Autumn 2015 SENR Seminar

The SENR Seminar Series welcomes Ezra Markowitz, Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Department of Environmental Conservation. Dr. Markowitz will present Going Back to the Future: New Psychological Tools for Promoting Conservation.

Many of the major environmental challenges we face—ocean acidification, habitat loss, species extinction—are often perceived and framed as long-term issues that will impact people (and the planet) far in the future. Such 'intertemporal distance’ is often viewed by advocates, policymakers and others as a major barrier to more proactive, proenvironmental action. Yet we know that people can and do sometimes make decisions that benefit future others, even at personal expense. In this talk, I highlight ways in which the intertemporal nature of these problems can be leveraged to promote, rather than inhibit, proenvironmental decision-making. I'll discuss implications for intervention design and note some opportunities for future research.

The SENR Seminar begins at 4:10 p.m in 103 Kottman Hall with a video link to 123 Williams Hall on the Wooster campus.