Even change starts small

We have all heard the saying, "Change is good" or as Sheryl Crow put it, "A change would do you good" however in reality people are typically resistant to change.

There are probably countless reasons for this fear of change, some good and others not.  We tend to be excited about choices we make that lead to change, although often the outcome is not what we expect.  On the other hand, when we are advised or forced to make changes we immediately dig in and resist, regardless of the impacts it may have.

In addition to humans' natural resistance to change there are institutional hurdles to significant change.  If we look at the current "re-birth" of the electric vehicle we see these two factors at work.  Aside from our love for cars and the rumble of a V8 (I'm guilty too) the infrastructure which supports our driving habits is deeply entrenched within our society.   Because this infrastructure is so vast and convenient it creates a huge barrier of entry to any other mode of transportation.  I am also aware that in this case, a sudden change is not possible, nor would it come without severe consequences.

So where does this leave us?  It seems that we are in a period of gradual change to a more diversified auto market in terms of fuel sources.  Although there are still multiple hurdles to decreasing our dependence on oil, the wheels (no pun intended) are in motion.  Beginning with the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius over a decade ago we are finally seeing a meaningful shift in what powers our vehicles. There are a limited number of Natural Gas vehicles, a quickly growing fleet of Hybrids, and staring in 2011 the first mass produced Electric Vehicles have started to hit the market.

This change has not come easily and we have a long way to go, but it could be argued that we have crossed the tipping point.  The first hybrid cars were met by much skepticism and even arguments that their environmental impact from "dust to dust" was worse than their gas powered counterparts.  However, in the last few years we have seen more attention being given to the overall environmental impact of vehicles, from production to disposal.  In addition to this the options for "alternative" fueled cars are no longer all small, futuristic looking tin cans.  Because of what I have recently dubbed the "iPad" effect, once something becomes trendy or a company figures out how to effectively market a product, the explosion of invention that comes after is where the meaningful changes begin to happen.

It can certainly be argued that the above is merely companies taking advantage of consumers with marketing, and I am not advocating that these changes should be done solely to be "cool".  However, if this is what is needed in order to start the push towards better technology and a more sustainable future then the means are far less important than the end.  This "iPad" effect plays into our resistance to change as well, because once a product/idea is accepted by early adopters we realize two things: First, the perceived inconveniences or drawbacks of the product can be minimized by satisfied users.  Second, the following incarnations of these products/ideas can address the shortfalls of the original and the snowball effect takes hold. 

In the past few years alone these small changes are sweeping through major areas of our lives; cars, light bulbs, solar panels, packaging, etc.  As our society becomes more aware of it's impact on the environment these small adjustments will continue to be refined and smooth our transition into a more efficient and sustainable future.