Environmental Leader

The Alliance for Climate Protection will spend $300 million over the next three years on a global warming marketing campaign, USA Today reports.

As a point of reference, U.S. automakers and industry trade associations spent $62.6 million on lobbying in 2007 to counter energy bills and efforts to craft new fuel rules.

The Alliance, founded by Al Gore, will buy ads and partner with grass-roots groups to spread the word on how to cut greenhouse gases, according to the article. It’s also seeking partnerships with consumer brands to spread the word through their packaging, websites or ads. A microsite, www.wecansolveit.org, has launched – although it’s currently short on content.

The article offers some interesting insight into the psychology behind getting people to make concrete changes, something the green movement has so far had little success with. While there’s widespread familiarity with global warming, few are actually altering behavior. The campaign will try to change that.

Early evidence suggests that many people will change if: They think others similar to themselves aremaking green changes; They get frequent positive feedback; They feel their changes make a difference; and if their children encourage the family to change.