Scientists seem to think that simply telling people about various threats to the environment will induce people to change their behavior. But so far at least, that hasn’t been the case. Real change hasn’t occurred because people generally have one or all three of these reasons for thinking that future threats to the environment are over-rated. It’s all so far away.

Many people believe that the environment may be in danger, but they are convinced that the threat is a distant one. Their great grandchildren, not their immediate family, will face it. One person can’t do anything. Faced with the enormity of problems like pollution and global warming, many people feel that one person’s refusing to use plastic bottles is just a drop in the bucket that accomplishes nothing.

Technology is going to solve the problem soon. There isn’t much evidence for this belief. But it’s comforting. Thus people repeat it without doing any research to see if it’s true.