After attending the talk lead by Adam Scwartz the week before on laughing about environmentalism as a way to get it to be more successful, I was surprised to see Garrick Blalock also covering the environment. However, the way this similar topic was handled was worlds apart. While Adam pushed how important caring about the environment is and ways to get people involved, Garrick showed us just how hard it is to make people interested.

He started the talk with asking our opinions on Prius’s. How many of us have a Prius, how many have driven them, do we think they are important for the environment, etc. While many of us said we think they make a difference environmentally, almost no one had one. Garrick asked us why? Was it the upfront cost, did it not fit our lifestyle? He gave several solutions to those problems and more and it seemed as if we were going to repeat last weeks discussion. However, after listening a little bit harder, I realized he wasn’t saying we were wrong for not having a Prius or that we should feel bad for not caring more about the environment, but he was more getting at just how hard it is for people to change their lifestyles.

Garrick took us on a trip to Africa he took to help bring a new stove revolution to the places he visited. In many parts of Africa, they use stoves that coat their lungs and walls in black gook. Scientists had tried to come up with healthier stoves for both the earth and the people using them, and after coming up with a relatively easy and cost effective one, Garrick and his team went from family to family offering the stoves. They said we will let you use these stoves for a few months and if you don’t like them we won’t charge you and you can give them back, or you can keep it and pay money. What happened when they returned? Nothing. Not one family was using theirs anymore.

At this point in the lecture I was shocked. How could no family be using these stoves if they were so much healthier and at that point free? But, thinking back to the Prius example, I have no desire for a Prius and pretty much wouldn’t consider getting one. This is a very interesting dichotomy. We can know what we are doing isn’t the best option but continue doing that thing.

So what should we do if even no brainers don’t work? I think the only way to get something into wide-spread use is to capitalize on the flaws in humans. When people found out that if they cut out gluten they could maybe lose some weight, suddenly gluten free options are everywhere, sometimes more than gluten containing options. People with celiac disease have been around forever, but it wasn’t until people saw a selfish benefit that they cared. I guess humans are going to have to see something they can directly benefit from before they are willing to make a change.