THE TRAGEDY of the Ocean
-feat humans & pollution
Part 3: Solutions to the Tragedy
Education
1) Change Attitude: by informing the public on the nature and severity of the problem to convince them of the need of their immediate personal action.
Examples:
Documentaries - Plastic Paradise (2013)
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2) Provide Information: outline specific actions individuals can take to solve the problem.
Example:
To informally develop and mutually enforce own rules of behaviour without involving government authority. Based on social pressure and sense of obligation.
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Example: Modbury, an iconic ‘plastic bag-free’ English town, was the result of a consumer activist alongside small firms changing communities.
Small-Group
Community
Management
To encourage proper individual behaviours, involving major intuitive, emotional and spiritual components.
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Example: The Singapore Centre for Global Missions (SCGM) conducted talks, seminars and workshops on Creation Care and Environmental missions in many churches.
Moral, Religious, Ethical Appeals
A combination involving all or most of the four solutions would be most beneficial..
Example:
The U.K government and 21 major retailers started a voluntary program to reduce the amount of distributed plastic bags by 25% in 2006. It ultimately achieved 40% reduction in the environmental impact of carrier bags and a great reduction of the numbers of bags in circulation in 2008 (WRAP, 2010).
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Incentives:
Retailers rewarded consumers to bring their own bags, thereby reinforcing pro-social behaviour.
Principles of community management:
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Engaging retailers to be more efficient in material usage; by reducing the amount of virgin plastic and increasing recycled content used to manufacture carrier bags.
Educational outreaches:
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TV advertisements, magazines, and incentive schemes was highly effective in gaining consumers’ awareness to the value of recycling programs and to bringing their own reusable bag.
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Superstore ASDA's magazine did regular features on bag re-use to reach customers and briefed and motivated their staff through internal promotional channels.