Source: USA Today
The prospect of social approval — and disapproval — is far more motivating to most people than factual information. And according to a recent story in USA Today, Staten Island authorities believe that the ad above, which shames convicted shoplifters, will more effectively deter in-store thievery than a more traditional warning, like the one below:
Source: Veganstraightedge via Flickr
Assuming the Staten Islanders are correct, could you mimick this approach? Create an billboard shaming the five biggest polluters in your area? As measured by the amount of polluted runoff from their property?
How else could you incorporate the prospect of social disapproval into your efforts to deter undesirable behaviors?
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Ummm…that’s going to require being verrrry careful when dancing with public defamation of character, isn’t it? How about something more pro-active, with photos of those business-owners who have worked hard to improve their waste management/resource efficiency or whatever?
I agree, though, people will stop to look at the faces to see if they know anyone up there, and do whatever it takes to not be “up in lights.”
I guess I’d just be extremely cautious about who I pointed to as a “convicted polluter.” I don’t want (or need) to set my group up as a watchdog organization, but that’s just my group.
The top ad reminded me of the EPA environmental crime Web site: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/criminal/fugitives/index.html.
This reminds me of someone at the last Watershed Forum talking about how they were having a problem at Delaware state parks with men…hooking up, if you will, in the parks. They started publishing the names of those who were caught in the local newspaper, and after that the incidents basically stopped. You can debate the ethics but it works.