With the 2008 election season now in full swing, it seems like a good time to dig through my social research collection and pull up a few nuggets about everyday citizens’ environmental civic and voting habits. The way I read these findings, you can clearly see the price we pay for using shop talk in public settings — it’s clear we’re leaving a lot of voters out of the debate.

Can we increase our clout on election day by using words that work? I believe so. Download and preruse this memo, and tell me if you agree.

Download: A Snapshot of Americans’ Environmental Voting and Civic Habits

Here’s a video that delivers a stern warning against dumping household hazardous waste down the toilet or in the stormdrain. It’s a great message for those who are paying close attention, but some people will see the commercial while sitting in a bar, or in the airport, or while their kids are yelling in their ear, or in some other distracting situation. Those folks won’t hear the narrator saying it’s bad to dump oil down the storm drain — they’ll just see a guy dumping oil down the drain and his wife doesn’t seem to mind.

Monkey see, monkey do. Under certain circumstances, this video could accidentally send the message that it’s ok to dump oil down the storm drain. The video should show the guy’s wife hitting him with a frying pan. That’s a message that would come through even if the sound was off.

Helpful tips to prevent pollution. Helpful tips to save energy. I’ve published quite a few lists of tips in my day, and I bet you have, too. It’s kind of an evergreen activity for us nature protection and pollution control people. Alisa, who blogs at Ecotrekker just sent me her list of 53 easy tips to use less water. So how effective is this really? I’ve developed some mixed feelings. Here’s why:

The undeniably positive thing about giving people tips is that it really nails one of the key concepts underlying the words that work — most people have a hard time figuring out what to do about water issues unless you tell them very explicitly. That’s why some of the words that work are: what you can do.

But research has consistently found that everyday citizens have a hard time sticking with behavior like turning off the water when they brush their teeth, even if you tell them that it helps. Here’s one quote:

Not receiving feedback was the number one reason preventing Georgia residents from adopting water conservation behaviors.

Source: Understanding the Georgia Public’s Perception of Water Issues and the Motivational Messages to Which They Will Respond: Final Report, Responsive Management, 2003

I interpret findings like that to mean that everyday citizens appreciate learning what they can do about a water problem, but still need some encouragement that their participation will make a difference.

So here are the questions that the Ecotrekker’s tips raise for me…

• How can we provide feedback to people?
• Most people feel silly if they’re the only person doing something, so what are the words and pictures that would signal to the person reading the tips that other people in the community are working together to save water?
• Is it good to provide people with 53 different options becuase people like choices?
• Or is it better to focus your effort on just one or two behaviors and really put some muscle and some followthrough into it?

This is a common activity, and I’m sure there’s some opinions out there on it. Please share.

I’m going to do a little nitpicking here. Please indulge me. The Rhode Island Rivers Council and the Narrangasset Parks and Recreation Department are teaming up to sponsor “Environmental Awareness Day” on the beach on July 19th. That’s terrific. And they’re inviting other nature protection and pollution control organizations in the area to bring their booths and activities for the public. This is also terrific. Best of all, they expect that 10,000 people will visit the beach that day. That’s awesome!

And because this is generally a recipe for success, I’m going to nitpick the email that annouces this opportunity — there’s  a missing ingredient. And when we forget to include it, we accidentally sabotage our own efforts to make the most of events like this. The email says:

Environmental groups are invited to participate. Groups will be provided with appropriate space to conduct an activity, set up a display or tell people about your organization… This is a great opportunity to tell Rhode Islanders about the important work of our organizations.

Here’s what I object to: It’s the focus on organizations and their important work, rather than on the Rhode Islanders who will be at the event. Although I fully understand the desire for people to like and respect the organizations that we work for, it’s still a mistake to show up at an event like this planning to talk about how great we are.

Because if we accidentally give the impression that you need a science degree or a staff job at a do-gooder organization to save the sound, then everyday Rhode Islanders will probably say “that’s nice, best wishes.” Then they’ll head off for a refreshing swim that will wash everything we told them right out of their heads.

Conservationists should show up planning to talk to their fellow citizens about how the health of Narrangasset Sound affects them and their families. They should come prepared to demonstrate what Rhode Islanders can do about the problems. They should be ready to prove that lots of ordinary Rhode Islanders are already working together to save the sound, and that everyday Rhode Islanders can make a difference even if they don’t know a lot about science, don’t have a lot of money to give, and feel pretty darn busy just raising their kids and making ends meet.

If you can make a connection with people at this level — help them feel good about themselves and the contributions they can make — they will develop positive feelings for the organization you work for. But if you fail to connect at this level, no amount of bragging about your accomplishments will fill that gap.

Good luck with your event, Rhode Islanders. Sounds like a good time.