What are we to do? From here to sustainability

Sustainability requires that we think about the following

• How do changes happen in collective worldviews and practices?

• What are the connections between micro- and macro-levels in terms of fostering such changes?

• What role does technological innovation play in fostering such changes?

• How can we get the economics “right?”• Is it possible to “normalize” sustainable practices

and behaviors?

Do we have a plausible theory of broad social change?

1. Raise prices & change incentives

In a “free market,” prices are a function of scarcity & demand: how can things be made “more scarce?”

2. Raise consciousness through “education”

People don’t always do what is “good for them…”

3. Reduce resource intensity through technological

innovation

Even innovations have material requirements, and there need to be incentives to incorporate innovations into daily life—and what about those who cannot afford such innovations?

4. Change preferences through peer pressure & media

Consumer preferences are flighty and changeable—and depend on what the market offers them

5. Pass legislation & enforce the law

Do laws precede or follow changes in norms, beliefs and practices? And what if laws result in unfair or perverse results?

And what are the links between changing your behaviors and a

sustainable world?1.

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