Colorado Mountain Pine Beetle Infestation Report Now Available

The rest of the Colorado Mountain Pine Beetle Infestation Report is now available. Colorado Mountain Pine Beetle Report Now Available: Causes, Consequences, and Cures to read, please click here.

About the Author: Allison Frederick writes on environmental and sustainability related issues, particularly as they relate to environmental psychology and green brand strategy.

Free White Paper: Create Effective Change: Green Tech Case Study in Web Communications

Sample Survey Result of Green Technology Company Website

Introduction: How is an organization perceived by those who may be potential customers but who are also outside of the the core industry of that organization? How can they improve this perception?

Central to creating effective change requires understanding how an organization is perceived by industry outsiders and often requires the utilization of existing tools in a different manner than in the past.  The solicitation of industry outsiders does not imply that these parties are not potential customers or investors.  On the contrary, they include key decision makers such as corporate financial executives, board members, grant approvers, municipal officials, politicians, corporate procurement officers, and green technology advocates. These parties all have either created or have access to established platforms to assist an organization in "spreading the word."  The term industry outsider also includes the general public who stand to recognize that an organization can provide solutions to energy and environmental issues important to them.  Reaching these audiences through carefully crafted (and low maintenance) communication messages that focus on the "benefits" of an organization’s technology as opposed to focusing on "how" an organization’s technology works lies at the core of our recommendations for creating powerful, effective change. Continue reading by accessing this free white paper...

This report is written based on the survey results of two website comparisons. One website was the organization’s existing business website. This organization produces highly technical machinery that can be applied to a number of pressing environmental and energy-efficiency problems. The second website was a test website prepared by GRIPS, LLC (GReen Idea Protection Strategies).  The second site was designed with Customer-Centric Focus (as described in this report). The purpose of the survey was to measure the website visitor’s comprehension of the organization’s products and services and to measure whether the website visitor was motivated to share information about this organization to others. This report also includes valuable communication approaches and potential environmental consumer psychology which can be applied across a number of industries.

About the Author: Allison Frederick writes on environmental and sustainability related issues, particularly as they relate to environmental psychology and green brand strategy.

The Attraction of Influence in Communicating Environmental Issues

What resonates with me about the field of Environmental Psychology (or ecopsychology) is the role of influence. Influence is at the core of each of the theories and Influence is what we want to achieve when we are communicating about environmental issues.

Needless to say, Influence does not infer that we are influential in the direction we desire, in fact, we could unwittingly be influential to our opposed direction. So how can we have more confidence in achieving the kind of influence we are interested in?

In pulling apart the underbelly of influence (I refer to an underbelly because underneath our preferred word lies a concept, even we environmentalists prefer to avoid) is the "Cause/Effect" law.

At the heart of ecopsychology theory are two questions: 1) What is the cause? 2) What is the effect?

Now, to revert to my statement that even environmentalists shun the Cause/Effect law, before any disagreements arise to quickly, I refer to green technology innovation. As humans, one thing we love is something new (once we finally embrace it, that is). We rush head-long as if in love. We rapidly make decisions with little thought of the consequences (effect), because we are so convinced that our technology (cause) is the solution.

Millions of dollars later, our innovation tar pit traps our hopes and dreams, financial capital, careers, and public confidence. Our mammoth technological revolutions jut out of the quagmire like abandoned beasts. But these failures, unfortunately, are not forgotten, as the public and some of the media retort, "Oh, it was green? It failed? Of course, green never works." The refusal to be completely honest in our green technological development process, our overlook of the weakness of our systems, creates our own legacy of skepticism and buffers the ability of the exceptional green technologies to garner sufficient financial investment and public adoption.

Deeply incorporating the Cause and Effect law into the innovation design process may seem expensive, tangential, or even painful – but it is part of responsible innovation. Taking the time to consider the consequences of our darling technology, and identifying its limitations (or even problems) is as unromantic as staring into the face of an attractive person you just met (and you think you want to date), only to suppose and develop a laundry list of "why nots." Essentially, saying, "Look, I know we just met and I really like you already – but before I kiss you, let's get things straight – tell me all about your baggage." It is a buzz kill.

But no matter how fond of them we are, our environmental messages, services, and technologies aren't prospective mates. No matter how exciting they seem at first, they are actually our tools of Influence. In order to Influence in our preferred direction, we must muster the courage and take the time to scrutinize our innovations in light of the Cause and Effect law. In doing so, we can abandon a concept earlier (if need be), preserve our precious resources; or we can push forward with all our energy as we are now armed with an explored, tested case.

One of the favorite metaphors among environmentalists is the Butterfly Effect; wherein even slight behaviors (causes) of say a butterfly flapping its wings, can be felt (effect) at significant distances from its source. At least at the level of cognition, we recognize the validity of the Cause and Effect law, but that recognition all too often fails to permeate to the level of our behavior. When it comes to our own personal favorite habits or ideas, isn't it tempting to think they are exempt from this law?

About the Author:  Allison Frederick writes on environmental and sustainability related issues, particularly as they relate to environmental psychology and green brand strategy. 

Donkeys Abandoned - but this story has a happy ending...they were rescued

An animal rescue facility in Franktown took in 20 skinny, but still cute donkeys who were abandoned in an open public field. According to the Castle Rock News-Press (May 30, 2013 edition), the owner has already been identified and he lives in Crowley County, which is due east of Pueblo.

Many animals in Colorado have suffered from the drought conditions, which according to the US Drought Monitor, the Southeast portion of Colorado is designated as "exceptional drought area," which is anything but exceptional and is the worst rating on the monitor's scale (USDA, 2013). Not only are wild animals pressed to find adequate water and vegetation, but animal owners are under stress to keep their animals fed. Anyone who cares about the well-being of the animals in Colorado needs to be aware of this issue and consider financially supporting the animal rescue facilities. You can help support the newly rescued donkeys for as little as $20 – that is just one dollar per donkey. 

Please visit Dumb Friends League, Harmony Equine Center in Franktown, Colorado to make your donation.

References 
Dumb Friends League, Harmony Equine Center. Donate to help the animals in our care. Retrieved from https://secure2.convio.net/ddfl/site/Donation2?df_id=5220&5220.donation=form1 on May 30, 2013.

Staff Report. (May 30, 2013) Donkeys Rescued after being abandoned. Castle Rock News-Press. A Colorado Community Media Publication, Volume 11 (10).

USDA-CO Dept of Agriculture. (May 30, 2013). Colorado Hay Report. Dept of Ag Market News. Photo Credit: By Håkan Dahlström from Helsingborg, Sweden (Donkey ears cropped) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

About the Author: Allison Frederick writes on environmental and sustainability related issues, particularly as they relate to environmental psychology and green brand strategy.