Psychology and Carbon Footprints

John Tierney's article reviews some ideas to motivate people to live more soundly. Excerpt:

But we also have peculiarities that could be useful in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. With the right prompting, we’ll make sacrifices for the common good and perform acts of charity that we’d never do for any amount of pay. We’ll reform our behavior strikingly to conform with social norms. We’ll even make astute cost-benefit judgments if we get simple, clear feedback — that’s why cars come with idiot lights.