Comments on: Every little bit counts http://siege-curmudgeon.com/2009/05/04/every-little-bit-counts/ Adventures of the antithetical road warrior Tue, 04 Oct 2011 04:34:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 By: Siege http://siege-curmudgeon.com/2009/05/04/every-little-bit-counts/comment-page-1/#comment-280 Siege Mon, 04 May 2009 14:00:40 +0000 http://siege-curmudgeon.com/?p=192#comment-280 It's kind of remarkable what motivates us, isn't it? We've been paying for the plastic bags the whole time, but it's always been bundled into the price of the groceries. Simply making that cost visible -- by charging an additional fee for plastic, rather than offering a discount for reusable -- is enough to change behaviour. It's a subtle shift, from the assumption that everyone is using plastic bags, to the assumption that they aren't, but it has a significant effect. Now, we just need to recreate this effect with fossil fuels. It’s kind of remarkable what motivates us, isn’t it? We’ve been paying for the plastic bags the whole time, but it’s always been bundled into the price of the groceries. Simply making that cost visible — by charging an additional fee for plastic, rather than offering a discount for reusable — is enough to change behaviour.

It’s a subtle shift, from the assumption that everyone is using plastic bags, to the assumption that they aren’t, but it has a significant effect.

Now, we just need to recreate this effect with fossil fuels.

]]> By: Lynnita http://siege-curmudgeon.com/2009/05/04/every-little-bit-counts/comment-page-1/#comment-279 Lynnita Mon, 04 May 2009 13:55:19 +0000 http://siege-curmudgeon.com/?p=192#comment-279 This post was timely for me, as I read it after returning from the grocery store where, for the first time, they are starting to charge for plastic bags. Before May 1, anyone bringing in a reusable bag received a three cent discount per bag; now, customers are charged five cents per plastic bag. From what I've observed, the difference in the approach has been remarkable. Suddenly everyone has reusable bags! I guess that once the cost of the plastic is transferred to us shoppers, we are far less willing to pay for a convenience that, as you pointed out, is messing up our planet. This post was timely for me, as I read it after returning from the grocery store where, for the first time, they are starting to charge for plastic bags. Before May 1, anyone bringing in a reusable bag received a three cent discount per bag; now, customers are charged five cents per plastic bag. From what I’ve observed, the difference in the approach has been remarkable. Suddenly everyone has reusable bags! I guess that once the cost of the plastic is transferred to us shoppers, we are far less willing to pay for a convenience that, as you pointed out, is messing up our planet.

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