Thanks once again to Alan Drake (Big Easy) for expressing what I was having trouble doing.

I think that "Alan" (Initial poster in thread) was accurate about describing the problem of promoting something that is lobbying for a 'negative', which is a hard concept to grasp as an Action Item or as a Business proposition. I think that, as with 'Giving up something', like Coffee or Cigarettes, it can be more helpful to focus on the positive of the replacement, not the 'desired absence' of the current problem (CO2).. Alan Drake's examples of Electric Rail and Renewables are both (IMO) Great Positives that can create jobs, quality infrastructure and economic liveliness without having to be focused on the 'Negative Space', as artists call it.

Not that 'Negative' or 'Less' is bad or undesired, but instead of describing it as 'What I'm NOT producing.' (CO2, or whatever).. to redescribe it as what you ARE, what you ARE DOING, what you ARE PRODUCING.

I would like to discover more language for how this applies to individual lifestyles and behaviors, too, so that selling these concepts can focus on the Water in the Rapids, not the Rocks..
You are HEATING your own house with the sun..

You are SAVING money(and energy dependence) and you are 'TONING UP yourself' by leaving lights off, consolidating refrigerators/washloads/commutes.. ie trimming the fat, being sharp and conscious about how you live.

It's funny, as soon as I said that last sentence, ... and actually struggled to get the words out.. it reminded me of one of the 'latent elements' of the 'American Way' being implicitly synonymous with 'continual material gratification' and not only refusing to compromise on such, but in fact that compromise, and with it, self-restraint is ultimately A)Synonymous with failure, giving in, being a loser.. B)That it's TOO HARD.. I CAN'T do that.. and C)ultimately dangerous. "It will hurt the Economy", "It will compromise our security!" It was basically a reminder that a lot of this comes down to Addict Behavior, and needs to be addressed with that in mind. It makes the fear of "Less" make a lot of sense, of course. Even though we seem to celebrate the idea of self-control, self-discipline.. these are the traits that addiction destroys. The language I said I was seeking is common enough, but it's funny how the brain jumps away from using them when considering speaking them to such an addicted audience, as it will be laughed out of the room, even if it's the right word.

Hey Americans, SAVE MONEY. Actually SAVE some of your income as your first action on payday. THEN figure out how much COFFEE and ICE CREAM and CABLE CHANNELS you can afford.

And Naturally.. well ARTIFICIALLY, really, we are being encouraged to OBEY OUR THIRST everywhere we look. It's not that it's JUST the Advertisers' fault, but I don't give them a pass on this either, by any means.

"Can't Live Without Chocolate? Well now you don't Have To!!" Because the whole carnival ("Meat Market"..almost mistranslated) has been conditioned with the unapologetic goal of convincing you that you need their product.. and the more addictive that product is, the more it's sales will pay for psychologists, salespeople and artists to work their damnedest to keep convincing you that 'It's okay.. you deserve a break today.' "Don't just sit there. Well, OK just sit there ABC."

Alright.. so just as a conscious, well-informed and activated public would threaten a number of our most lucrative industries, it would also radically transform the major political parties. Piece of Cake!

I did it, though. I threw out the girl-scout cookies.. after eating a 'few'. They are really crap. Well intentioned, but crap. Next year, I'll just give them the $14 and toss in a couple Apples.

Bob