1. The author's main points in the article that there are simple and very easy ways to influence consumers to act green in their consumption habits. The article lists a number of ways, mainly financial influence (showing how being green can save money, whether through conservation - smaller utility bills - or higher taxes on environmentally unfriendly products and services), that people can become more earth-friendly consumers. Statistics and social influences are also popular mechanisms for influencing consumers - using numbers and ideas to say "everyone else is doing it too" is a proven successful way to get consumers to do what companies and governments want them to. the article also lists the benefits both environmentally and fiscally of becoming a green consumer.
2. I think I would be less influenced by peer pressure advertisements than by green advertisements, especially after seeing this article. I am not necessarily a crazy rebel or anything like that, but knowing that companies specifically say "everyone else is doing it" to get you to do something too doesn't necessarily seem like a good thing to follow in every case. (In the case of being green, people should just be green because that's the right thing to do, not because everyone is doing it. But that is just my opinion.)
3. I bought a can of shaving cream because it was packaged in a can made of recycled materials. It is not very good shaving cream, but at least I can recycle it again and that makes me feel better about it.
4. A specific example of a product becoming environmentally friendly is the redesign of the bags for the snack food Sun Chips. The chip bags were remade out of a new material so they would be 100% biodegradable and more efficient to make than foil & plastic bags. If I remember correctly the bags were done away with because consumers hated them - the new material was extremely loud and obnoxious - but the idea was a solid one and I definitely appreciated it and bought into it. Many companies are also designing green cleaning products, with chemical-free formulas, recycled/recyclable packaging, and (in some cases) fractions of the cost donated to green causes. Other examples of green products include recycled paper products, paper products made out of materials other than trees (banana paper, anyone?), pesticides, toys, cars (hybrid/electric cars), energy-efficient devices like (microwaves, toasters and refrigerators) and, to use an example from the article (though this is more a service than a product), the method hotels are beginning to employ to use less energy, water, and detergent by allowing guests the option to keep towels more than a single day.
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