The pain drivers feel at the pump from high gas prices may soon also come with a jolt of shame for helping destroy the planet.
A proposal gaining momentum with civic leaders in B.C. would see guilt-inducing climate change warning labels slapped on all gas pump handles.
The non-profit group Our Horizon has been advancing the concept on the basis that warnings that graphically show the damage from climate change could nudge motorists to cut their emissions.
It’s inspired by cigarette package warnings that are credited in the decline of smoking and the example warning labels circulated by the group are similar in design.
“Warning: Use of this fuel product contributes to ocean acidification which puts much marine life at risk of extinction,” states one label that comes with images of thriving and dead coral.
West Vancouver council will bring a resolution before the Union of B.C. Municipalities in September asking the province to make the pump labels a requirement province-wide.
SFU marketing professor Lindsay Meredith said the idea could influence fuel consumption, particularly among people already considering buying an electric car or choosing other transportation options to reduce their carbon footprint.
“It’s a way of turning up the heat, no doubt about it,” Meredith said.
Jeff Nagel, Black Press
