Using Psychology to Inspire Climate Action

The Climate Reality Project posted an article last month on how to motivate otherwise un-motivated people to take real action on climate change.

The article recommends four tools commonly used in the social sciences to break down apathy:

1. REDUCE PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTANCE. Connect climate change to demonstrable changes in real communities. Remember to "show not tell."

2. DO IT TOGETHER, DON'T GO IT ALONE. Turn climate action into a group experience to help create positive social norms. Peer pressure works!

3. MAKE IT POSITIVE, NOT NEGATIVE. Highlight the up-side, not the down-side. Some people would rather improve something than preserve something.

4. SUGGEST ACTION TO AVOID ENNUI. Lift your friends out of despair to battle ‘environmental melancholia.’ To coin a phrase, "yes we can!"

Read the full post here.