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Ecology: Achieving an Ecologically Sustainable Future

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Encyclopedia of Primary Prevention and Health Promotion

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Introduction

The future state of our living environment is uncertain because of acid rain, global warming, damage to the protective ozone layer, worldwide misuse of land and water, and overpopulation. These problems can be alleviated through technological advances, but not solved. There is a crucial role for behavioral and psychological science in addressing our environmental crisis. In fact, the sustainability of our planet is inextricably dependent upon human behavior. Some of our behaviors degrade the environment, while other behaviors protect our environment.

An ecologically sustainable future is contingent on a large-scale increase of environment-preserving behaviors and a worldwide decrease of environment-destructive behaviors. This entry addresses the human element of environmental protection and ecological sustainability by reviewing current theories and intervention approaches that need to be considered if the three main sources of the Earth’s environmental problems are to be...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Center for Applied Behavior Systems, Virginia Tech, 213 Williams Hall, Blacksburg, VA, 24060, USA

    E. Scott Geller

  2. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH, 45226, USA

    Thomas R. Cunningham

  3. Department of Social Psychology, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Jan Willem Bolderdijk

Authors
  1. E. Scott Geller
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  2. Thomas R. Cunningham
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  3. Jan Willem Bolderdijk
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Correspondence to E. Scott Geller .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Child & Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut, New London, CT, USA

    Thomas P. Gullotta

  2. University of Connecticut, West Hartford, USA

    Martin Bloom

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Geller, E.S., Cunningham, T.R., Bolderdijk, J.W. (2014). Ecology: Achieving an Ecologically Sustainable Future. In: Gullotta, T.P., Bloom, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Primary Prevention and Health Promotion. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5999-6_81

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5999-6_81

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