Local Action on Climate Change

Hi Ben -

Thanks for forwarding this very interesting article. It appears that the general conclusion is that peer pressure and social norms work in changing behavior. Makes a lot of sense. For me it raises the question of which social norms do we address: brown lawns? idling cars? Or would hyperconsumption and the consequential global devastation resulting from our whims be a more relevant target? Does a collection of small behaviors add up to a broad understanding leading to urgently needed changes, or does it remain a collection of loosely related behaviors that, while useful, are woefully inadequate? From general experience with recycling, the latter unfortunately seems to be the case. In the U.S. we've made massive behavioral changes in very short time periods, e.g., rationing and Victory Gardens during World War II. What pages can we take from that book? As Tom Friedman pointedly writes in today's New York Times, it's too late for later: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/opinion/16friedman.html?th=&emc=th&pagewanted=print

Cheers,
Adam

P.S. - In a delightful twist of editorial unconsciousness, the Boston Globe leads off its Keene article thusly: "Last [!!!] in a series of occasional articles examining climate change, its effects, and possible solutions." I guess there's room for improvement at the Globe with respect to changing behavior towards sustainability . . . ;^}