How to feng shui your fridge — and other happy climate hacks | Jiaying Zhao (re-release)

0:03You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. You've heard tactical changes we should make to curb climate change. Drive less, eat less meat, shop less. But what if the key to saving the planet is actually about being happier? Behavioral scientist Jiaying Zhao thinks so. When most people think about climate action, they immediately default to things they have to give up for the planet. This mindset is so ingrained in us, partly because the current narrative on climate action is about personal sacrifice. Drive less, eat less meat, shop less.

0:42Less, less, less. In this talk from 2023, Jiaying and her colleague Elizabeth Dunn, a happiness scientist, set out to answer a question nobody had quite asked before. What if the things that are good for the planet could also be good for you? She calls it the happy climate approach. Let's take a look at perhaps the messiest part of everybody's home. The fridge. I don't think the fridge is designed with human behavior in mind. We often forget about the things in the drawers, and that can lead to a lot of food waste and emissions. So what's the happy climate action here? Feng shui your fridge. that's coming up right after a short break.

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4:12And now, our TED Talk of the day. Hey, everyone. I'm Jay-Z. Not the cool rapper, but the professor trying to cool the planet through behavior change. The other day, I gave my students an assignment. I asked them to come up with individual actions they can take that serve two functions. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make themselves feel happier. They did a great job coming up with actions to reduce emissions, but they had a much harder time with the happiness part. One student told me that he wanted to cut back on cheese, but right after he said that, he got really sad.

4:58Unfortunately, my students are not alone. When most people think about climate action, they immediately default to things they have to give up for the planet. This mindset is so ingrained in us, partly because the current narrative on climate action is about personal sacrifice. Drive less, eat less meat, shop less. Less, less, less. Now, I'm a behavior scientist, so trust me when I say this. This framing doesn't make us feel great. If anything, it makes us feel shameful and guilty. And those negative emotions are not conducive to long-term behavior change because they make us retreat and disengage.

5:43If the future of a planet depends on a few people willing to make personal sacrifices, we're not going to make it. So what should we do instead? The aha moment came to me at the end of a faculty meeting when my colleague, Elizabeth Dunn, approached me and asked, can we make climate action feel happy instead of miserable? I said, of course. But then it struck me that I don't think anyone ever connected happiness to climate action. So Liz and I sat down to do exactly that. Liz is a happiness scientist. She knows what makes people happy. I'm a behavioral scientist. I know what makes people change their behavior.

6:31I'm also a human carbon calculator. I like figuring out exactly how much emissions certain activities have. So first, I came up with a list of actions that can substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And then Liz identified the actions with the largest happiness benefits. And this is how we came up with what we call the happy climate approach. It's actions in the sweet spot that not only reduce emissions, but also make you feel happier at the same time. Now, I know that some of you might think that individual actions may seem trivial without large-scale system change. I get that. But let me tell you how I think about this as a behavior change expert.

7:22Our individual actions do matter because they embody our values and our care for the planet to other people. They can spread like a ripple effect to instigate collective action. They send a market signal to businesses, and they can trigger broader structural institutional change. So yes, we do need system change, but we also need individual behavior change. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. All right. Now I want to take you on a whirlwind tour through some of my favorite happy climate actions. Are you ready? Yes. Great. Let's start with my pet bunny. Since this is the year of the rabbit. A few years ago, my partner and I adopted Greenwich.

8:12She's adorable. She's also a vegan. We have so many plants with vegetables and fruits in our house, thanks to Greenwich. And because of that, I'm eating a lot more vegetables myself than I used to. And I'm not kidding. I'm feeling a lot happier. Eating more plants can reduce agricultural emissions by up to 80 percent. I guess that part you may have known before. But do you also know that a plant-based diet can make you feel happier? Decades of medical studies suggest that a plant-based diet can increase both physical and mental health. In a recent experiment, researchers recruited people from North Dakota who barely ate any vegetables.

8:58And they fed these people a plant-based diet for two months. These people on this diet felt a lot happier at the end of two months than they did before they started the experiment. So researchers think that this is because plants, so fruits, vegetables, are high in vitamins and phytochemicals that provide both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits to the brain and the body. So the happy climate action here is eat more plants. But this does not mean never eat meat, because I can tell you that deprivation is a disaster for happiness. Instead, we should aim for the right balance of meat and plants in our diet that will make us maximally happy.

9:46Now, as you're thinking about this diet and this balance, understand that not all meat is created equal. One kilogram of beef emits about 100 kilograms of greenhouse gases. That's roughly the same as driving 250 miles. But other types of meat, like fish, pork, and poultry, have a lot lower emissions. But if you do want to eat beef, here's the happy climate hack. Make it a treat. One study shows that temporarily giving up something we enjoy can actually renew our capacity to savor that thing when we have it again. And that can increase our happiness. And beyond food, we can turn other things into a treat as well, like shopping.

10:32Now, you know that fast fashion has a huge climate impact. So instead of shopping often, make shopping a treat. And here's the happy climate hack. Jackets, jeans, shoes have a lot of greenhouse gas emissions. So treating ourselves to high-quality versions of these products that won't fall apart after a few wears is actually good for the planet. Underwear, on the other hand, have pretty low emissions. So, you know, please buy those whenever you need them. You're welcome.

11:08Now let's talk about waste. Do you know that if your space is clean, zero waste, and organized, you may feel happier? Let's take a look at perhaps the messiest part of everybody's home, the fridge. Some environmental experts recommend that we put perishables into the drawers and put the condiments at the door. I hate to say this, but I disagree. I don't think the fridge is designed with human behavior in mind. We often forget about the things in the drawers, right? Out of sight, out of mind. And that can lead to a lot of food waste and emissions. So what's the happy climate action here? Fung shui your fridge.

11:56By moving the perishables to the door and the condiments into the drawers so I can catch things before they rot. I also five-fold my fridge, that is, first in, first out, meaning moving older items to the front of the fridge so I don't forget about them. And this way you can have a zero-waste clean fridge and you may feel happier. Now, beyond waste, we'll have to talk about travel. And here's the happy climate hack. Instead of saying drive less, we should say drive more people.

12:34Yes. Some studies suggest that the more time we spend with our friends and family, the happier we feel. So what this means is that instead of driving alone in our car, we should drive our friends. Because carpooling can turn those dreadful minutes behind the wheel into joyful moments of socializing. Or you can ditch the car altogether and bike. Better yet, bike with your buddy. Biking is virtually carbon-free, and it also offers moderate exercise that activates our endocannabinoid system. And that contributes to a sense of euphoria that's bikers high and greater mental well-being. Now, we also know that flying is carbon-intensive.

13:25One round trip between Vancouver and New York emits about half a ton of greenhouse gases. That's equivalent to 400 chicken burgers. That's a lot of burgers. But what's exciting here is that there's a double happy climate hack here. Ready? First, bundle your trips. This means combining multiple trips into one by meeting up with friends and family and maybe doing a little sightseeing in the region to reap the happiness benefits of social connection. I flew here to New York from Vancouver for this conference, and I'm meeting up with my friends in New York to be happier. Second, cutting out unnecessary flights can contribute to a sense of time affluence, and that is the feeling that you have enough time to do what you want to do.

14:12Studies have shown that people who experience time affluence tend to be happier because it enhances our sense of mindfulness, autonomy, and connection to others. In a recent study, people felt happier when they made a time-saving purchase than a material purchase, because a time-saving purchase made them feel less stressed. So before you book your next flight, think about all the other trips you have to take in the future and ask yourself whether you can bundle these flights to save your future self some time. Now, do you want to know the best part of this whole happy climate strategy? It doesn't have to stay at the individual level.

14:54We can actually call for happy climate policies that governments can enact so that everyone can get a chance to take these happy climate actions. Let me give you an example. Cities should invest more in climate-friendly infrastructure like bike lanes, so more people get to bike. Cities can also invest more in nature-based solutions like urban green spaces that not only help cool the city down during the summer, but they also provide space to take a walk to meet your neighbors, to walk your bunny, and then you can feel happier. In fact, some studies show that taking a walk in nature makes people feel happier than taking a walk on a city street.

15:41I think you get the gist here. And I encourage you to take a moment and think about the actions you can take in your own life that not only reduce emissions, but also can make yourself feel happier. There's probably a lot of those in this sweet spot. So please get creative. Because the bottom line is this. We need to change the narrative on climate action. We need to make climate action feel good. Because if we get this right, our future will indeed be happy. Thank you.

16:18And that was Jiayin Zhao at TED at Destination Canada in 2023. This talk was originally published in February of that year.

16:53Argentina Bohanini, Banban Chang, Brian Green, and Laini Lott. Learn more at podcasts.ted.com. I am Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feet. Thanks for listening.

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