Cognitive Policy

• Author: Joe Brewer and Evan Frisch
• Position: Advise organizations on the design and implementation of cognitive strategies to achieve public engagement with their missions
• Pages: 36-40

Page 36 ❧ THE ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM Copyright © 2008, Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, D.C. www.eli.org.

Reprinted by permission from The Environmental Forum®, Sept./Oct 2008

co v e r sT o r y

It is the start of the next administration. e

nation has elected a committed environmen-

talist who vows to address our greatest chal-

lenges, beginning with the climate crisis. e

White House crafts a plan to ensure reduc-

tions in greenhouse gas emissions consistent

with the f‌indings of the Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change. With help from leading

environmental organizations, the plan wins approval

in Congress. On a sunny morning in early spring,

the president, f‌lanked by prominent environmental

advocates, signs the Climate Defense Act in a Rose

Garden ceremony. Our sacrif‌ices over the coming

decades, the president promises, will safeguard the

Earth that future generations will inherit.

Now imagine another scene exactly one year later

as tens of thousands of people assemble on the Na-

tional Mall. ese protesters seek to mark the anniver-

sary of the law, but they have come to bur y it, not to

praise it. e assembled truck drivers, farmers, factory

workers, and small business owners demand an end to

regulations they claim are driving up energy costs and

taking away their livelihoods. While industr y groups

have promoted the repeal campaign with the help of

talk radio, it has clearly tapped into genuine frustra-

tions with the law. Americans see the program’s costs

in time, money, and confusion daily, but its benef‌its

remain hidden. With the 2010 mid-term elections ap-

proaching, members of the president’s own party issue

a call for a moratorium on the enforcement of selected

provisions during the summer driving season. Mean-

while, a growing number of congressional challengers

pledge to abolish the act altogether.

Could a law that f‌inally commits our nation to

urgently needed cuts in carbon dioxide emissions re-

ally fall prey to such a movement? And what can we

do now to keep that from happening? How do we

advance policies that will retain popular support over

the decades in which they are needed to protect our

environment?

e climate crisis is among the most serious threats

we face. Getting the right framework is critical, re-

quiring expertise in many areas — including public

policy, science, economics, planning and develop-

ment, and more. One area of expertise that has gone

largely unnoticed so far is the application of cognitive

science — an interdisciplinary study drawing from

psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, linguistics, an-

thropology, computer science, and biology — to the

political process.

Cognitive science has already helped to resolve per-

sistent problems in other f‌ields through fresh insights.

Cognitive Policy

Environmental programs depend

not only on sound precepts, but

also on an underlying belief system

that resonates with the public

understanding. Policymaking needs

to incorporate sciences of the mind if

it is to be successful in the long run

Joe Brewer and Evan Frisch

Joe Brewer and Evan Frisch ad vise organiza -

tions on the design and implementation of cog-

nitive strategi es to achieve public engagement

with their missions. They can be found at ww w.

hivethrive.com. Both are previous members of the

Rockridge Inst itute.