tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999963944248120727.post5741120032520002278..comments2010-05-24T04:01:03.530-07:00Comments on Many Ideas: Consuming to Curb Consumption: the Case for a new PriusLeDoporehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13847811219191643234noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999963944248120727.post-83074144399478720832007-04-29T18:21:00.000-07:002007-04-29T18:21:00.000-07:00Hi Knaldskalle,Thanks for the websites! I think p...Hi Knaldskalle,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the websites! I think plug-in hybrids are going to be a great next step: even if it's hard to make electric cars have an acceptable range, making the first 20 miles or so emission-free would seriously reduce pollution and greenhouse gases.LeDoporehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13847811219191643234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999963944248120727.post-36578043792444576502007-04-29T11:08:00.000-07:002007-04-29T11:08:00.000-07:00More interesting links: www.pluginamerica.org and ...More interesting links: www.pluginamerica.org and www.evworld.com. All about electric vehicles.Knaldskallehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09422833562183339649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999963944248120727.post-80592840227392088522007-03-19T19:02:00.000-07:002007-03-19T19:02:00.000-07:00The Tesla Roadster is exactly the kind of glitzy g...The Tesla Roadster is exactly the kind of glitzy gadget needed to promote environmentally-friendly tech. Thanks for pointing it out, Knaldskalle!LeDoporehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13847811219191643234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999963944248120727.post-86799697528802718442007-03-19T16:59:00.000-07:002007-03-19T16:59:00.000-07:00Something like the Tesla Roadster? 0-60 mph in abo...Something like the <A HREF="http://www.teslamotors.com" REL="nofollow">Tesla Roadster</A>? 0-60 mph in about 4 seconds - all electric. <BR/><BR/>Buy it - <EM>after</EM> you've run your old car into the ground.Knaldskallehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09422833562183339649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999963944248120727.post-58004730736185560742007-03-07T15:08:00.000-08:002007-03-07T15:08:00.000-08:00Hi funkyfresh,I love your idea of making green as ...Hi funkyfresh,<BR/><BR/>I love your idea of making green as sexy as possible. It's going to be an uphill battle, though, since it's hard to make anything easily-attainable sexy in a marketing sense. "Environmentally-conscious" has to be distinguishable from "too dumb to afford shiny stuff" at first glance, otherwise people won't make that distinction. <BR/><BR/>In order to humble the Joneses with newfound environmental piety, you're going to need to be able to display your lack of consumption in a conspicuous way; that's part of the reason that Priuses (Prii?) are so popular/sexy, while double-paned windows aren't making headlines.<BR/><BR/>What if there were a celebrity-backed campaign promoting energy-efficient design, where you could paste an endorsement on whatever's being sold only if it passed certain efficiency criteria? How about exclusive city-funded parties for homes which use small amounts of energy?<BR/><BR/>Another incentive would be to stop subsidizing stuff that's bad for us, like my favorite whipping boy <A HREF="http://many-ideas.blogspot.com/2007/02/warning-labels-on-soda-pt-2-real-risk.html" REL="nofollow">HFCS</A>. Maybe if we finally made all road-related costs (and more public transit costs) show up in gas tax we'd be able to squeeze people into doing the right thing. Charging the true cost for something isn't even anti-capitalist either.<BR/><BR/>In summary, I love the spirit of your ideas, funkyfresh. Do you have more implimentation ideas? Would governments pay for the ecologically-minded advertising? How would you outyell the messages out there to buy more?LeDoporehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13847811219191643234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1999963944248120727.post-7285623219204683652007-03-07T12:26:00.000-08:002007-03-07T12:26:00.000-08:00oh, consumer culture, shmulture, there is no need ...oh, consumer culture, shmulture, there is no need for neo-Marxism here but let's face it, Dear Blogger, people have always been attracted to the larger, more intimidating, and more evil products (family-sized potato chips, anyone?) than the nice, well-behaved, and docile bike or green-mobile. Witness the meteoric ascent of the Hummer. Witness how many people decry them in public and then surreptitiously price-check and fantasize in private. People will not give up driving just as they will not quash the gnawing urge to eat vast quantities of saturated fats, watch bodies get riddled by bullets in the movies, or speculate which of Brad Pitt's many women was the best lover... because people are, ahem, tarts at heart, and will sell everything they own, take out debt, and pawn the family jewels to have a bigger, faster car than their neighbor. So why not launch an uber-sexy campaign to make eco-friendship less, well, less friendly, and make it seem as hot as the breath of a teenage girl watching a Leo DiCaprio flick? Yes, yes, why not use the resources of the enemy--blitzkrieg advertising, repetitive slogan-bombardment, the violation of all we call private--in favor of ecologically sensible lifestyles? Not only would this haul countless legions of science nerds and morbidly sensitive graduate students out of their crepuscular apartments into the light of day to rally for the cause, it might actually...work?!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com