Introduction: The Human Brain and Climate Change -- Neural Origins. Brain evolution and the anthropocene -- Brain rewards as a design for learning -- The universe of human rewards -- Biophilia and the brain -- The Twenty-First-Century Brain. An acceleration of consumption -- Which behaviors matter most -- Changing the Brain. Behaviors that are easy and hard to change -- Strategies for pro-environmental shifts -- The green children's hospital -- Conclusion: A Sustainable Brain.
Summary:
"The human brain evolved to prioritize short-term rewards over long-term needs. But while this behavioral architecture served our ancestors well, it is maladaptive in the face of a slow-moving climate crisis. Luckily, brains can change. Dr. Ann-Christine Duhaime shows how we can retrain our neurons to value behaviors that counteract climate change"--Provided by publisher Increasingly politicians, activists, media figures, and the public at large agree that climate change is an urgent problem. Yet that sense of urgency rarely translates into serious remedies. If we believe the climate crisis is real, why is it so difficult to change our behavior and our consumer tendencies? Luckily, we can sway our brains, and those of others, to alter our behaviors. Duhaime describes concrete, achievable interventions that have been shown to encourage our neurological circuits to embrace new rewards. Such small, incremental steps that individuals take, whether in their roles as consumers, in the workplace, or in leadership positions, are necessary to mitigate climate change. The more we understand how our tendencies can be overridden by our brain's capacity to adapt, Duhaime argues, the more likely we are to have a future--Publisher's description.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.