A Great Idea: Carbon Trading for the People
by Rona Fried Over the course of the past 20 years, the great mystery has been how to get individuals involved and committed to reducing their environmental footprint. Hundreds of websites, countless articles, reports, and books explain the problems, the solutions and the easy things we can – and must – do to become part of the web of life, rather than its enemy. Yet, individuals remain superficially informed and unconvinced that we are truly facing an emergency. The Union of Concerned Scientists says the average American produces about 20 tons of carbon dioxide per year, about four times the rest of the world. 30-40% of total greenhouse emissions comes from homes and transportation. Therefore collective action on the part of individuals is essential in diverting disaster. We recently posted an article, How to Create Change, which pointed to the power of positive feedback and peer influence. RecycleBank is benefiting from using this simple psychology and significantly ramping up recycing rates in towns across America by rewarding people the more they recycle. Individuals often feel what they do doesn’t have much impact, so why bother? We have to give people back the power – they have to know their actions […]