These days, many people are torn between conflicting desires:
wanting to do the
right thing but also wanting to keep up with the Joneses, nay even to
overtake them (preferably in a powerful yet cushy 4x4, complete with
wow-factor gizmos).
Ahem. Where was I? Oh yes, in
the BBC’s Green Room, where Dr Matt Prescott (eco consultant and
director of
banthebulb.org) ponders whether humans can overcome our basic instinct to compete (in order to attract mates) and instead, club together to go
green and save the planet. Photo: ©iStockphoto.com/Kris Hanke.
Persuading people to reduce conspicuous consumption may prove a hard sell. Advertisers play on our insecurities and our longing to
fit in – and to stand out as a 'great catch' – and competition pervades every purchase. It's no longer 'just a car' or 'just a pair of shoes'; products are imbued with an image that the purchaser is (literally) buying into. Some consumers believe their identity is so intrinsically linked with their goods, they act as human billboards: wearing visibly branded clothing or even getting logos shaved into their hair or tattooed on – now that's letting advertising get under your skin. Celebrity endorsements
exacerbate the problem: we want to believe that a little of that glamour will rub off on us if we choose the same razor as David Beckham. It sounds silly, but ads use sleek style and especially repetition to make believers of us all.
Well, most of us. Some people claim they're immune to marketing; they simply buy a car to get from A to B and take no notice of what their sunglasses 'say' about them. They're lucky. Even as an avowed pedestrian, I've speculated about what car is really 'me' (perhaps the fun-loving New Beetle (convertible, why not?) with a daisy in the dashboard bud vase or maybe a Mini Cooper: curvy and cute, not too ostentatious.) Of course my new fantasy car would be a greener-than-thou electric one.
Electric cars are usually too small to appeal to today's consumers, but what exactly is it that a massive 4x4 says about you? It used to bellow "He Man" in a husky voice and was the ego-friendly choice for guys who wanted to appear strong, confident and a bit outdoorsy: all that extra room for a laddish Labrador or a set of power tools. That was the illusion anyway – the reality was more likely a couple of kiddy car seats and the weekly supermarket shop.
Today, a colossal car is just as likely to purr, "I am a devoted mother – I care about the planet, sure, but I care about my children's safety even more." This argument is not without its logic. Last year the Department for Transport stated that drivers
of 4x4s or people-carriers are 50 times less likely to be killed in
collisions with another car than drivers of smaller cars. Of course, it's a self-perpetuating phenomenon – more giant cars on the road means other drivers are even less safe (not to mention
pedestrians and cyclists).
This escalation of size mirrors the state of American football, where players are growing faster than weeds in an organic allotment. In the 1980s William 'The Refrigerator' Perry made a name for himself, mainly due to his incredible bulk (326lbs). These days, he'd blend right in: in 2006, nearly 20% of players weighed over 300 pounds, with an average
BMI above 31 (obese). If even America’s athletes are obese what hope is there for the couch
potatoes watching the game whilst gorging on crisps and pitchers of beer?
Dr Prescott is correct in assuming that the competitive instinct is too
strong to disappear, but I believe he underestimates the allure of geek chic. I'm not the only one who fancies Clark Kent over Superman and Bill Bixby
over Lou Ferrigno, green or not (above). As the harsh reality of climate chaos hits home, our ideas of 'What's Hot' may drastically change, with women boycotting bulky blokes in gas guzzlers in favour of slender, bespectacled sorts with supersized solar panels.
Hollywood hottie George Clooney seems bang on trend, sensing that the new babe magnet might just be a clean, green electric machine. George bought one of the first Tango cars on the market (left) and will soon be taking a spin in a new electric
Tesla Roadster. He gains greenie points, but remains an alpha male, one step ahead in the style stakes – the price tag makes these cars tantalisingly out of reach for the average Joe.
I know many people are sick of celebrities crowing about their green cred (real or exaggerated), but at least some of them are trying to promote solutions, rather than just their next pop album. Leonardo DiCaprio has also been busy showing us that green can be glam. See a preview of his new eco-documentary The 11th Hour
here. If this is the future of geek chic, bring it on.
