tangible harm of CFCs to the ozone layer.
• 🔋 The UCLA Engage project illustrates how making energy use visible through real-time tracking and reporting can lead to significant energy conservation.
• 💡 Personalized and repeated messaging about the environmental impact of energy use, especially when linked to health issues, can motivate behavioral change more effectively than financial incentives.
• 🏅 Social competition, as demonstrated in dormitory energy use studies, can be a powerful motivator for reducing energy consumption, leveraging our innate desire to compare favorably with others.
• 🌐 Companies like Opower are leveraging social comparison in energy reporting, showing that subtle social pressures can drive significant energy savings.
• ✈️ Behavioral 'nudges', such as feedback on fuel use, have proven effective in large organizations, as seen with Virgin Atlantic Airways' pilots saving substantial fuel and reducing emissions.
• 🌱 The script concludes that while behavioral changes are a start, broader-scale systemic changes in business models and societal attitudes are necessary to address climate change effectively.

Q & A

What is the main issue with the current messaging around climate change according to the speaker?

The speaker believes that the current doom-and-gloom messaging around climate change isn't effective because it tends to make people feel fearful and guilty, which leads to disengagement and passivity rather than action.

Why does the speaker think climate change is referred to as the 'policy problem from hell'?

The speaker refers to climate change as the 'policy problem from hell' because it is a complex issue that doesn't align well with human psychology or the way institutions make decisions, making it difficult to address effectively.

What historical example does the speaker use to illustrate a successful response to an environmental issue?

The speaker uses the example of the hole in the ozone layer from the 1970s and '80s to illustrate how a clear, understandable problem and a concrete image (the 'ozone hole') led to successful action and an eventual solution.

How did the identification of CFCs as the cause of ozone layer depletion lead to behavioral changes?

When it was discovered that CFCs were destroying the ozone layer, people became aware of the direct link between their use of products like hairspray and the environmental problem, leading to a significant drop in sales of such products.

What was the initial goal of UCLA’s Engage project?

The initial goal of UCLA’s Engage project was to figure out how to frame information about electricity usage to motivate people to save energy and conserve electricity, making the relatively invisible process of energy use more visible.

What did the students learn about their energy consumption through the UCLA Engage project?

Through the project, students learned about the real-time usage of appliances and were able to compare the energy consumption of different appliances, such as the 'monster' energy consumption of their fridge, leading to an upgrade to an energy-efficient model.

How did personalized emails about energy usage impact behavior in the Engage project?

Personalized emails about energy usage that focused on saving money were found to be ineffective in changing behavior, as electricity is relatively cheap and the messages did not motivate households to conserve energy.

What messaging strategy was found to be effective in reducing energy usage in the Engage project?

Emails that linked the amount of pollutants produced to rates of childhood asthma and cancer were found to be effective, leading to an 8% drop in energy use and 19% in households with kids.

How did social competition influence energy consumption in the separate study mentioned?

In the study, social competition was introduced by publicly showcasing students' energy usage with red dots for wasters and green stars for efficient users. This approach led to a 20% reduction in energy use.

What role does Opower play in promoting energy conservation?

Opower works with utility companies to provide personalized energy reports to customers, allowing them to see their energy use and compare it with their neighbors', using subtle social pressure to encourage energy conservation.

What broader change does the speaker suggest is necessary to address climate change?

The speaker suggests that broader-scale change is necessary, including people changing companies, business models, and the products and services they provide, to effectively address climate change.