People Who Decide To Live Green 

Living green has recently become a very hot topic in the media throughout the entire world. Industries that specialize in environmentally safe products will create new jobs and develop new energy natural resources to replace fossil fuels. However, what becomes effective or not in the new Green Economy will be determined by consumers. So the large question we need to examine is why are people deciding to live green?

I've often pondered why people would actually do this. The obvious explanation is that many people who attempt to live green are stressed about saving the environment. Or it's feasible that many people are curious about the latest green devices. A third legitimate reason is that people think that money can be saved by going green though that there is an initial cost to do it.

Well, some researching was done and based on the Wall Street Journal none of those responses are correct. They declare that the biggest inspiring factor for people becoming earth-friendly is simply peer pressure. Yes that is accurate, traditional peer pressure.

Not too long ago an experiment was carried out where two placards were put into resort bathrooms. These placards prompted guests to use their towels more than one time. One of the placards said "Show your respect for mother nature". The other placard proclaimed "Join your fellow vacationers in helping save the natural environment". The final result was 75% of the guests did reuse the towel instead of having it cleaned the following day. But the card that received the best results was the second card stating to follow the other guests. In a modification to the experiment, the second placard's information was changed to read "75% of guests using this room recycled their towels." The outcomes were superior than the original.

Peer pressure functions very well in this setting just like anything else in life. It seems as if just saying that one can help save the environment is not enough yet to say everyone is doing it will cause people to take action.

This analysis and its results suggests there are certain benefits for companies that market these green products to consumers. Peer pressure generates a guilty feeling in people, a feeling that they must do it otherwise they'll feel terrible, even if it's merely a small bad feeling. For that reason these companies must make people feel somewhat in the wrong to try and sell their merchandise. It's quite likely that companies will use a similar tactic accomplished in the experiment.

Overall I was surprised at the study and its success. However after mulling over them they didn't really amaze me as much. I guess individuals psychologically comply with what others do because it may be simpler or we simply don't want to be viewed as different.

That's it, the real reason why many people might want to live green. While you can find people going green for real reasons, it's a bit shocking that most would do it as a result of peer pressure.