THE RISKS OF GOING GREEN
How many times have you been asked to save the planet by
taking one small action, from changing
your lightbulbs to carrying reusable shopping bags? You may even have been asked to purchase
something called a “carbon offset”—basically, a financial penance for your energy use and
overconsumption. For example, travelers who feel guilty about the environmental
impact of flying
first class can kick in a little extra money for the airline to plant a tree in South America.
All of these actions, on their own, are good for the environment. But what happens if these actions
change the way we think about ourselves? Will they convince us that we care about the planet, and
motivate us to go green whenever possible? Or could these virtuous choices be contributing to
environmental harm by serving as constant reminders of our green credentials?
I first started worrying about this when a study came out showing a moral licensing effect for going
green. Just browsing a website that sells green products, like rechargeable batteries and organic
yogurt, makes people feel good about themselves. But going green doesn’t
always lead to virtuous
action. The study found that people who actually chose to purchase an eco-friendly product were
more likely to then cheat on a test that paid them for each correct answer. They were also more likely
to steal extra money out of the envelope they were told to collect their payout from. Somehow the
virtue of green shopping justified the sins of lying and stealing.
Even if you don’t think driving a Prius is going to turn you into a liar,
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the findings of this study are
troubling. Yale economist Matthew J. Kotchen has raised concerns that small “green” actions will
reduce both consumers’ and businesses’ guilt, licensing larger harmful behaviors. We may be
concerned
about the environment, but making significant lifestyle changes is not easy. It can be
overwhelming to think about the magnitude of climate change and energy shortages, and what needs to
happen to prevent disaster. Anything that lets us feel like we have done our part—so we can stop
thinking about the problem—we will jump at. And once our guilt and anxiety are gone, we will feel
free to resume our usual wasteful ways. So a reusable shopping bag can become license to buy more,
planting a tree can become license to travel more, and changing your lightbulbs can become license to
live in a bigger, energy-hungry house.
The good news is, not all green acts are likely to inspire conspicuous consumption and guilt-free
carbon binges. University of Melbourne economists have found that a licensing effect is most likely
when people pay a “penance” for
bad
behavior—for example, paying an extra $2.50 to plant a tree to
make up for the carbon costs of your home electricity use. The consumer’s general eco-guilt is
relieved, increasing the chance that they will feel licensed to consume more energy. A similar effect
has been found with other well-intentioned penalty policies. For example, daycare centers that charge
parents a fine for picking up their children late find
that the policy actually
increases
late pickups.
Parents are able to buy the right to be late, erasing their guilt. And because most of us would rather
pay a little to do what’s easiest, these programs license us to pass the buck to someone else.
However, when people are given a chance to pay for something that
replaces a harmful act
with
something good for the environment—for example, paying 10 percent more on your electricity bill to
use green sources of energy—no such licensing effect is seen. Why not? Economists speculate that
this kind of green act doesn’t so much reduce guilt as it strengthens the consumer’s sense of
commitment to the environment. When we pay that extra money to use wind or solar energy, we think,
I’m the kind of person who does good things for the planet!
And then we carry that identity with us,
looking for more ways to live our values and achieve our goals. If we want to motivate green
behavior in others, we would be wise to focus more on strengthening a person’s identity as someone
who cares about the environment, and less on giving people the opportunity to buy the right to melt the
polar ice caps.
This goes for any type of positive change, including how we try to motivate ourselves. We need to
feel like the kind of person who
wants
to do the right thing. Moral licensing turns out to be, at its core,
an identity crisis. We only reward ourselves for good behavior if we believe that
who we really are
is the self that wants to be bad. From this point of view, every act of self-control is a punishment, and
only self-indulgence is a reward. But why must we see ourselves this way? Moving beyond the traps
of moral licensing requires knowing that who we are is the self that wants the best for us—and the
self that wants to live in line with our core values. When this happens, we will no longer view the
impulsive, lazy, or easily tempted self as the “real” us. We will no longer act like someone who must
be bribed, tricked, or forced to pursue our goals, and then rewarded for making any effort at all.
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