Lent calendars

Looking at Christian Aid's Lent calendars for grown ups...

and for children...

... and think the kids are getting a better deal. (Clever idea, though.)

Changing littering behaviour

People driving along the M40 this summer will probably have seen signs nudging them to dispose of their litter responsibly, with a little social pressure 'Bin your litter, other people do'. The Highways Agency, which is trialling various approaches to reducing littering, has probably picked up one or two negative responses. Seeing the signs I've wondered whether they might precipitate, rather than reduce, littering. Sadly, there seems to be some evidence for just such an effect: research at University of Groningen has found that prohibition signs in settings where there are cues to the negative behaviour (e.g. litter on the road) induce rather than reduce violations. This and other research on the social influences on behaviour in a special edition of Group Processes and Intergroup Relations.

[via BPS Research Digest]

The environmental impact of junk mail

This morning's Today trailed a Panorama programme to go out this evening on the impact of junk mail. Rarely considered alongside junk mail's reputation for deception and scams it transpires that the environmental impact of junk mail is huge: in Cornwall alone the annual cost of landfilling it amounts to £700k. Unfortunately junk mail also keeps the Royal Mail viable. Colleague, Karen Stanbridge, has a very detailed perspective on junk mail from her diary study of what people notice about documents. Participants in her study had finely-tuned filters and low tolerance for junk mail, particularly for cross-selling from existing suppliers.

Cognitive dissonance and environmental behaviour

Another piece of research (see, also) showing that people's initial mindset is likely to influence their response to information about their carbon consumption. Research by Amara Brook found that students who were initially unsympathetic to environmental information, given (false) feedback indicating that their carbon footprint was high, were likely to become less sympathetic to environmental issues, unlike students who were initially conscious of environmental issues. Brook suggests this is the effect of resolving cognitive dissonance: adapting thinking so it is consistent with evident behaviour. Her proposed solution is giving people simple information about the steps to take to reduce consumption. Maybe. Of course often students don't pay all their costs, so it would be interesting to see if the finding transferred to older consumers.

[via BPS Research Digest]

The psychology of climate change communication

Downloadable here. Readable guide to improving communication, in any contentious domain.

[via NotExactlyRocketScience]

As someone who had to watch a Vimeo howto before attempting to split logs with an axe I was impressed by Fabien Cappello's Christmas tree re-cycling.

[via DesignLessBetter]

Peer influence and behaviour change - a wrinkle

The idea that people's motivation to change their behaviour (e.g. in energy consumption) will be boosted by knowing norms for others similar to them gets a bit of a knock from research on electricity consumption in California. Dora Costa and Matthew Kahn have found that while nudging people with norm data reduces consumption by roughly 2 per cent, this isn't evenly distributed across households. It varies according to political leanings: homeowners who identified themselves as Republicans cut consumption by only 0.4 per cent. And those Republicans with no interest in environmental causes increased electricity use by 0.75 per cent.

Clearly one nudge doesn't fit all.

[via PuttingPeopleFirst]

Microsoft's Hohm, user reviewed

Ars Technica has a detailed review of the installation and use of Hohm domestic power monitor (more info and photos also at CNET). The system monitors electricity consumption using a retro-fit meter (fitting the meter, see CNET photo, above, not for the faint-hearted) and real time display. It can also take in gas consumption figures, direct from the household gas supplier, to the associated web application (again, quite a complicated set up process).

Some interesting conclusions: for this reviewer, using the real time display was more appealing than the analytics available on the web (although, since that shows gas consumption, it's likely to provide the greatest opportunity for considering savings). The display had some interesting functionality for rapid feedback: being able to 'zero' the background power consumption, then see the difference when a new appliance is connected; the capacity to show consumption as cost per hour, and to project a monthly bill, rather than KWh. Saving money seemed to be the key motivator for the reviewer, and I suspect for the majority of users (lovely account of reviewer's friend using a fuel monitor in his car and altering his driving behaviour to 'beat' his previous consumption - monitoring to that extent may not be great for safe driver performance).

What strikes me about this and other reviews is their focus on the novel experience rather than the embedded experience of monitoring consumption over time.  Rob Waller commented recently on stopping looking at his domestic monitor after week 3. We may have products, but not yet, perhaps, a durable consumer experience.

Going global without air travel

Heart warming article by Richard Leyland, founder of Worksnug (which locates places for mobile workers to work), on the challenges of building an international business while remaining consistent with his company's commitment not to travel by air (one of 10 founding principles of the company).

Innocent branding

Spotted today in central London. Innocent's green (but not quite so innocent, with 58% stake from Coca Cola) branding. Just about the only green grass in sight, following the rocketing temperatures of the past few days.

Smart meters are not enough

American research suggests that fitting homes with smart metering devices isn't enough to help people reduce energy consumption effectively. Understanding patterns of energy use is also required. The American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy said: "To realize potential feedback-induced savings, advanced meters must be used in conjunction with in-home (or online) displays and well-designed programs that successfully inform, engage, empower, and motivate people."

Reported by CNET, which has a nice (though not comprehensive) slide show of current home metering devices.

[via Putting People First]

Consumer understanding of smart metering

Interesting report by Foolproof, albeit on the basis of two focus groups, but with some well-designed stimulus materials, on attitudes to energy use and future smart metering. Participants' reactions to a future scenario where energy would both be more expensive, and its supply subject to interruption were interesting:
"The resounding reaction to this was incredulity:
“Preposterous, they wouldn’t let that happen”.
“There would be riots in the street”.
It took us some time to even get the groups to consider the proposition seriously."

[via Usability News]

Energy harvesting everywhere

Following my post on the Copenhagen Wheel I noticed another bicycle-based energy harvester, the ReCycle, which has the more modest aim of using kinetic energy to charge a powerpack that could be used, for example, to charge your mobile phone. A step beyond the old fashioned dynamo, but I wonder if, as a user, I'd really be bothered.

Similarly small-scale is the Pavegen slab which can harvest kinetic energy from footfall to, for example, generate lighting for pedestrians at crossing. A 'fun factor' is introduced by the glow of the slab as the pedestrian walks on it (see VW's FunTheory project).

Scaling up Technology Review features Levant Power's electricity-generating shock absorbers, suitable for large vehicles operating on rough terrains i.e. where the forces on the absorbers will generate significant enough energy to justify initial investment.

An internet of things - not yet

This concept, the Copenhagen Wheel, which stores energy when you brake for you to draw on to boost your cycling uphill, gets a pretty rough reception at BoingBoing. Hardy cyclists think it's for whimps, green cyclists point out that the energy cost of manufacture will negate any benefit it might bring by encouraging cycling, others point out that its weight will add to the effort required to ride the bike in the first place, that not enough energy will be captured in braking to give a significant boost, and so on. But the derision reaches crescendo at its control mechanism: an iPhone app, which can also, incidentally, give you feedback about your effort levels and attainment of you personal fitness goals, and share your cycling data with friends (oh, and connect you to a green points club - at this point I had to check this wasn't an April 1 video). These are not the advantages we're looking for in an internet of things.

We know there's mileage (sorry) in things being able to give information about themselves. It's easy to see the fit with tracking in industrial and commercial inventories; healthcare and military applications make sense too. But, as for tracking the details of your cycling, like internet-connected bathroom scales, unless at the extremes of fitness training, there's just too much of the anorak about them at the moment.

I can see, though, applications where connected things will make sense in the future. For example, if we're taxed on our use of certain roads, we might want our car to track its location and mileage (and present those to us coherently) so we can check our bills.

Coincidentally, the issue of the FT, where I first saw the connected scales, also featured an item on the launch of the first remote TV control in 1956. Remote controls didn't seem essential in the UK, at least, until the late 1980s when satellite TV increase the number of channels available and channel hopping became (for some) a way of viewing.

Research technology goes commercial

Last year I noted research into monitoring devices for electricity and water consumption that can detect the characteristic patterns of different devices in use (their 'signature') and so produce a profile of electricity or water use within a building. That technology was spun off into a company by its inventors ( at University of Washington, Duke and Georgia Tech); and now has been bought by Belkin. Pretty main stream.

[via Technology Review]

Sustainable, inclusive technology at Christmas

Techcrunch have published a list of tech gifts for the 'technologically impaired.' I could weaken for a robot floor cleaner. Could save hours.

But Do The Green Thing counsels you to stick with what you've got.

Well that's saved me a few hundred quid.

[Thanks to Tracy for the Green Thing link.]

Who will monitor home energy consumption?

Lovely comment in Putting People First on who will actually make use of energy consumption displays: 'nobody knows whether only hybrid Prius owners will use them.'

Let's start from the assumption that the initial investment isn't on the same scale as a Prius. Then we can be optimistic.

Controversial green concept car

I suppose Renault and cosmetics manufacturer, Biotherm, could count the launch of their concept electric city car, Spa Car, a success. It creates a spa in the interior, with skin hydrating temperature and humidity, and the addition of a diffuser to emit essential oils to calm or stimulate the driver, according to preference. Sparked some enraged comments on the Wired write up. PR profession, dix points; environment, nul.

Social influence and changing hand-washing behaviour

BBC News reports a neat study by LSHTM where the influence of different types of messages on people's use of soap in handwashing was monitored unobtrusively in a motorway service station. Different classes of message, all containing the word 'soap', were presented on an LED display, visible as people entered the washroom (no visual information design beyond keeping the message length to 48 characters to fit the display).

Not suprisingly, baseline levels of soap use differed for men and women (erm, in case you're wondering, men less likely to wash their hands (or use soap) than women). More surprisingly men responded particularly well to disgust inducing messages, such as 'Don't take the loo with you - wash with soap'; whereas women responded better to messages that activated their existing knowledge, such as 'Water doesn't kill germs, soap does.' But both men and women responded well to messages that included an element of social influence, e.g. 'Is the person next to you washing with soap?' And, for men at least, the stronger messages worked better the more people there were in the washroom at the time of seeing the message. Yet another example of the potential for using social norms to influence behaviour (see also here and here).

How governments influence people's behaviour

Radio 4 have aired a programme, Persuading us to be Good, on the failure of government attempts to improve our health, environmental and other behaviour. Apparently telling people there is 'an obesity crisis' or that 'millions are wasted on missed hospital appointments' has the undesired effect of encouraging people to believe that what they're doing is part of the norm. Messages telling you that changing your behaviour will be good for society, good for your children, or even good for you are less powerful than nudging you by telling you that other people have adopted a positive behaviour (see research comparing your energy consumption to others'). Other techniques such as 'choice architecture' (giving you the positive option first, leaving you to opt out for a less desirable choice), group commitment, public declaration of goals all help push us misguided individuals along the path to compliance.

Both the UK Labour and Conservative parties, facing various crises in office, or potentially so, have behavioural change gurus. For Labour, it's social psychologist Robert Cialdini, author of Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion; for the Tories, it's behavioural economist, Richard Thaler, co-author of Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness.

Sentiment towards psychologists seems very positively set in government circles, as least at the moment.