Why Good People Do Bad Environmental Things
Elizabeth R. DeSombre
Abstract
We all behave in ways that cause environmental harm whether we intend to or not. This book looks at how social structures, incentives, information, habits, attitudes, norms, and the inherent characteristics of environmental resources explain and influence how we behave, and how those causes influence what we can do to change behavior. It is essential to understand why bad environmental behavior makes sense, especially from an individual perspective, in order to figure out how to change that behavior. Environmental activists often focus on providing information or raising concern about environm ... More
We all behave in ways that cause environmental harm whether we intend to or not. This book looks at how social structures, incentives, information, habits, attitudes, norms, and the inherent characteristics of environmental resources explain and influence how we behave, and how those causes influence what we can do to change behavior. It is essential to understand why bad environmental behavior makes sense, especially from an individual perspective, in order to figure out how to change that behavior. Environmental activists often focus on providing information or raising concern about environmental problems; these approaches are ultimately less effective than systematic and institutional approaches. We should restructure incentives to reward good behavior and penalize action that causes environmental harm, change social norms so that environmental behavior is seen as a community expectation, and develop habits, defaults, and business routines so that people engage in better environmental behavior without having to make active decisions to do so. Environmental problems are serious, and we need to change our collective behavior to prevent or address them. Because this action is important, it is worthwhile to figure out what works, or doesn’t work, to change behavior. To do that, we have to understand why even good people do bad environmental things.
Keywords:
environment,
environmental behavior,
incentive,
information,
habit,
attitude,
norm,
social structure
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2018 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780190636272 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: April 2018 |
DOI:10.1093/oso/9780190636272.001.0001 |
