Open Response Question
Environmental Science

Experts at the 22nd meeting of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) were concerned that traditional messages from governments and green groups that urge the public to adopt environmentally friendly life-styles are not effective. Some argued these messages were 'too 'guilt-laden' and disapproving. Studies indicate that instead of encouraging people to embrace sustainable lifestyles and sustainable consumerism, people are getting turned off.

Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of UNEP, stated: " Messages from governments, telling people to drive their cars less or scolding them for buying products that cause environmental damage, appear not to be working. People are simply not listening. Making people feel guilty about their life-styles and purchasing habits, is achieving only limited success … we need to look again at how we get the public to reduce pollution and live in ways that cause minimal environmental damage. We need to make environmentally sustainable life-styles fashionable and 'cool' as young people might say. We also need to make it clear that there are real, personal, benefits to living in harmony with the planet, " he said.

The expert commended campaigns by KIA, the Korean car manufacturer, and the European detergent industry, as two examples of selling positive, environmentally conscious, consumerism and life-styles.

The United Kingdom KIA campaign urges people not to use cars for short journeys, only long distance ones. The company provides a mountain bike with every new car purchased and helps organize buses and walking tours as a means of getting around cities. Meanwhile, the European detergent industry launched a "Wash Right" campaign to explore the merits of washing at low temperature by emphasizing the benefits to the clothes as well as the energy saving made.

Source: http://www.tomorrow-web.com
About TOMORROW: TOMORROW is an independent magazine that focuses on the relationship between business and sustainability.

RUBRIC

Scoring is based on DEVELOPMENT of content (use and explanation of evidence from the reading) as the real “right answer.” Having the right idea but not supporting the assertions will mean that the score can be no more than fifty percent of the possible ‘topic development’ portion of the score.

Standard English conventions, based on a 1-4 score point scale
NOTE: This means that 40% of the score for any open response question is based on mechanics of language regardless of the ‘correctness’ of the answer.