For decades earth scientists have issued fact-filled warnings about our planet’s declining health and its diminishing ability to sustain human activity. Human behavior is responsible for both of these problems, and changing our behavior is the only solution. While behavior analysis has made important contributions to other spheres—improving education, helping people adopt healthier life styles, making highways and factories safer, caring for people exhibiting challenging and life-threatening disorders—it has paid far too little attention to the impact of human behavior on the only home we have. But this is changing. I will identify and offer examples of why behavior analysts are uniquely poised to contribute to a broad range of interventions to promote the husbandry of our planet’s resources, restore damaged eco-systems, and help prepare us to cope with the inevitable challenges to come.
Review William Heward’s biographical statement.