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Abstract
This paper argues for the need for ethical reflection and presents an ethics rubric in order to assist in the development and evaluation of conservation and energy demand management programs that aim to "nudge" participants into behavior changes through new environmental technologies and information "dashboard" feedback designs. The project emerged as an interdisciplinary collaboration amongst human factors engineers, social scientists, environmental psychologists and philosophers. The moral challenges that arise in efforts to manipulate behavior, even if deemed to be for the greater common good, are addressed and the argument is made that there is a significant role for ethics and the humanities in projects that link environmental design, human factors engineering and environmental psychology.
Keywords
Ethics, psychology, energy demand management
Introduction
Recognizing the "unequivocal" warming of the climate system, members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fourth Assessment Report acknowledge that - in addition to our developing new technologies - conservation and demand-side management (CDM) programs constitute key mitigation measures that can be "environmentally effective" (IPCC 2007). There is growing recognition that behaviour change to encourage sustainable energy use is a key element in any climate change policy.
For decades, social and environmental psychologists have dedicated themselves to better understanding human behaviour, with a growing interest in sustainability issues (Gifford 2007). Increasingly, experts recognize that environmental problems, from pollution to water issues to loss of biodiversity, are "rooted in human behaviour," not only because the positive effects of technically efficient solutions are typically overtaken by consumption growth but also because new and innovative technological designs themselves require human understanding and acceptance (Steg and Vlek 2009, 309).
To be sure, designing conservation and demand management strategies requires contributions from multiple disciplines. Macro-level demographic developments are often best understood by sociologists, just as environmental scientists are well placed to interpret biophysical impacts of energy use and C02 emissions (Abrahamse et.al. 2005, 283). Human factors engineers design visual displays to provide feedback on energy consumption, working closely with environmental psychologists, "whose job it is to understand why and when technology is accepted or not by citizens" (Gifford 2007, 203).
In this interdisciplinary and collaborative engagement with CDM programs, the role of the humanities is less clear. Philosophers themselves certainly are interested in such matters...