This debate follows the format of the New York Times’s Opinionator with a back and forth flow simulating our discussion.
Wilson: We’ve been working under the assumption that “if it saves people money, they’ll adopt sustainable behaviors.” This very notion was mentioned in an article that ran in a past 2nd Green Revolution newsletter. I’m here to debunk that myth. I teach an undergraduate, entry level environmental science lab course at a major university located just off downtown and directly adjacent to two light rail lines. When I poll my students about their public transit habits each semester, the results are astonishing. As part of the student fees each and everyone of them is entitled to a transit pass. All they have to do is show their class schedule to the appropriate desk at the student union and they get the sticker. Now, they’ve already paid the fee. Furthermore, if they want to park on or near campus, they must pay an additional fee every time they drive to campus (there is no parking pass to my knowledge). Yet when asked how many drive to class, roughly half raise their hands. Granted only one or two have ever admitted not getting the pass. Let’s think about this for a moment. Students – roughly half – pay extra to park on campus, in addition to gas, maintenance, and assorted other vehicular expenses. When asked why, the responses often fall into the lazy/convenience category or work, which is related to convenience. If money, with gasoline at $4 per gallon, is not a motivator then I suppose we have to see what is.
Manger: Tomorrow I am going to go to George Mason University (GMU) around 4pm for a work related meeting. It’s out in Virginia. The professor said she could pick me up if I got out to the metro “near” the school by 3:30. We could also take a shuttle that takes 15-20 minutes from the metro. Instead, I will pay $12 to park at work and then probably pay again once I get to GMU. It’s worth it from a convenience standpoint. The time saved and frustration averted from not arranging all the logistics and not leaving work even earlier. Also, my colleague forgoes money by leaving early due to the hourly wage scale.
So much of it has to do with location – which is a huge factor and of course tied to convenience. I would be much less likely (and probably wouldn’t) bike to/from work if I weren’t close to an awesome park that allows me a quick, beautiful, and car free path. How many of those students you polled live within walking distance of a stop to one of the light rail lines? Probably not too many, I’d venture to say.
It’s money, sure, but I’m not going to pay for a product or service that is green but less convenient or a poor substitute for what I’m using now. For example, I wouldn’t buy this washer/dryer combo that the basement apartment (in which I was recently living) has because it takes hours – literally – to dry stuff, dries it poorly at that, and can’t handle a lot of clothes at once. I don’t care how quiet or eco or cool it is- I want my laundry to take less than 5 hours and not smell damp and moldy when I come home from work.
Wilson: Here’s the problem,
Taking a page from the solar decathlon that runs annually in Washington DC, New Town Builders in Denver will complete their first net zero home in the Stapleton neighborhood later this year. As an example of what future homes (and buildings in general) can do, the net zero home will produce as much energy as it consumes. Built in close vicinity to HGTV’s Green Home, which will be given away soon (sorry, the sweepstakes is now closed and no longer accepting entries), New Town’s home will not rely on energy from the grid to power the house. While it will be tied to the grid to feedback extra energy produced and draw from it when the home does not generate energy, the net amount drawn from utilities will be zero.
