Sure, we already know it's not easy being green. But how about selling green? Yep, pretty easy. That's according to the Harvard economist Ed Glaeser, the star of this week's podcast, "Why Bad Environmentalism Is Such an Easy Sell." (You can subscribe at iTunes, get the RSS feed, or listen via the media player above. You can also read the transcript; it includes credits for the music you’ll hear in the episode.)
Glaeser is an interesting scholar and a good conversationalist. You last heard from him in our podcast called "Why Cities Rock," in which he discussed the many upsides of urban life: economic, culinary, intellectual, and environmental. (This was based on his book Triumph of the City
.) His latest working paper is called "The Supply of Environmentalism" (abstract; PDF). Glaeser argues that since most of us are eager to do the right thing for the environment, we are vulnerable to marketers and politicians who offer solutions that aren't as green as they seem.