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Minding the Climate: How Neuroscience Can Help Solve Our Environmental Crisis

AUTHOR Duhaime, Ann-Christine; Althens, Suzie
PUBLISHER Tantor Audio (10/18/2022)
PRODUCT TYPE Audio (MP3 CD)

Description
If we believe the climate crisis is real, why is it so difficult to change our behavior and our consumer tendencies? Minding the Climate investigates this problem in the neuroscience of decision-making. Ann-Christine Duhaime, MD, points to the evolution of the human brain during eons of resource scarcity. The brain adapted to prioritize short-term survival over more uncertain long-term outcomes. But the resulting behavioral architecture is poorly suited to the present, when scarcity is a lesser concern and slow-moving challenges like environmental issues present the greatest danger. Duhaime details how even our acknowledged best interests are thwarted by the brain's reward system: if a behavior isn't perceived as immediately beneficial, we probably won't do it--never mind that we "know" we should. 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.
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Product Format
Product Details
ISBN-13: 9798212060882
Binding: CD-Audio (MP3 Format)
Content Language: English
More Product Details
Carton Quantity: 100
Feature Codes: Unabridged
Country of Origin: US
Subject Information
BISAC Categories
Science | Life Sciences - Neuroscience
Science | Global Warming & Climate Change
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
publisher marketing
If we believe the climate crisis is real, why is it so difficult to change our behavior and our consumer tendencies? Minding the Climate investigates this problem in the neuroscience of decision-making. Ann-Christine Duhaime, MD, points to the evolution of the human brain during eons of resource scarcity. The brain adapted to prioritize short-term survival over more uncertain long-term outcomes. But the resulting behavioral architecture is poorly suited to the present, when scarcity is a lesser concern and slow-moving challenges like environmental issues present the greatest danger. Duhaime details how even our acknowledged best interests are thwarted by the brain's reward system: if a behavior isn't perceived as immediately beneficial, we probably won't do it--never mind that we "know" we should. 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.
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