Last Wednesday, Rose House’s Garrick Blalock presented a very interesting argument. One major topic he discussed was consumer preferences. He first highlighted our own preferences when it comes the cars either we or our families own. Interestingly, a lot of people in the audience said they agree that electric cars are better for the environment. However, everyone but two then said that they (or their families) do not own any electric cars. This discrepancy showcased that our knowledge and thoughts do not always align with our purchases. Other factors, such as style, cost, and functionality, also come into play and arguably dominate our decision-making thought process of which car to buy. Although this wasn’t really discussed, I would argue that our values play a major role, if not the most important role, when making purchases. For example, a dedicated environmentalist would most likely try to purchase an electric car regardless of the other factors simply because they believe it’s much better for the environment than diesel. However, assuming their knowledge is the same, someone who doesn’t value the natural environment as much would most likely put much higher values on the other factors.

Mr. Blalock went on to explain his past work in Africa trying to improve cooking stoves and cooking stove conditions and environments. The issue with the current, traditional stoves is two-fold. The problem is the exhaust from burning charcoal both effecting the families that inhale the smoke as well the fact that all that carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. He explained how a new stove design was introduced to a couple of communities in an effort to get them to switch to the cleaner stove. After trying different approaches, Mr. Blalock and his team found that people were more likely to buy the cleaner stove if there was a one-month trial period. In other words, a warranty of sorts was offered. This increased the use of the stoves but when the team went back four years later to see how many people were still using the new stoves, they found that next to no one was. Although I think their efforts were very beneficial to the people they helped teach about the harmful effects of charcoal burning, I personally wish there were larger campaigns showcasing the harmful effects of charcoal burning when cooking in a small and enclosed kitchen. I think there should be NGOs dedicated to this cause because it’s so deleterious to the health of these families. I look forward to seeing future projects in this area in the hopes of helping communities cook safer and cleaner.