Carrots, Sticks and the Importance of Models

In order to get us out of this mess, we need two things: a sense of urgency and a sense of hope.

We need carrots and we need sticks.

The Stick Brings the Reality of Climate Change Home

Movies such as "An Inconvenient Truth" and the spread of memes such as peak oil (heck, peak everything), the end of suburbia and extreme weather help to provide a sense of the seriousness of the situation and therefore a sense of urgency. These are examples of inspiring by fear, examples of the stick approach.



The Carrot Entices us to Work for a Green Future
Equally important are examples that inspire by hope, that entice us with a carrot, that provide some answers to the logical question that most people ask following exposure to the more alarmist memes mentioned above. That question is "Got it. What can I do?"

TreeHugger was built on this premise. I had seen disparate pieces of a modern, aspirational green future out there. Yet I believed that if I could bring it together in one place, I could help people see a vision of a compelling green future that they could step into. I felt that the world needed exciting models of what the world could look like and that experiencing this firehose of positive global green solutions would help people feel the movement, feel the momentum and therefore be inspired to go green themselves and fight for friends, businesses and government to do the same. There's nothing better to help close an argument than being able to point at a solution...

At the Planet Green Launch in Washington, D.C.
So last night was a big night for me. I had a real epiphany. I got it. Planet Green, our new 24-hour eco-lifestyle network, is a big step for the green movement.



I was at Nationals Stadium in Washington, D.C. for the launch of the channel. Standing there at the first major stadium in the United States that managed to get LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, watching for the first time, I realized that besides the great programming, this channel is really doing what TreeHugger did on the Web. With super-accessible content and digestible entertainment, it has created a real place, a real center for green. It's another firehose of exciting green solutions. And because it's TV, you can feel it in a wholly different way. Seeing the bevy of different people and projects from around the world, you can't help but get excited, you can't help but feel the momentum, and you can't help but feel the hope.

Will it be perfect? No. Will all the shows work? No. But I bet that it resonates with people, gets even better over time and ideally attracts more tv competition. We need all hands on deck to help get us out of this mess and this carrot and stick channel (similar to HuffPo Green's approach) is a powerful tool in this fight.

Congrats to John Hendricks, the founder and chairman of Discovery Communications, CEO David Zaslav, Eileen O'Neill, general manager of Planet Green, and the Discovery crew. You've done a really good thing and you should be proud of yourselves.

Find out more details on all Planet Green shows here.

More on The Huffington Post
::New Planet Green Lifestyle Network Makes Green Mainstream
::Planet Green, the First 24-hour Eco-lifestyle Television Network Goes Live Today

More on TreeHugger
::Tune in to Planet Green on June 4
::Become A Famous Eco-Gadgeteer on Planet Green TV!
::Planet Green Lands ABC Anchor
::Tommy Lee And Ludacris Benefit Concert Celebrates Planet Green

Photos from top: Michael Rosenfeld/Getty Images; Sascha Pflaeging /Getty Images; Getty Images.

Comments

[Schartizmo]

Good thoughts. I am lucky enough to work in a facility where people are try to find innovative ways to solve our environmental problems, especially as they relate to water, but also clean energy. We do need to have a mindset change at the individual and societal levels.

working with innovators, I am also aware of the need for new innovative policies that reward savings and discourage waste. People who manage water and energy systems, who have capital to invest in new technologies, also need to be willing to try systems that move water more efficiently and treat water more effectively...while we all do our best to conserve.

I recently met with a city that was going to spend $30 million on an outdated water treatment plant design.

[yexiaonan]

We have been living on gross excesses in consumerism and geopolitical ventures for too long. And now the chicken has come home to roost. Given the economic downturn coupled with prospects of inflation if not already, many will have little choice but to tighten our belt.

As much as there is dire urgency to fix up our environment, the immediate urgency and priority is firstly to fix up our economy. At the heart of our economic problem is military adventurism and expenditures.
The bleeding needs to be stopped immediately. In going through the pain of economic downward adjustment, many of us will (hopefully) learn to stop the splurging reducing demand on wasteful use of our natural resources - oil, wood, plastics ...

To save our environment and to sustain our effort in so doing, there is need of "Change" - behavorial as well as a new order in geopoltics.