As motivators go, “If we don’t cut emissions we’re all going to die!” is a pretty strong one.

It’s right up there with “Don’t annoy that rattlesnake!” and “Don’t move or we’ll shoot!”

However, saying it to people in a bid to make them more environmentally responsible doesn’t work for me. Scaring people into doing things has never seemed like the kindest or the best option.

For a start, folk don’t like things that scare them, they tend to run away from them. So ranting like a hellfire-and-damnation preacher about global warming and the end of humanity, is unlikely to have a positive effect on people’s behaviour.

Anyway, what if present forecasts turn out to be off-target? The people we scared to death will soon repent their green ways and the new chapels of Ecodom will soon be turned into carpet warehouses.

But it’s more than the effectiveness of scare tactics that don’t sit well with me. The ‘We’re all gonna die!’ statements may turn out to be correct, but they’re negative and one thing we don’t need more of is negativity.

The same goes for the “Save energy and you’ll be quids in!” argument. Now, as a northern Englishman I am the first to not look a gift horse in the mouth. Any advice that will keep pennies in my pocket will get a fair hearing from me.

However, as the prime motivation to save the planet it is fairly shallow. What if tackling global warming ends up costing people money? Does that mean their reason for going green is gone and they will go back to stand-by mode living?

For me, and it probably sounds naive, simplistic, self-righteous, airy-fairy and hopelessly romantic, the reason to be concerned about the environment is: because it is the right thing to do!

Our motivation to cut emissions, save the rainforests, safeguard wildlife, tackle pollution, etc. should be that we care about our planet and its inhabitants, not because we want to avoid a date with The Reaper or save a bit of dosh. If those things happen as well, so much the better, but if they are the prime motivators of the growing green consciousness then any victories will be hollow and shaky ones.

We should be promoting positive rather than negative environmentalism: “Save the beautiful trees!” sounds so much better to me than “Save yourselves!!!” or “Save a pound!”

 

Green Hornet