Archive for the ‘Fun’ Category

Photo courtesy of The Onion

This article from The Onion may very well be my very favorite reader tip ever. In this hilarious piece, the humorists deftly and precisely identify what really holds people back from becoming better environmental citizens — a sense that their actions don’t make enough of a difference to be worth the trouble, at least not all the time.

Monday’s plastic-bottle-related dilemma wasn’t the only environmental quandary facing millions of citizens across the country. An estimated 20 million men and women wondered how wasteful leaving a single lightbulb on all night really was, while more than 40 million Americans asked themselves if anyone would actually notice if they just turned up the heat a few degrees instead of walking all the way downstairs and getting another blanket.

This is what I think really nails it — not a single one of the fake-people who were fake-quoted in this article dismiss the importance of personal actions to protect the environment, they just manage to rationalize why they aren’t doing it right now. That’s really what’s going out there, folks!

The underlying point of the 4 step Water Words That Work environmental message method is to help people feel confident that they do know what to do, and that their actions do matter. The goal is preempt some of those excuses. Here are the four steps:

• Step One: Begin with Behavior. People only start to feel guilty about not doing something if they know what it is. Don’t make them guess!
• Step Two: Foolproof Photos. Show them pictures of other people doing the right thing! The right thing! The right thing! That will make them feel left out if they are not doing it.
• Step Three: Swap the Shoptalk. If somebody wants an excuse not to do something, a vague or ambiguous message fits that bill very nicely.
• Step Four: Insert the Words That Work. Tell them recycling even one bottle really does make a difference, plus everybody else is doing their part, so you should, too.

So, now, it’s time for my true confession: I don’t turn my computer off when I’m done for the day. It’s a laptop and I just shut the lid. I rationalize my actions as follows “The computer uses only uses a teeny tiny bit of power in sleep mode. It’s really not much different from turning it all the way off. And I don’t have a commute any more so I’m not polluting my way to and from the office anymore, so doesn’t that count for something?”

Ah, that confession felt good. Your turn: What’s your true confession?

Big shout out to A.P. for sending this my way.

Image: The Huffington Post

Bumper stickers, Google ads, and protest signs offer a special challenge to marketer and communicator — they just so incredibly terse! Here’s a photo feature from the Huffington Post with 20 very funny protest signs. Alas, none of them are from nature protection and pollution control protests. Come on people, get out there and wave some signs!

Click the link below to see the feature:
Protest signs to inspire (or not) your next environmental outreach effort

Thanks E.S. for the tip!

Awkward Family Photos. Painfully embarrassing photos, sarcastic comments, and lots of laughs. Sent my way by L.M. of Texas.

Click here to laugh your backside off.

Today’s cartoon (from the Washington Post), is funny because it points to the importance of social approval in motivating people to do good deeds. For another perspective on that, try this old fundraiser’s trick: Next time you attend some kind of cultural event, flip to the back of the program and see who helped sponsor it. Count the number of donors who wished to remain “anonymous” and also count the number who want their name proudly displayed. Yup — most people want recognition for their generosity.

That’s just basic human nature on display. And human nature doesn’t change if you switch the topic from the opera to restoring a local wetland or reworking a sewer system to reduce the amount of polluted water runoff.

Some of the advice in Step Two: Find Foolproof Photos of the environmental messaging method is designed to help you signal to your audience that others will approve if they do the right thing. Don’t forget those smiling pictures of people in groups! They’re more powerful than you realize!