Creating a Better Environmental Message

Trend and Taboo

Some question whether Americans can ever move beyond a highly-consumptive lifestyle to one that's more environmentally responsible. Blogger No Impact Man wrote a great post last month in which he suggested that "changing the message" would help change our behavior-specifically, our wasteful and consumptive tendencies.

I think we could change this through trend and taboo. I befriended a number of socially and environmentally conscious people at college, even lived with some, and in our little society it was easier to live a greener lifestyle.

For example, drying racks were trendy. So were clotheslines. Gas-guzzling cars? Taboo. Creative reusing? Trendy. Clothing swaps? Trendy. Littering? Totally taboo.

We were always open to new ideas. I'm sure that if No Impact Man had been in our group, he would have told us how he and his wife brush their teeth by the light of a beeswax candle. Could have become quite trendy.

What made these things trendy for us? Well, we all cared about the environment, social justice, etc. And we were in a supportive community made up of people with the same values. What we need, then, is for such things to get beyond the level of supportive sub-cultures and become more mainstream.

One immediate problem would be that large companies aren't that happy about people doing clothing swaps instead of going shopping. Nor are gas companies that psyched about carpooling/public transit. So they'll use their media power to keep this image going.

How will we get our message out there? No Impact Man has some ad ideas which certainly convey the negative consequences of not changing our lifestyle. They provide food for thought. I think they give us a serious reason to change.