What is the tv series, that started here on ET about. I seem to have missed something. :-)
An example was that: if every family in Finland bought a Plasma TV it would require the electrical energy of one more nuclear reactor. On the other hand, if all Finnish homes were equipped with CFL lamps, we'd save a reactor's worth.
The series is based on the simple Scandinavian behavioural trait (and I don't know if it would work elsewhere) that what your neighbours do, defines what you do. When most believe that happiness is produced by possessing the biggest SUV you can afford, to keep up with the neighbours, it is hard to promote a message of sustainability. If however, you can make sustainability cool, then the neighbourhood trend leaders will establish a new measure of happiness. Behaviour is group driven - led by what Nokia might demograph as 'mature attractors'.
And providing you can show that it is just common sense, it becomes very much harder for the wasters to justify their idiocy. As I said - this is a peculiarly Scandinavian phenomenon.
The other thing about the cooperative Scandinavians is that the old 'my word is my bond' ethos still holds. Thus if you can extract promises from people about future behaviour, you are well on the way to change. The format of the series is built on the promises that competing families will make to reduce their lifestyle burden on resources. Thus totally wasteful families could win the competition because they can promise more. But having promised - for all to witness - they could be 'outcast' if they fail to live up to those promises. You can't be me, I'm taken
My conversations with Ordinary Citizens recently indicate that there has been a change of mood. The last 12 months has seen a 3% drop in Finnish kilometres driven after decades of constant rises. It will continue. The magazines are full of sustainable lifestyle tips.
All this fills me with happiness. Seems like we can finally make a difference ;-) You can't be me, I'm taken
I watched a fairly heated debate between this guy and a friend of mine which resulted in my friend saying "I'm really not convinced that's going to happen".
To which I asked another friend, "what's not gonna happen?" ... "Alien invasion", he said.
I guess I should also say that I had a very energetic debate myself with a friend on how to engage the apathetic, disillusioned, disengaged and largely poor/working class section of our population. I talked about how the left wing narrative is failing to overcome the dominant right wing narrative right now. He doesn't even think there is a left wing narrative (he's a radical lefty green type). He reckons that none of the political parties really represent people outside the Daily Mail reading/corporate types bracket (Can't disagree too much) but nor am I convinced that we can just set up our own movement from the ground (cue all those apathetic yet still 'me, me, me' people with no critical thinking skills) to battle it out with the three main players... Ad astra per aspera
