Two interesting developments in the media that merit attention if we are to think outside the box about how to encourage action on climate change:
1) Myspace.com is the world’s second most popular website. It has been quite some time since it far surpassed AOL and other competitors as the favored interaction site for young people.
Myspace is a social network offering user profiles, photos, blogs, bulletin boards and groups. Rupert Murdoch bought it not long ago for $500 million, so it must be an incredibly powerful communication tool.
2) A reality TV show in Sweden where people compete to persuade others of an idea, with the winner spending the money to pursue the idea. The show is called Toppkandidaterna; the first season ended in March 2006 with the winning idea being filesharing.
What potential would either of these have for promoting climate change action? Or are the traditional avenues of communication adequate?
3 comments
May 23rd, 2006 at 1:29 am
Mike Sandler
When climate protection is “cool” then everyone will want to do it.
If it is something only scientists can do, then most people will leave it to the “experts.”
I think the whole sustainability movement is where computers were in 1982. Only engineers with a garage and pocket protector were into it.
But computers now underlie most of industrialized production.
That is where sustainability needs to be. And CO2 is the ultimate sustainability indicator.
In terms of reality TV and myspace, I don’t know because I’m not a 14 year old anymore, and if you’re reading this blog, then probably neither are you.
August 22nd, 2006 at 4:04 pm
Carolyn Brouillard
The city of Boulder hired a marketing firm to design a campaign to frame climate protection as something cool. This effort, spanning over a year, has proven very difficult. We were looking for an overarching name and brand to unify the various programs and outreach activities. Some points of debate were whether climate change or energy or broader environmentalism should be the primary message, i.e. be present in the name. Many felt that more people would be drawn to an energy message than to climate protection. It was difficult to balance a sense of urgency while discussing the longer term impacts of climate change. Others voiced the opinion that energy efficiency, while critical, is boring and unsexy. Renewables are hot. Hybrids are hot. But obviously, we need more than solar panels and hybrid cars.
Underlying this discussion is the belief that climate protection has to be more than trendy. It has to be convenient, cheap and backed by reliable, easy-to-access information and tools for action. It also has to be comprehensive. I think of people patting themselves on the back for shopping at Whole Foods, while ignoring the fact that they drove there alone in an SUV. People want to be acknowledged for their good environmental deeds. A successful marketing campaign has to have an element that appeals to people’s egos.
Of course, not many places are like Boulder, Colorado. But I think it holds true that a successful climate protection campaign makes it simple, convenient, cheap and cool to take action, whether you live in Seattle or Boise. It also should be hard to escape. The recent and on-going surge of news and magazine features, movies, TV shows, etc mentioning climate change is a good thing. People are being exposed to the issue on many different fronts. The time is ripe to pair this increased awareness with easy-to-find, easy-to-implement climate protection measures.
January 9th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Judy Wright
Free Trade is only good for corporate marketers.
Development is NOT good when it forces subsistence farmers and wanderers to try to live in a town or city because their ecosystem has been taken over by some ‘profitable enterprise’.
We should agree to tax every unit of pollution at its’ source. Importers to a treaty (agreement) nation have to overpay a refundable import duty to ‘keep the playing field fair’. That way, even non-treaty nations contribute to this worldwide fund.
— Fund for a Cool Gaia —
This money belongs to everyone on the planet, and is administered by their gov’ts to solve their worst problems - windmills, solar evaporators, wells, segregated sewage to water farmlands, etc.
A government can also put aside lands to preserve subsistence farms or wanderers and use the money to pay down their national debt.