Coase Colored Glasses

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Environment v. Laziness

One major problem I see with integrating new technology that is environmentally sounds is that as a society people in general do not like change and are quite stubborn about it. Many ideas about new technologies that replace old ones are why should I really care, or the fact that people get used to their certain types of technology and do not accept change. Remember the Sacagawea dollar (clicky), it saved the country billions but no one wanted it, no one used it and the government still had the bill in circulation (clicky). Microsoft is another, there are countless Linux, Linux is free and generally more stable and overall more compatible than Windows, see more here. I still see people play record players, and one sad soul an 8 Track. IPODS are soon replacing CD’s, why are IPODS catching on and the Sacagawea Dollar did not. I am not sure of this but I believe it may have something to do with ease of use. If something is far superior, or removes a noticeable activity (switching CD’s is way too much work) to make something easier it can catch on. If a new product is placed on the market to replace an old one the advantages must be not of a societal one but of a personal one, or a way to make people lazier. Or the government or company can just remove them from being produced and that will force the people to use the new replacement product. That is why many environmentally conscious products never catch on, unless it easier to use and the consumer still has a choice consumer's are likely going to choose the one the one they already know how to use.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home