Posted on 10/17/2010 2:38:05 PM PDT by wheresmyusa
Areal-life experiment in engineering green behavior unfolded recently in the nation's capital.
Washington, D.C., imposed a five-cent tax on every disposable bag, paper or plastic, handed out at any retail outlet in the city that sells food, candy or liquor, effective Jan 1. But more important than the extra cost was something more subtle: No one got bags automatically anymore. Instead, shoppers had to ask for them—right in front of their fellow customers.
The result? Retail outlets that typically use 68 million disposable bags per quarter handed out 11 million bags in the first quarter of this year and fewer than 13 million bags in the second quarter, according to the district's Office of Tax and Revenue. That may help explain why volunteers for the city's annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup day in mid-April pulled 66% fewer plastic bags from the Anacostia River than they did last year.
District Councilman Tommy Wells doesn't believe it is the nominal cost that's keeping shoppers from using bags, but rather the expectation—made clear in a very public way in every transaction—that they could make do without. "It's more important," he concludes, "to get in their heads than in their pocketbooks."
Studies dating back at least three decades clearly show the power of social norms. We tend to ascribe our actions to more high-minded motives, or to practical concerns about money. But at its core, our behavior often boils down to that old mantra: Monkey see, monkey do.
Researchers are now learning how to harness that instinct to nudge us to go green.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I intentionally go out of my way to avoid any product pushing environmentalism down my throat. I won’t let them get into my head AND my wallet. Cleaning up after myself is my business, I don’t want someone nagging me about it.
Green my ass. This is about behavior modification and control.
If they really wanted to go green they should study the every day behavior of people in flyover country. Most of us live far greener than these idiots would ever accept simply because we aren’t nearly as wastefull as the urbanites.
I started using a reusable bag before any incentive, as many others have done.
I hope you wash it each time you use it.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2012328512_nastybags11.html
No “free” bag, no sale.
And you can restock at your convenience, as I still need to buy my stuff, and I obviously need to be elsewhere.
Enjoy.
Not every time, but yes.
I enjoy being asked “paper or plastic” and responding “plastic please and double bag it all including the milk” just to see the indignant look on their face.
As for conservation I have switched all my light bulbs to CFLs for cost saving NOT to save the planet.
Progressives need to learn how to use markets to their advantage rather than viewing them as “evil enterprises” bent on destroying the planet. Offering discounts rather than incurring penalties and laying off the lame attempt at guilt trips (it only works on the weak minded).
This thread, the emphasis of the parenthesis of (Guilt and Propaganda) and the spot on comments, in a microcosm is why I love Freerepublic. Thank you all!
Remember when they said "no more mercury thermometers". But we can have 30 lightbulbs with mercury.
Ministry of Love bookmark.
When they fail to plastic bag my milk I aggressively grab an entire handful of bags — 5 or 10 — just to get the one to put the milk in. And I would never say “please”!
Ignoring the fact that Obama has killed the economy so badly that people could not afford to buy the other 48 million bags of groceries.
The libtards left nearly that much trash on the grounds during the Obama immaculation and the recent anti Glenn Beck rally. Kinda makes you wonder why they pay so much lip service to environmental issues doesn't it?
Some thing like $600-$1000 later, at the checkout, the clerk wouldn't validate his parking. Some store in the Cambridge Galleria, iirc.
The guy just cancelled the purchase then and there.
Incredibly stupid and shortsighted on the store's part. Several times at Jos A. Bank, I've spent less than that and they always throw in a $30 tie or the like on the house.
The terms profit margin, return on investment, equity, capital and dividends (there are many more but you get the point) are completely unknown or misunderstood among progressives. Their lack of understanding of these basic business terms guarantees they will never understand the impact of taxes on the economy.
To lose a sale on items that are likely in the 40% margin of profit over less than .10% of the total profit is insane. I’m guessing it was a “wage earner” progressive that made that genius judgment call not the store’s owner.
Researchers are now learning how to harness that instinct to nudge us to go green.
Once upon a time, taxes were called taxes. Then, taxes were called "revenue enhancements". Now, a tax is called a "nudge" to "harness [our] instinct[s]". Brilliant ... "researchers" have determined that if an activity is taxes, there is less of that activity. This is nothing but using tax policy to engage in social engineering.
I re-use all the plastic bags I get from stores—in fact, I go through so many of them that I buy them in bulk from Sam’s.
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