Friday, December 05, 2008

Messengers, messages and media

Green solutions to recession
The environment is more important than ever and its campaigners must ditch those fancy buzzwords

Couldn't agree more with most of the sentiments expressed (by author and posters).

But when dealing with a public whose plate is already quite full, and not that attractive, I'd also advocate (even though in many cases it may not be easy, if indeed possible) less bathing in guilt, scare, threat and nanny, especially from comfortably funded, well-travelled pedestals. Hence quoting the positive, proactive ideas such as the insulation aspect of the Green New Deal is more than welcome.

So long as it's appreciated that a wee bit of pragmatic honesty might also not go amiss, either.

Tough times can indeed require tough talk and maybe tougher solutions, but let's remember that not all that is green can or should be viewed only in black and white, and while much that is green is good, there are many areas where a degree of caution may still serve communications, establishment of trust with the public/consumer, and our kids' futures just as well as a more typical default 'ban this/build that' demand.

Very often the enviROI can be tricky one to assess. But when it's proven - without 'twiddly bits' (subsidies, idealised deliverables, impossible maintenance commitments, wistful international cooperations, etc) included or avoided to 'help' make things seem more attractive, but with clear advantages to planet and (hopefully, in time) pocket clearly spelled out - the sell to the individual facing everything from pay cuts to cost of living hikes might not be so tricky.

Or... keep on with what most have been doing 'til now. I'm sure it can be argued that it's all been good stuff, but I'm not sure that to date many are yet buying what's been tried so far. So maybe a change could indeed be in order. It might still take an impressive shift in mindset in some quarters, though.

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