One popular paradigm for thinking about how to deal with the problem of global warming is to divide the problem into “wedges.” Thus, one wedge would be to increase solar power. Another would be to make buildings more energy efficient. And so on.
Conceived of in this way, according to Columbia’s Weber, changing human behavior may be most powerful wedge of all for one simple reason: It influences all of the others.
“Behavioral approaches are not just one wedge,” says Weber. “It is an additive contribution, because there are certain things that you only get with behavioral approaches — but behavioral science also tells you how to implement all of these other solutions in a different way.”
The next energy revolution won’t be in wind or solar. It will be in our brains.
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One popular paradigm for thinking about how to deal with the problem of global warming is to divide the problem into “wedges.” Thus, one wedge would be to increase solar power. Another would be to make buildings more energy efficient. And so on.
Conceived of in this way, according to Columbia’s Weber, changing human behavior may be most powerful wedge of all for one simple reason: It influences all of the others.