Blue Planet 3

Did you watch Blue Planet 2 last night?

Facts about plastic, fossil fuels, noise pollution, and the dulcet tones of David Attenborough all bundled up in a big symphonic tangle last night. What will you do?

My neighbour will shun plastic toys for her little poppets and then jump in the car to drive them a mile to school. We are still choosing our options as if it were a big "save the planet" menu.

On the transport side, we have been separated into warring factions. Bikes v Cars. Cars v Bikes. The chatter on social media amplifies this hugely. We are dismayed when car users use the "what about the disabled" defence of car use as we are well aware that a bicycle can be the easiest form of transport to work for many disabled people. But, in defending that, we are adding to the warrior conversation. But do we sit back?

No.

If you want to accomplish something, do you pick your side and just bully the point? This hardly ever does much except make people dig in their heels and become more enmeshed in their own point of view.

The conversation needs to change in order to commit more people to cycling, mass transport, walking and vehicles that do not depend upon fossil fuels. An understanding of what motivates people to change and the barriers people construct to avoid change are the foundation that needs to be tinkered with.

On Blue Planet 2, the fellow that began the campaign to protect the leatherback turtles was successful because he visited schools to educate the children about a diminishing species. So what about tackling transport? A dialogue can begin in both schools and the workplace. Enlisting companies to help with a campaign was one of the ways the city of Copenhagen found success. Lastly, the little blue planet of social media (Blue Planet 3?) can also be used by everyone to paint a conversation in a less combative way.

Let's go.