I hate the name, but I love the email list. It’s Fostering Sustainable Behavior. Doug MacKenzie Mohr, the dean of “social marketing,” established this list and describes it thus:

The “Fostering Sustainable Behavior” listserv provides the opportunity for over 5000 environmental program managers to easily dialogue with one another regarding a wide range of behavior change programs that support sustainability (e.g., waste reduction, energy and water efficiency, watershed and habitat protection, modal transportation shifts, etc.).

Doug’s running a subscriber recruitment campaign right now, so: Click here to learn more and sign up.

Why do I love this list? It’s just flat out helpful. I have learned a lot from the other members and I hope they appreciate my own periodic contributions.

So why do I hate the name? It’s that pesky word “sustainable.” I have fresh ammunition that I will use to take potshots at this particular term. According to the study “Family Forest Owners: Insights into Land-Related Stewardship, Values, and Intentions,” published by the Sustaining Family Forests Initiative, private landowners react to the term like this:

Negatively, ’sustainable’ and ’sustainability’ are ‘buzzwords/spin,’ vague or pretentious jargon. Several respondents said they didn’t know what the term means. More highly educated owners are familiar with the terms, but a number find them distinctly annoying.

‘Annoying?’ ‘Annoying?’ Getting off on the wrong foot with somebody is a high price to pay for linguistic laziness. So next time you set out to foster some sustainable behavior, I’d suggest you find some different words to explain your intentions to your audience.