Bay Area group pushing for global warming warning labels on gas pumps

Wednesday, January 15, 2014 by: Josh Anderson
Tags: Bay Area, gas pumps, warning labels

(NaturalNews) We've all seen or heard about the warning labels on tobacco products that warn of the negative health consequences associated with its use, such as lung cancer and heart disease. Recently, an international group that wants to bring global warming awareness to the world, called 350.org, wants to require San Francisco and Berkeley to have a warning labels depicting the supposed global warming harm that filling up can do on every gas pump.

The Bay Area chapter has filed a petition to mark all the cities' gas pumps with a warning label that would not only warn customers of the alleged global warming consequences of using gasoline but also tell people of the Climate Action Plan that each city has in place to reduce CO2 and gasoline use. The group says it's not a warning label to berate people and make them feel bad, but it's a warning label to simply inform them of the consequences of burning gasoline and hopefully curb its use.

Warning labels, in particular graphic warning labels, on tobacco have been shown to have astounding affects in terms of smoking rates. For example, the Canadian graphic warning label on cigarettes has decreased smoking rates there by 12-20% between 2000 and 2009. The Canadian warning labels were shown to double smokers' knowledge of the consequences of smoking. This can be attributed to a "dose" of information being administered every time the user reaches for a cigarette and sees that warning, over and over and over again. Although there wouldn't be a graphic label on gas pumps, the ability of warning labels to elicit change in frequent users is evident.

The Bay Area 350.org chapter is hoping they have the same effects with gas pump warning labels. Every time a user reaches for the gas pump, they will be administered a "dose" of information about the harm that burning gasoline can have. Like with cigarettes, more frequent users will see the warning labels more often, hopefully causing them to be more conscientious about the issue. As the chapter has said, the campaign is not to point the finger at people for using gasoline; it is to educate the public on the consequences that burning gasoline could have on the environment.

Sources for this article include:

http://cleantechnica.com

http://www.sciencedaily.com

http://www.sciencedaily.com

http://www.naturalnews.com

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