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This colorful sticker is intended for placement over a light switch as a reminder to turn the light off. A small hole can be cut in the center for the switch to poke through. The top half shows a yellow desert scene of frowning oil rigs in a desolate landscape, and the words “On=Bad." The bottom half shows a green forest full of smiling trees, snow-peaked mountains, and the words “Off=Good.” This sticker is one of three developed by students at Humboldt State University working with the Alliance to Save Energy's Green Campus Program. The program has distributed thousands of these stickers to students, and they’re now a permanent feature of dorm rooms, offices, and classrooms at the university. They struck me, however, as a wonderful tool not only for students, but also for families that want to encourage children to conserve.

Small actions, like turning off the lights, can be easy to forget. And children in particular can have a difficult time remembering. This sticker places the conservation message directly where the action takes place. Unlike, say, a TV conservation ad that must be remembered before it can be applied, this sticker triggers recall, instead of taxing it: As the child (or adult) leaves the room, there are the bright colors on the light switch, attracting attention, and reminding the child at the critical moment. Further, the connection between home energy use and environmental degradation is brought home in the simple graphics. This connection is tenuous at best for many people. Children, in particular, may be unaware that their energy use has environmental consequences. The sticker is likely to have only short-term effects. Its bright colors will attract attention initially, but eventually habituation will probably reduce its effectiveness. At that point the sticker could be replaced by one of the other designs the students have developed. And over time, the habit of turning lights should become ingrained; eventually, the stickers will become an unnecessary reminder.

This design or others like it could be easily distributed by other campaigns. Perhaps campaigns could also develop blank stickers for children to use in creating their own designs. This latter approach would increase the child’s involvement withconservation: Research shows that the ideas we generate ourselves are more persuasive than suggestions we hear from other people.Simply using the stickers as they are, however, is likely to be highly effective for people who require no persuasion, but simply a reminder that we want to protect the environment – a belief that most all adults and children share.

User friendly and kid friendly!

I think this is a great way to engage children and students, and adults as well, in reducing energy consumption.  It's also a great conversation starter that can be expanded past merely turning off the lights.  Now if they could only come up with stickers for things like turning off the water while brushing teeth, or clean up your room, my nagging days would be over!

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