Here's something to think about. New York Times columnist Charles Blow posted an interesting link to his facebook page regarding, "buying green," and how this can lead to poor behavior on the part of the consumer. The link is from an October 9 Science Daily article, "Buying Green Can Be License For Bad Behavior, Study Finds."
“This was not done to point the finger at consumers who buy green products. The message is bigger,” says Nina Mazar, a marketing professor at University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and a self-admitted green consumer. “At the end of the day, if we do one moral thing, IT doesn’t necessarily mean we will be morally better in other things as well.”
Details of the studies' methodologies are not provided. Nor does the article extrapolate the findings to building green as opposed to buying green. Typically developers tout the green design of buildings to entice would-be buyers or to placate the community. Locally we've seen the developers of the Northampton Senior Center, Hospital Hill and Ford Hall, the new Smith College Science Center, promote the green design aspects of their buildings.
Study to be published in a forthcoming issue of Psychological Science.
