Selection from \"Ecomaniacs\" (Atlantic article Jul/Aug 2017)
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EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
North American (General)Transcript
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whether you follow a vegan diet or are devoted carnivore carry canvas or plastic. You are one of 7.5 1,000,000,000 people. The ecological effect of your choices is minuscule, and yet they have a big effect on how others see you and how you see yourself. Psychologists found that prodding people toe worry about social status increased their interest in buying green versus non green items, but only if they were shopping in public. People in Washington state and Colorado were willing to pay a premium of 430 to $4200. Results varied by zip code for the green signaling Prius over an equally efficient car that didn't broadcast its virtue. Surveys of tens of thousands of British people suggests that green behaviors such as buying recycled products in taking public transit increased life satisfaction, but only in so far as they made people feel green and feelings can be misleading. Most people who called themselves screen never carpooled or avoided flying. Self congratulation, moreover, can lead to self indulgence. When people shopped in a green versus conventional simulated online store, they felt like they had done their good deed for the day and were more likely to cheat or steal in a subsequent task. In effect, psychologists call moral licensing. Similarly, getting weekly feedback on water consumption reduced people's water use by 6% but it increased their electricity use by 5.6% as if they felt that being careful in one area entitled them to relax and another.