There's a big problem that needs to be overcome in the movement to convince people that they need to be "green" and live a more sustainable lifestyle.
After a lot of amazing work over the years by the environmental movement and other community leaders to communicate their concerns about the degradation of our planet, we're seeing that concern amongst the general public is at record levels. And we should be concerned. We're at point now where we need to make a decision to either start living lives that don't take from the earth without giving back or keep on the path we're currently going down and consume the human race into oblivion. The great thing is that a lot of people already want to "go green" and for those motivated enough there are a lot of green options available.
But there remains a big problem.
While many people are highly motivated to live sustainably, a vast number more of us are concerned but find it very difficult to live a sustainable lifestyle. In our busy day-to-day lives practicality often trumps our good intentions. For example, when I rush into a sushi shop 10 minutes before a meeting while chattering away on my cell phone , it's very unlikely that I will wonder whether the tuna sashimi I'm buying is sustainable or not. I just gotta eat and run. And it's not just me, we're all busier than ever. Many of our day-to-day choices come down to convenience rather than the laudable goal of saving the human race.
So what's the solution? I would suggest that one of the answers lies in thinking more like marketers than campaigners for change. In particular, we need to start thinking more like Coca Cola.
I'm sure many of you've heard the Coca-Cola business mantra: "within an arm's reach of desire." The idea is simple, Coke's goal is to make sure that when people feel like a Coke it's easy to find a Coke (disclosure: I'm addicted to Diet Coke). So for the green movement this means two things, one simple and one that is much more difficult.
The first goal is to ensure that "green" products are put within the reach of those who desire to go "green." That's the easy one and we're getting pretty good at it. I can now go into my grocery store and buy green soap powder and baby diapers. But this first goal only gets us so far.
The bigger goal has to be putting "green products" in arm's reach of those with the desire to consume. If we can do that, then we'll start to see the change we need to make to avoid wiping ourselves clean from the planet.
So what does it look like to put green products in front of those looking to consume? That's the tricky part. But in my humble opinion I would suggest that the time has come to start investing a lot MORE thought and time into figuring out how to make going green more convenient and a lot LESS time and energy spent convincing people of the need to go green and live sustainability. The people are already there and those that aren't will be dragged along when they see their peers going green and how easily they're doing it.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about that I came across while I was researching this piece. It's a very simple new iPhone application that uses local search so people can find green companies and services wherever they are.
So next time I'm running late and jonesing for some raw tuna, a quick tappy-tap on the iPhone will show me the closest sustainable sushi shop. Done and done, food and green living all wrapped into one. The challenge now is to make it that easy for everything we do, everyday.
Would be great to hear any other examples you might have. Leave them in the comments and I will compile them into an article here on Huffington Post.
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