I continue our discussion of the CLIMATE model, focusing on the “A” representing affiliation. In this post, I’ll discuss how we can use social capital to address climate change challenges and build more resilient and adaptable individuals and communities. Cultural values can be both facilitating and prohibiting. For example, we have values that conflict with…

We continue the discussion of our CLIMATE model, which is an acronym for getting people to act. This blog covers the “M” of the model, motivating people to act. Motivation contains several components, but in this blog I focus on how the market encourages people to take action. More specifically, I prescribe engaging in impact…

Roger Scruton provides a thought-provoking read in How to Think Seriously About the Planet: The Case for an Environmental Conservatism— even if some parts are difficult to stomach for the died-in-the-wool climate-change advocates. However, if you stick with Scruton throughout the book, he explains how the scientific underpinnings of the environmental movement are difficult for…

Related to getting people to act, I address one label that is supposed to inform the public- “organic.” “Organic” is a term often used in eco-labeling and it has become very popular with companies and consumers. Therefore, it warrants a discussion about its emergence in the food industry. There has been much debate over what…

This blog continues our conversation about how to get people to act in the face of climate change impacts. An earlier blog explained the CLIMATE model, this blog explains the “I” in the model which stands for Information Disclosure. I’ll focus here on companies and their information disclosure. The goal is to get companies to…

This blog continues the commentary on how to get people to act in the face climate change and its impacts. Previous blog posts outlined why people don’t act and also presented the CLIMATE model as means to encourage action. A few weeks ago, I began discussing the “C” in the CLIMATE model and this blog…

This blog post was written in response to the current tenor in the United States over environmental regulation. While much needs to be improved, it is important to not regress on progress made during the last 50-60 years. Over the last 50 years, the focuses of government regulation have changed dramatically. Major changes have mirrored…

Al-Azhar University in Cairo To the graduating class of 2017 from the MA in Sustainability Program at Wake Forest University, Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability.   This is a plea to use your education to craft possibilities and to create and maintain connections to address important issues in our world!  When you graduate, you…

Botanical Gardens in Singapore: An Amazing Design An earlier blog commented on why design thinking was critical to solving sustainability challenges, this blog tells you more how to engage in design thinking. Designers tend to use a six-stage process to organize their fact finding and decision making: (1) Empathy, (2) Define, (3) Ideate, (4) Prototype,…

Design thinking is critical to creating a sustainable world. Design thinking is a field that uses designer’s sensibilities and methods to match people’s needs with what is technologically feasible and viable to create innovations. Designers use all sorts of methods to empathize with people, create definitions of problems, craft prototypes, and gain feedback from those…