Promoting Greener Choices

We've been talking about how every day should be Earth Day, not just on April 22. It’s a noble aim. But really, how often do we choose convenience over good deeds? Because is turning up the thermostat a few degrees, or driving instead of taking the bus, really going to melt the polar ice caps?

Our brains don’t always make the right choices unless there’s a personal benefit at stake. That’s why supermarkets sometimes knock five cents off your total purchase when you bring your canvas tote bag.

That’s one example from the growing field of behavioral economics, which looks at how human instinct, like aversion to loss, shapes the choices people make. Here to tell us how those lessons could make the world a greener place is science writer Richard Conniff, author of the forthcoming book Swimming with Piranhas at Feeding Time.

Yale Environment 360: Using Peer Pressure As A Tool To Promote Greener Choices

(Photo courtesy of rovingsprout via Flickr/Creative Commons)