Does 'Fun' Impact our Environmental Behavior?

Why is it that protecting the environment is rarely our first priority, or for that matter our second or third? How is it we can drive to work and see polluted rivers and streets and continue our daily routine without a moments hesitation? There are actually numerous possible reasons for these phenomena, which are both surprising and understandable:

1. Which Came 1st, the Recycling or the 'Fun'?: Today I read a very interesting article titled 'Motivations and Behaviors That Support Recycling' by Carol M. Werner and Eeva Makela of the University of Utah, in which the two did survey work looking into individuals' perceptions and habits in relation to recycling. In particular, the two looked to see if those who made recycling more 'fun' were more environmentally conscious. Their results were surprising, they found that, "people who had strong personal attitudes favoring recycling or a strong social orientation towards recycling were most likely to describe ways in which they made it more interesting"(Werner & Makela 382). Thus, because we see recycling as a chore, we are less likely to embrace it, and likewise if we make recycling more fun a correlation exists showcasing more tendencies of being environmentally conscious.

2. Diffusion of Responsibility: Let's face it, the world is a BIG place. In fact, there are so many people around us, we sometimes feel our individual actions are insufficient or unnecessary. It appears to be a human tendency to feel that someone will do the right thing, often times for us. This process is called diffusion of responsibility. A classic example of distribution of responsibility is if an individual is hurt in a car accident near a little league baseball game. The study of group dynamics suggests that if one person is near the crash they will be obliged to aid the individual (call 911, provide first aid, etc.) whereas a group of individuals will be less likely to do the same. Some make the argument that others are more able to handle the situation while others assume someone else will help. The challenge of environmental action is that the environment affects everyone and individuals appear more likely to put the responsibility to clean or preserve the environment on their communities, states, nations, and leaders. My research in regards to the James River Watershed will examine which process is more feasible or practical to individuals (individual action, community action, or regional action). This insight may provide a key means to evaluate where environmental action should be targeted.

3. Danger Zone!: What is the most recent example of an environmental disaster you have seen on the news? Was it an oil liner which accidentally spilled tons of oil on a nature preserve? Or a quick moving forest fire threatening homes? How about a hurricane which causes water from sanitation sites and other chemically or biologically threatening sources to flood into a major metropolitan city? Of course you have! Our media picks up environmental stories that are of the most sensational or perilous immediate concern. After all who would want to hear a news story of how soil erosion is slowly killing rivers and streams over a ten to fifty year period? It's not that these issues aren't important...it's just they aren't important NOW. Paul Story and Donelson Forsyth examined this process in relation to watersheds in their article 'Watershed Conservation and Preservation: Environmental Engagement as a Prosocial Behavior'. They suggest that because awareness about the health of watersheds is not of direct concern to individuals, they are less likely to be environmentally prosocial in protecting these water systems. Since immediate results cannot be found in these large environmental systems Weick suggests a system of small wins, which builds individuals confidence and support for a environmental system. However, the flaw of this approach is not that it doesn't work, but that it provides what it states, a small win. I hope to see if individuals relate to their region or community more than individual environmental processes. If this is so, these larger entities can engage in larger win situation which will still provide the confidence and support of the small win system with larger effect.