Helping the Environment Is Nice. Helping Yourself Is OK, Too.

A UCLA Economist Argues That More People Will Embrace ‘Green’ Consumption If They Get a Personal Benefit

Homo sapiens are hardwired to consume, a habit that’s taking a heavy—and potentially catastrophic—environmental toll. But pleading with people to stop driving gas-guzzling SUVs or eating red meat may not be enough to save the planet, unless you can also offer some personal incentive or private benefit to individuals that will make them alter their consumption patterns.

That idea forms the core of a new book, The Green Bundle: Pairing the Market with the Planet, co-written by Magali Delmas, an economist at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. It also was …