The article in the url below asks an interesting question:
"What if gas station pumps warned drivers about climate change the way cigarette packs warn smokers about lung cancer?"
Apparently, they do in Cambridge, MA:
"Drive up to any gas pump in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and you'll see a yellow label slightly bigger than a greeting card. In red lettering, it tells drivers, 'WARNING: Burning Gasoline, Diesel and Ethanol has major consequences on human health and on the environment including contributing to climate change.'"
These labels are the first of their kind in the U.S. They were originally installed in early 2021, and they are not subtle:
The theory motivating the idea for the labels places the responsibility for action on each of us, as individuals:
"'The fight to reverse climate change requires that everyone take action to change their behavior,' the council noted in its policy order for the labels, 'and the City must underscore the fact that each individual's behavior can make an impact on the environment and on public health.'"
The idea first appeared in Vancouver, Canada, but was more of a muted effort:
"North Vancouver ended up agreeing to the idea first, and in 2016 became the first Canadian city to put climate labels on its pumps. But local officials opted not to go with a graphic warning about climate change proposed by activists and instead chose a label that the energy industry helped design. The word 'warning' doesn't appear. Instead, the labels state 'Reducing Emissions Help Fight Climate Change' and also offer tips on how to do so through things like maintaining tire pressure and not idling your car."
Perhaps not surprisingly, Scandinavia is making faster progress on this issue:
"In Sweden, a campaign to put climate labels on gas pumps launched in 2013 and was passed by parliament in 2018. Now color-coded labels can be found in most fueling stations across the country; they compare the carbon intensity of fossil fuels, biodiesel, and electric vehicle chargers."
The comparison with health warnings on cigarettes is obvious, but the effectiveness of such labels is unknown:
"Perhaps the closest parallel are the warning labels on cigarettes; but even there, the effectiveness remains unclear. 'Do the warnings on cigarette packs actually prevent people from smoking? We don't know,' [Patricia Nolan, the Cambridge City Council member sponsoring the labeling effort] said. For her, the point of the gas labels is 'educating the public. The science is very clear: burning gasoline hurts people's health and the environment.'"
Take care
David
David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2023
Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler6e
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/
Where Are All the Climate Warnings on Labels on Gas Pumps?
By Zahra Hirji
July 19, 2022
Bloomberg Businessweek
