Top 5 Ways to Convince People who Don't Give a Damn about the Environment
You've made many small changes in your life for the greater good right? You recycle and use CFLs, maybe you buy organic food or clothing - in short, you give a damn, but do your friends, family, co-workers and roomates? Chances are at least some of them don't.
How can they be brought into the fold? How can those who haven't yet had their "eco-epiphany" be convinced that this stuff matters? Here are five classic methods environmentalists have tried, with varying degrees of success, to plant the green seed in peoples' minds:
1. Scare Them
This is on of the most commonly used approaches it seems. Scare people with the facts about global warming, the mountains of waste we create and the air, water and land pollution everywhere. Shocking people into action worked well for Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, but it doesn't work well unless you can convince people to sit down and be scared. Don't attempt this unless you have a firm grasp of the facts and the facts are indeed scary. An increase of sea-level by 1-foot within the next 50 years won't scare a skeptic. It also helps if you have a bit of a flair for the theatrical.
2. Threaten Them
Smog will make you sick, red meat will kill you, organic is healthier... Espousing the health benefits of acting environmentally is a popular tactic amongst vegetarians and cyclists (two groups I hold dear to my heart). While this tactic works on people predisposed to healthy living it's a tough sell for anyone who eats fast-food more than twice a week. Most folks know they should act healthier and many have tried - adding a green message won't help.
3. Threaten Their Children
Won't somebody please think of the children! This is similar to the scare tactic but it has the added benefit of a longer timeline. Many of the climate change timelines aren't terribly scary unless you plan on living another 60 years. Reminding people of the effect this will have on their children makes the argument personal. This tactic also brings in questions of morality, in particular the biblical golden rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". The idea of leaving the earth as we found it for future generations helps some find the motivation to take action.
4. Act Superior
A lot of folks suggest leading by example - be the change you want to see in the world. Of course people who care about the environment can't help but do this as they green their lives. Drawing undo attention to your "leadership" however can come off as snobby or superior. Just have a look at this article from last weekend's NY Times Magazine and you'll see that there's significant backlash against this tactic: The Green Part - Paper or Plastic? Eco-Terrorists At The Table.
5. Give Them Money
This is the tactic we've adopted here at GreenDeals Daily - put a little extra money in peoples' pockets and they just might change their ways. Incentives from utility companies and governments work wonders to effectuate positive change - and so do high energy prices. Why does this carrot / stick approach work so well? It works because we don't need to learn new morality; wrap our heads around scientific evidence; or face our deepest fears. It works because it taps into the part of our brains that's been conditioned since birth to think MONEY = GOOD. Saving money as a marketing tactic isn't new either, just pick up any Sunday newspaper or flip on the TV. It's proven to work and it needs to be a major part of the green movement.
What Works for You?
The five tactics above all have their benefits - let us know in the comments what's worked best for you! If you think saving money on environmental products sounds good why not subscribe to us by email or RSS?
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Anonymous 46 weeks 6 days 13 hours 35 sec ago
Haa! Sounds much like the strategy of the inquisiton. The last one, "offer money" sort of like welfare, democract style.
What if: those who care reduced all energy consumption by 20%. Because reducing you dollar expenditures by 20% is a vote 20 times stronger than the vote you cast in November.
How?
Reduce Driving 20%, one week per month.
Reduce cooling 20%, keep it at 80.
Reduce heating 20%, keep it at 60.
If you believe the war is driven by oil, do this to reduce the motiviation.
If you believe oil companies reap undo profits, then sock it to them.
If you believe in free enterprise, you act by reducing comsumption.
Leap
Anonymous 1 year 3 weeks 1 day 11 hours ago
please send me more infor about recycling.
Anonymous 1 year 3 weeks 6 days 1 hour ago
[...] Environment .... If you can grab them there, you have a chance they will self-discover how to ...http://www.greendealsdaily.com/blog/top-5-ways-to-convince-people-who-dont-give-a-damn-about-the-env...Ten Ways to Convince A Buyer That Value-Based Fees Are BestSummit Consulting Group, a firm [...]
Anonymous 1 year 7 weeks 5 days 8 hours ago
P.P.S. Art A says it better, in fewer words.
Anonymous 1 year 7 weeks 5 days 8 hours ago
haha I like this article.
This seems to be a pro-environmental website, but I can't help but notice how much everything I just read feels pleasantly like satire showing all the bull-crap tactics being used to convince people to be environmentally friendly.
Personally, as a "skeptic", I think I'd take this whole thing a lot more seriously if more people would just clearly present the information without trying to trick and manipulate the masses with exaggerated horror stories about my children dying gruesome deaths from sunburns despite their Black heritage, entire cities drowning because some polar bears died, and having how recycling makes you "cool" and driving hybrids makes you "elite". And then adding to it be exploiting people's latent childlike desires to be a hero with those "Save the world" and "Change the world [by keeping it exactly the same]" slogans is out-right cheap. It makes me think that you guys don't even believe you have a solid reason for all the paranoia that's been going on.
I've gone from website to website, bending over backwards to try and find a good reason to give a crap about the environment (God knows all the "you want to be cool, don't you?" commercials didn't give me one) and no one did. I finally had to illegaly download An Inconvenient Truth (cause, come on, if it turned out to be a propaganda film, I'd regret spending money for it). To be honest he made some good points-eventually- about the warmer weather causing severe storms, but that's about all, plus even that video did too much of the "playing on peoples emotions" game. Like seriously, you losing the election to a cheating George Bush, and your son almost dieing in a car accident are sad, but COMPLETELY pointless to the film. So was the appearance of the Simpsons.(sad and pointless) I'm not sure it can really be called a documentary.
In the end, I decided that paying witness to an Earth the likes of which have never been seen could possibly be the greatest, most fascinating thing someone can experience, and watching it all change before your very eyes? WOW! Just thinking about all the new scientific discoveries that would come out of that is practically orgasmic. Why should we deny that to ourselves and to our children? Who wants to live in a world where everything is always the same?
I say, if you really want to convince someone to care about the environment, don't bullcrap around and give them some clear, unbiased information on the pros and cons (if you can find any); don't patronize them.
good luck, and if it's really worth caring about, I'd love to know.
PS. yeah, I recycle
Anonymous 1 year 11 weeks 10 hours 53 min ago
You know, just because people are concerned that the sky is going to fall is 60 years doesn't mean they eat at McDonalds twice or week or "don't give a damn about the environment". The first suggestion you should have on your list is not to assume ANYTHING about your audience. I can't count how many times I've witnessed during these discussions that the very people speaking for "Green" aren't as knowledgable as people who haven't bought into the fad yet.
I care about the environment, I recycle, exercise, college educated, and I eat healthy, but I don't believe we're doomed to man made Climate Change. Even if we were, going 'Green' wouldn't save us anyway at this stage if you take people like Gore seriously.
You people, yes I said 'you people', are sounding more and more religious as time goes on. Threat of doom, paying your penance, all that jazz. Go ahead, live in fear, but don't tell me I should.
Anonymous 1 year 12 weeks 2 days 13 hours ago
6. Make a convincing case that it's just as easy as NOT recycling.
Face it - how difficult is it to add a bin to your kitchen? (And I should know; I have a tiny galley kitchen.)
Ask your stubborn friends: "You do know how to take out the garbage, right? (Good.) Then why not learn how to do what any 5-year-old can do: put cans, bottles, or paper in the bin."
7. Start them out small. If they recycle just one item (like newspapers), it's a winner because it's not very complex. And it's: a start! If you can grab them there, you have a chance they will self-discover how to move to step 8:
8. Teach them it's fun. It's a communal thing. Instead of their feeling guilty or tainted from their lack of green-ness, your friends can finally start to feel like they're part of the solution instead of part of the problem. Isn't that a good feeling?
Don't hector them.... instead, testify occasionally to them about how fun and good it feels to participate.
Anonymous 1 year 13 weeks 1 day 7 hours ago
I was looking ot find a way to convice my roommates to be more alert to what they are doing to the earth. Just recently we had an argument about how he wants to switch to paper or styrafoam plates and cups for every meal for himself and children instead of taking the time to do dishes. (a long and painful ritual, I know)he asked what I thought about putting the whole house hold on it and I strongly disagreed and let him know it was terible for the enviroment. He asnswered back with "one person wont make a difference and thats a cold hard fact". I threatened him withthe idea that his boys will grow up to live in a much different world. Didnt change his mind one bit. What do you do with such an ignorant person like that?
Anonymous 1 year 32 weeks 4 days 14 hours ago
[...] — How do you convince your friends to go green? after which I read this — Top 5 ways to convince people who don
Anonymous 1 year 32 weeks 5 days 22 hours ago
I am a little sad not to have better options, what about just sitting down with someone and telling them why you do it? I told the girl accross the hall, you know I recycle because it makes me feel like I am actually doing something about the situation we are in. Now she recycles. Sometimes honey does work better than vinegar to convince people. It would be nice to have a little guide saying these are the most persuasive arguments instead of 'here's how to get on people's shit lists fast". Though, of course, if chocolate is at stake, then by all means threaten away!
Anonymous 1 year 33 weeks 19 min 55 sec ago
I tell them that only stupid people refuse to accept the fact that we must protect our Earth. There is no other planet that has Chocolate!
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