"Paper or Plastic?" Energy, Environment, and Consumerism in Sweden and America

Subjects:

• Science » Environmental Science
• Economics » Microeconomics
• Anthropology » Cultural Anthropology
• Science » Energy/Natural Resources

Reviews:

• This slim and delightfully written volume nicely indexes the maturation of sociological and anthropological inquiry into matters of environmental degradation and preservation.
  —Community
• The study provides detailed data based on in-depth interviews, surveys, consumer logs, and observation of similar households in two small towns-Munka Ljungby in Sweden and Foley in Minnesota. These data collectively demonstrate potential difficulties encountered in attempting to effect long-term behavioral changes....These results should be interesting to consumer behaviorists, energy providers, and energy policy makers alike....Overall, the book is very informative and does an excellent job presenting the attitudes and behaviors that lead consumers in making energy choices. Energy policy-makers, as well as other public officials, should find guidance in the difficulties of effecting long-term consumer behavior modification Consumer behaviorists gain valuable insights into the attitudes and behaviors of consumers regarding energy consumption.
  —The Journal of Consumer Affairs
• [I]t aptly demonstrates the crucial importance of daily household activity to energy conservation, challeneges stereotypes about thrifty Swedes and wasteful Americans, and shows how environmental attitudes fit into broader cultural patterns.
  —Environment

Table of Contents:

• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• The Communities and Their Contexts
• House Contents and Fuel Consumption
• Household Activities
• Consumer Awareness: Energy, Self-Image, and Conservation
• Energy Consumption: Cultural Mandates and Individual Rationales
• Energy Conservation: Cultural Sanctions and Individual Motives
• The New Environmental Focus
• Consumerism
• Worldview
• Conclusion
• Appendix
• Bibliography
• Index