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13 April 2026 | New Orleans, LA
Lori Downs, a climate and sustainability leader with almost three decades of experience, has released a new book, Second Nature: How to Build Ecohabits That Stick. The book offers a clear, practical approach to sustainable living by focusing on the one factor most advice overlooks: human behavior.
Downs has spent her career helping organizations tackle complex environmental challenges. Through that work, she has seen a consistent pattern. Whether you are trying to shift a global business or your own daily routine, change does not happen through information alone. It happens through design.
Most sustainability advice assumes that if people know more, they will do better,” Downs said. “In reality, many people already know what they ‘should’ do. The gap is between intention and action.
Second Nature addresses that gap head-on. Instead of relying on motivation or willpower, Downs breaks down how the brain forms habits and provides a system to make sustainable choices easier, automatic, and lasting. The book combines insights from behavioral science with real-world experience in climate and sustainability to give readers a practical path forward.
The approach is simple and structured. Readers learn how to start small, design their environment, and embed eco-friendly actions into routines they already follow. The goal is not perfection. It is consistency.
The book is designed for people who have tried to “go green” before but struggled to stick with it. It also speaks to those who feel overwhelmed by the scale of climate change and unsure where to start. Downs reframes the challenge into something manageable and personal.
Sustainable living does not require a complete life overhaul,” Downs said. “It requires building the right habits in the right way. When you do that, the choices begin to take care of themselves.
In addition to practical tools, Second Nature connects individual action to broader impact. Downs shows how small, repeated behaviors can compound over time and contribute to meaningful environmental progress when adopted at scale.
The book also reflects Downs’ broader commitment to education and advocacy. Alongside her leadership roles, she has been an active supporter of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education and careers, with a focus on building capability and engagement across communities. That perspective carries through in her writing, which emphasizes clarity, accessibility, and action.
Early readers have noted the book’s straightforward tone and its focus on real-life application rather than theory. It avoids complex frameworks and instead gives readers steps they can use immediately.
Second Nature: How to Build Ecohabits That Stick is available now through major online retailers.