No-Mail-List

After our class discussion about the no-mail-list, I have been giving the issue a lot of thought. My conclusions?  I can’t believe this hasn’t taken been done yet!

Even if some people believe going green is just a fad to join, at least people are enticed to join in.  Whether we recycle to be cool or to save the planet, at least people are trying to save the planet.  So why don’t companies jump on the band-wagon?  Why are we still killing so many trees?

I know there are a lot of issues with the no-mail-list, like will it take us off lists we like, can non-profits still mail… there are issues, but they are worth working through.  I think as my generation matures more things will move to electronic-only messages because we have all had e-mail addresses since middle school (or younger!)  But as the baby-boomers are still one of the most targeted audiences and many of them don’t own a computer I’m sure paper mailings will still be the “best route.”

It makes me wonder what else we can move to digital for our generation though – all online text books?  Only turning in assignments online?  How much electricity would this use versus saving paper?

There just seems like there’s more we can be doing.

Go Green.. that means you non profits!

I thought the latest current event issue was extremely relevant, considering Earth Day was just a few days ago. Hearing the actual amount of energy and resources that are wasted from a stupid direct mail piece that goes in the trash anyways is ridiculous. However, in a PR stand point, we don’t want to think that that is where our hard work goes after it is sent out.

I would hope that with all the new ways of communication, through e-mail, online giving and also through the new text messaging system I mentioned in my current event presentation, that the direct mail pieces would start to go out of circulation. Although, some opinions in class were that the text messaging may start to become like spam on our cells phones, I would rather see that our environment and resources are used to their fullest and not put to waste on something that people will throw away in 30 seconds.

Volunteering for the environment?

I’ve been giving this some thought, and I believe the idea that Americans are willing to volunteer but don’t follow through can be applied to the Green movement.  I believe that recycling, composting, and being energy efficient are like volunteering for mother earth.

It’s amazing to me that so relatively few people recycle.  It’s not easy (not in Manhattan at least: loading your car full of trash and sorting it in a large warehouse), but the rewards and feeling of happiness that you’re doing one less thing to kill the earth is great.

What lead me to this analogy is that I was thinking of a person I know who is the Green Team leader at their school, yet at home she does not recycle.  She pays for the recycling people to come, and has a green bin at the foot of her driveway, but simply does not want to be bothered to put things in different containers  rather than one trash can.  How can this be?

Just as volunteers need to make that conceptual leap, so too must want-to-be environmentalists make the leap into actually changing their daily habits.  Any suggestions on how to encourage that leap?