Cover

Federal Agency and Organization Element to Which Report is Submitted:

4900

Federal Grant or Other Identifying Number Assigned by Agency:

0951516

Project Title:

DMUU: Understanding and Improving Environmental Decisions

PD/PI Name:

• Benjamin S Orlove, Principal Investigator
• Kenneth Broad, Co-Principal Investigator

Recipient Organization:

Columbia University

Project/Grant Period:

09/15/2010 - 08/31/2018

Reporting Period:

09/01/2017 - 08/31/2018

Submitting Official (if other than PD\PI):

• Benjamin S Orlove
• Principal Investigator

Submission Date:

12/07/2018

Signature of Submitting Official (signature shall be submitted in accordance with agency specific instructions)

Benjamin S Orlove

Back to the top

CRED has focused its activities on addressing what has been called the “decision gap.” Society has broadly recognized a number of environmental problems, buthas moved very slowly to address the problems.  

We found that there are several major obstacles that make it difficult for individuals and organizations to address environmental problems. The human capacity to pay attention to the world is limited, so the pressing problems of daily life often squeeze out environmental issues. The complexity of environmental problems, and of the scientific knowledge needed for understanding them, also present difficulties. Environmental problems often develop slowly; as a result, their impacts often lie in the future, making it hard for people to spend time, effort and money on them now. . Finally, there is the “drop in the bucket” issue; since many people must work together to address environmental problems, each individual might feel that his or her effort would make little difference.

Our key findings include:

1. Presenting environmental problems in the most accessible scales of time and space. Talking to coastal residents about flooding and people in the interior US West about drought and fire is more effective than providing a long list of problems from different places or describing problems that people have not yet experienced. However, some audiences have longer scales accessible to them; CRED has found that disaster managers in federal agencies are capable of thinking of longer time scales, so information can be crafted for them in this way.
2. Linked with this step is the idea of “decision architecture” which breaks complex sequences of actions into small, workable steps. People are more willing to adopt energy-efficient appliances and cars if they can first learn about them, then observe other people who they already know who use them, and then consider trying them than if they have to make a switch from one kind of appliance or car to another in a single step. This example shows the importance of social motivations; people and organizations are more willing to take actions if they see that these actions will align them with others who are already part of their social lives. 
3. Allowing people to participate in the definition of environmental problems can help them to grasp the problem and work with scientists to construct solutions. For example, farmers in the Caribbean have been more willing to purchase crop insurance, based on climate forecasts, when they have had the opportunity to engage with scientists and the staff of agricultural agencies, exploring different insurance products through game-like simulations and contributing to the formulation of specific insurance products for their particular needs.
4. Helping people link feeling and thought can also support environmental action. Though environmental problems can evoke negative feelings of fear or anticipated loss, they also can be framed in ways that genuinely elicit positive feelings. A person might have a negative feeling if they are told to switch to a smaller, less polluting car. .Faced with the need to prepare for a hurricane, some people might experience negative feelings of anxiety or dread, . but they could also develop the positive feeling of security that comes from preparedness. The great success of the concept of “resilience” is an example of this integration of feeling and thought
5. The importance of emphasizing co-benefits of climate action links several of these points. People are more willing to shift to fuel-efficient vehicles or domestic heating and cooling if they are made aware of the health co-benefits. Communities in Washington State where snow-based winter tourism has been facing threats from rising temperatures have actively developed non-snow based tourism activities when they see that these produce social co-benefits (providing jobs for unemployed youth; supporting the cultural heritage of local communities) as well as address the environmental and climatic changes.

CRED has .supported this work through a variety of products. In addition to academic research, CRED has produced communication guides for several audiences and, supported curricular development in academic settings and in training activities for agency staffs and communities. It has also developed a number of simulations and games which provide people with the experience of addressing environmental problems in safe contexts—showing the importance of the points mentioned above, particularly of participation, of breaking large actions into small steps, and of linking feeling and thoughts.

Last Modified: 12/09/2018
Modified by: Benjamin S Orlove