# In an op-ed, Research Scholar Robert Frank shares his thoughts on why peer pressure can help stop climate change; joint research from Professor Bryan Bollinger on contagion in solar panel adoption is mentioned

1 Faculty News February 20, 2020 ![The Washington Post logo](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/con_031074.jpg?itok=f6OME_Rm)>

Excerpt from [The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/02/20/how-peer-pressure-can-help-save-planet/?arc404=true) -- I used to share their skepticism. But my study of 'behavioral contagion' — social scientists’ term for how ideas and behaviors can spread through populations like infectious diseases — has changed my view. The environmental impact of seemingly insignificant voluntary actions is far greater than most people realize, for two related reasons."

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