Professor Blalock led an intriguing discussion about general individual and societal resistance to change in the context of helping the environment. The surveying at the beginning of the talk was a clever way to demonstrate right in front of the audience the general “apathy” people have when it comes to changing their lifestyles to better preserve the Earth. Most people don’t want to change to more efficient cars or similar technology because of inconvenience, lack of style and more. With that in mind, Blalock talks about how he and his research team went to Uganda to help a native village adopt a more efficient stove. It was surprising and slightly horrifying that Ugandans, especially children, were exposed to harmful smoke emissions, equivalent to smoking multiple packs of cigarettes, on a daily basis.

You would assume that the advanced technology, which would not only be more efficient but it would make the living environment better, would be adopted and integrated immediately. However, as Blalock and his team learned, this was not the case. The Ugandans who received the new stove learned how to use it but when Blalock returned many years later, none of the families were using the new stove. It is probably because it may have stopped working and there were no technicians around to fix it, and it was something that the Ugandans weren’t used to. While families probably didn’t want to expose their children to such harmful emissions, the three stone stove was easier to operate, cheaper and an appratus they have learned to use all their lives. Convenience is a major factor and any form of inconvenience or reason to not use it because it is too hard or adds friction to people lives, no matter how small, will cause people to drop the new technology, regardless of how superior it is, in favor of the old and tested technology.

I enjoyed the connection to his research and I think that society will transition to a more eco-friendly one as next generation technology improves and becomes near infallible.  Resistance to change exists, but there is change nonetheless, most likely spearheaded by the new generation of individuals. Is there anything you are willing to change in your life that would help the environment and if not, what is the biggest reason why you wouldn’t, especially if it is a small, trifling issue?