Research & News
Faculty Research and News
Sowing doubt and undermining science
Sowing doubt and undermining sciencePeople want to rely on scientific evidence in countless different contexts. As one professor put it, “Science has ‘epistemic authority,’ meaning it is the best method humans have available to understand what is true about the...
From setting to achieving sustainability goals
Why do companies have an easier time setting sustainability goals than achieving them? Modern corporations create astonishing wealth and innovation, but they have so far struggled to transform themselves to operate within the sustainable boundaries of natural resource...
The Detroit water crisis and unexpected coalitions
The Detroit water crisis and unexpected coalitionsSince 2014, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department has shut off the water to 141,000 households whose bills were past due. Last year, more than 23,000 households reportedly had their water shut off. When the...
Agree to Disagree — with Yourself
Agree to Disagree with YourselfThe tougher the choices we have to make, the less sense we make making them. Understanding and educating ourselves can help us make better-informed decisions more consistent with our values.Where would you like to go for dinner? Even the...
Climate change is not just an environmental issue
The term “environmental justice” still may be unfamiliar to some people, but you don’t have to be familiar with it to understand what it means when you see it. With the Flint water crisis and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the people who were hit hardest were...
Joe Árvai recognized for his contribution to risk analysis
Erb Institute Faculty Director Joe Árvai is one of the six fellows that the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) recently named, recognizing their substantial achievements in science or public policy relating to risk analysis, as well as their service to the society. SRA...
New ways to study individual corporations’ supply chains
Multinational corporations wield immense power. A mere 100 companies control a quarter of global trade. Walmart is the 10th-largest economic entity on the planet. Coca-Cola is the world’s largest consumer of aluminum and sugarcane. In choosing where to invest, what...
Guidelines aim to slow spread of fake climate change news on Facebook
In this era of conflicting ideologies, fake news about climate change—especially on Facebook—can embolden those who remain unconvinced that it’s a threat and can easily influence people who only casually follow the issue. Lauren Lutzke is a doctoral student at the...
Andy Hoffman: Honored for his work on book “Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate”
Andy Hoffman is a 2019 recipient of the RRBM award for his work on "Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate." The book seeks to understand why people are rejecting the science on climate change and what the science says about how to overcome that schism. One...
What does society look like in the future of the Anthropocene? A Q&A with Andy Hoffman
We have entered a new geologic epoch, called the Anthropocene, that recognizes people’s effect on the Earth’s ecosystems—harming them in ways that are likely irreversible. So what will Anthropocene society look like in the future? Erb faculty member Andrew Hoffman and...
The five Ws of supply chains: Who, what, where, when and why corporations should care
Not a month goes by without a media campaign linking the supply chain of a well-known brand with unsavory labor practices or environmental mismanagement. Such exposés can devalue brands and reduce well-meaning corporate sustainability initiatives to hypocrisy. Beyond...
Simple interventions can help to inhibit the spread of fake climate change news on Facebook
Research by Lauren Lutzke, U-M SEAS Master’s Student; Caitlin Drummond, Erb Institute Postdoc; Joe Arvai, Erb Institute Faculty Director Article by Lauren Lutzke, M.S. Candidate in Behavior, Education, and Communication at the University of Michigan “Fake News” has...