Since the site went live, we have recruited about 300 members without yet conducting any advertising. In the next year, we intend to promote the site to larger groups and to assess its impact on members’ energy use.
impact statement issue
Americans use many times more than their share of our earth’s natural resources. Everyday use of natural gas, electricity, water, and other limited resources is often done without regard for the impact of these actions on the environment. Most individuals lack scientific information about the impact of their actions and about how small changes to these actions could lead to both environmental and financial savings.
impact statement response
As part of a large interdisciplinary project to promote sustainable behaviors, we conducted surveys and interviews with people about their resource use. These findings were incorporated into the design of our website, www.stepgreen.org, which promotes pro-environmental behavior. People who join the site are provided with suggestions for energy-saving actions (e.g., taking shorter showers, using compact fluorescent light bulbs) and the environmental and financial savings these actions would provide. People can commit to actions they want to pursue and report when they have taken them. The site provides visual feedback about CO2 and financial savings as a result of actions taken. The site also includes a social network component; the display can be embedded in people’s MySpace or Facebook profile pages. An initial three-week field trial of the system was followed by its live introduction to the general public in the fall of 2008.
impact statement summary
This project leverages the power of the internet to motivate people to take energy-saving actions in their daily life.
