Can a sad polar bear make you turn off the lights?

By Beth Daley, Globe Staff

Maybe a cute polar bear can do what all the good green intentions in the world can’t: Get people to consistently conserve energy.

The bear-o-meter

That’s what the Brooks School, a North Andover boarding school for grades 9-12, is counting on with an animated animal that lets students “see” their energy consumption in real time. Instead of showing students what energy they are collectively using in each of the school’s ten dorms with graphs or digital numbers, a “bear-o-meter” displays it more visually on a public screen with the bear’s well-being tied to how well students are conserving.

For example, when energy use is low, such as early in the morning, the bear is asleep and happy. But as energy use rises as students turn on computers, televisions and music devices, the ice can begin melting under the bear’s paws – and if energy use really peaks – the poor bear falls in and flails in the open water.

Developed by a Dartmouth College professor and former students, TellEmotion is designed to tug at the heartstrings to motivate behavior to conserve energy. I’ve written here about how hard it can be to act green: Just think of the difficulties in running regularly - and that is just one behavior. Going green involves everything from shorter showers, remembering to turn off the lights, letting Mother Nature dry your laundry and maybe even leaving the car behind.