Psychology, Climate Change And Sustainable Behavior

An urgent issue, climate change is undoubtedly a sweeping global dilemma of paramount importance. Though most people are aware of this fact, many either choose to ignore it, or acknowledge it, but take no action against it. Those who do choose to take action usually attempt to combat climate change by using the methods that are most commonly discussed: becoming more energy efficient, recycling, and reducing emissions through using more sustainable transportation. Though these actions are helpful, they are not the most efficient way to counter climate change.

When people think of their environment people think of their immediate surroundings; however, one's environment goes beyond and further into the psychological connection to one's personal environment. To further explain, Gallagher discusses three different aspects of The Power of Place: Outside In, Inside Out, and Synchrony. The book opens doors previously unnoticed about psychological ecology. From reading the book one learns that settings influence behavior more than the personalities of most people.

The world’s climate is changing, and the effects of it will not only affect the inhabitants and the planet, but also humans. Everyone usually only pays attention to the weather on a weekly or even a monthly basis. However, humans don’t pay attention to the changes that they are causing. Very few people actually accept that they are the ones who are causing it and that they are also the ones that can help with the issue. It is time to take action on this problem that will only continue to cause horrible consequences and the only way to do that is having humans change their ways. Even starting with the smallest way can have a dramatic change if everyone is doing it.

“Many current discussions about sustainability focus on the ways in which human activity...can be maintained in the future without exhausting all of our current resources… there has been a close correlation between the growth of human society and environmental degradation - as communities grow, the environment often declines” (603).

Individuals behave differently depending on his or her beliefs and the choices come from the beliefs one holds. This can have a positive or negative effect on one’s environment within his or her control and the environment that affects the human population on Earth. Some environmental conditions that humans do have control over are pollution and crowding, although the rising temperatures and noise pollution may be out of individual reach. By changing some conditions and adding items that have a positive mental influence on individuals can make some over-populated urban environments more pleasant and less stressful to the community and

Ecosystems is the dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment that work together to form a functional unit and they are constantly changing due to the fluctuating equilibrium from natural stress and human action which has had adversarial impacts on ecosystems. This is evident in Minnamurra rainforest as human induced modifications and environmental stresses had resulted in a vulnerable ecosystem. Furthermore, the removal of factors that contribute to the vulnerability of an ecosystem is important as it affect the functioning of the ecosystem as processes are accelerated, biodiversity is decreased which greatly affects humans. Despite the negative effects caused by humans, they have discovered that ecosystems are susceptible from harm caused by natural environmental factors or human impacts and realised the importance of protecting and managing ecosystems therefore have implemented management strategies that are supposed to prevent further detriment and as a consequence may induce resiliency.

That is a really deep question. For this paper, I wanted to understand the climate change issue better. I wanted to understand how humans acknowledge (or even deny) climate change, still yet do nothing to remedy the problem. Most people are guilty of this. I, myself am guilty of this. As Nordhaus and Shellenberger state in their article, the problem seems to be a thing that will only be a priority once it is in our faces. Rust says that these films create an awareness that is somewhat being lost in this postmodern globalization. The Day After Tomorrow, Soylent Green, and The Mist all send a message that could get us thinking about cutting back to prevent climate change. But as my topic has illustrated, it seems a bit farfetched that change would actually

With the rise of calamitous news regarding extremists groups taking over certain states, countries threatening to go to war, and viruses spreading throughout the world; the outlook of humanity does not look good. In addition to these dire headlines is the matter of climate change, which, unfortunately, is not as alarming to the public eye. Nonetheless, climate change is a pressing matter as it will impact every facet of society from economy to even human survival. Perhaps the general public find climate change as a vapid subject because of its nature to react belatedly to human activity, and how it is often represented with numbers, graphs, and projections; things that are not compelling to those that do not understand its importance. Even

Hutchison, E. D. (2013). Essentials Of Human Behavior: Integrating Person, Environment, and the Life Cycle. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

This paper will reflect on the readings that we have done thus far, as well as ask the important question of how our daily lives, the things that we buy, use, and throw away, are all intertwined and built to impact climate change. Readings such as: Poverty, the environment, and the market, Tangled routes, the story of stuff, and This Changes everything gave us a glimpse into how humans are the primary contributors to climate change. Also, the movie; These changes everything, builds upon the image that humans are the primary contributors to climate change.

Modernism represents an optimistic view of human impact on the environment that has been the dominant viewpoint for the last 200 years. The knowledge that mankind holds the ability to control the environment heavily stresses why climate change is not such a problem to worry about. One of the core beliefs of the modernistic perspective is that people have no need to fear future environmental disaster because the next technological advancement that will prevent it is right around the corner. Furthermore, those who share this view do not include themselves in their image of the ecosystem, believing they are detached from it. Lastly, a laissez-faire approach is taken to environmental problems, focusing on progression through technology, stressing that as long as progress is made in this area all problems will be fixed. For a modernist, climate change is nothing to worry about. This may be a real situation, but it will be solved with advancements in technology before one’s way of life is changed. What people should be worrying about is ensuring a laissez faire approach to the market with sponsorship to new technologies. As a result of reusable energy technology already existing, modernists believe that the problem of climate change has been solved and without disrupting free market system these technologies will be further implemented. As long as there are people given the opportunity to innovate, some will focus on and ultimately solve the concern of climate change. The issue of

Article thesis: People already care about the climate change and are aware of it. They understand the problems it concerns; however, they are not connecting the current climate changes with the effects of our surroundings or on ourselves

This article critically examines the ways in which individuals could help reduce the impacts of global warming. The author challenges that every individual could significantly minimise the effects of global warming by adopting to a more responsible lifestyle.

Nearly everything that a human does is in response to the environment. Our lives are defined by what is around us and what we find in front of us, whether this means accepting, dealing with or changing it. This has been the pattern since primates first stood up and became Homo erectus, and has continued until we considered ourselves doubly wise. The shape of the land affected where humans moved. Weather was something with which to contend. Fire affected humans until they conquered it – and herein lies the core of the relationship. The earth affects humans, and humans affect it back, viewing characteristics and patterns as problems and challenges, and finding a solution.

Throughout one’s life time we encounter many different people whether it is through personal or work related environments. It is important to understand why someone who grew up in a hippie environment may be a little more reserved than an individual who grew up in a strict Amish community, or why an individual who grew up in an environment where they or individuals around them were molested grow up to also be molesters. Environmental Psychology can be applied to so many different factors of day to day living weather it is the way we design our homes or small personal spaces within a larger space such as a cubical at work. Human beings interact and behavior can dictate or contribute to good or bad behavior. The study of environmental psychology helps bridge the