Information overload and environmental degradation: learning from H.A. Simon and W. Wenders

This paper discusses the relevance of information overload for understanding environmental degradation. We ground our argument on the fact that both time and attention are needed to process information. This idea, which was core in the thought of Herbert Simon, also greatly affected the early works of the film director Wim Wenders. Because information overload reduces the awareness of the consequences of choices and life-styles, this concept is a crucial analytical category to interpret many present-days puzzles, including environmental degradation. The implications of information overload, together with the detachedness from nature of the lifestyles of people living in rich countries, can be easily seen within a standard consumer problem framework.