Emily Huddart Kennedy

Rethinking ecological citizenship: the role of neighbourhood networks in cultural change

Ecological citizenship is a normative theory that has been used to explain how some individuals lead sustainable lives within the constraints of late capitalism. Bringing citizenship into the discussion of sustainability is generally viewed as valuable, though some perceive the individualistic orientation of ecological citizenship to be a weakness. The varying capacities of individuals and groups to bring about social change have only recently entered discussion of ecological citizenship, largely neglecting the role of collective, cultural shifts in environmental politics. Drawing on ecological citizenship theory and qualitative data, the potential for ecological citizenship theory to incorporate a stronger cultural dimension through greater recognition of informal neighbourhood networks, centred on sustainable consumption, is examined. When ecological citizens engage in an informal neighbourhood-based network, a virtuous circle ensues. This reduces barriers to sustainable living in the neighbourhood, as well as deepening members’ commitment to citizenship at the local level. In the case of an informal neighbourhood network, ecological citizens are more potent agents of cultural change as a collective than as individuals.

Egregious Emitters Disproportionality in Household Carbon Footprints

This article presents survey data from households in Alberta, Canada, examining the relationship between income and carbon footprint. Using multivariate statistics to scrutinize the role of income, the data demonstrate substantial disproportionality in the composition and size of household carbon footprints. Results show that household energy consumption (heating, cooking, cooling) comprises half of the average footprint, with automobile transportation contributing 30% and air travel another 15%. In a linear multiple regression model, the size of household carbon footprints is positively associated with income, in addition to other variables. The highest income quintile has household carbon footprints 2.2 times greater than the lowest income quintile.

Towards a sociology of consumerism

Despite concern over the environmental impacts of consumerism, there is a little theoretical coherence into the topic. We present a review of theoretical work from the social sciences to move towards a sociology of consumerism. Few sociological theories address sustainability so we draw from a broad array of literature from Baudrillard (1998) [Baudrillard, J. (1998) The Consumer Society: Myths and Structures. London, UK: Sage] to Veblen (1994) [Veblen, T. (1994) The Theory of the Leisure Class. New York, NY: Dover Publications.]. For instructive purposes, we divide the theories presented into three approaches: structural, individual and social practices. A structural approach considers social norms, built infrastructure and political economic conditions that can exacerbate consumerism. The individual approach focuses on the individual motivations to consume, while the social practices approach integrates both structural and individual perspectives to focus explicitly on how consumerism can result from our daily routines. Ultimately, we argue that social practice theories have the greatest potential to consider lifestyle change toward more sustainable routines.

Social practice theories and research on sustainable consumption

Despite elaborate public awareness campaigns to motivate people to reduce their environmental impact in light of climate change threats, practices contributing to greenhouse gas emissions remain stubbornly stable. This public policy conundrum is intimately, yet perhaps surprisingly, connected to how we conceptualize and engage with processes of social change. Will households, businesses, and governments make choices that are in the best interest of environmental health and justice if provided with good information? There is great reason to doubt the likelihood of this coming to pass. In fact, as we see in the case of climate change, as well as other systemic problems such as poverty or oceanic pollution, there is very little meaningful progress occurring despite a wealth of information. Understanding the persistence of human attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, in the face of overwhelming evidence that significant changes are underway, brings us to the arena of social theory. In the policy community, the most popular theories of social action posit that external stimuli such as a tax or rebate can guide individuals to make decisions that are best for themselves and the common good. A particularly wellreceived variant of this notion is the ‘nudge’ approach that accepts that as decision makers we are constantly bombarded by oftencontradictory information (Thaler and Sunstein 2008). As evidence of the popularity of this strategy, President Barack Obama appointed scholar Cass Sunstein to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (part of the Executive Office of the President) and Prime Minister David Cameron selected Richard Thaler to lead the Behavioural Insight Team for the United Kingdom government (Standing 2011). These initiatives made recommendations for governments to alter the social context in slight ways to encourage people to make

Food activists, consumer strategies, and the democratic imagination: Insights from eat-local movements:

Scholars remain divided on the possibilities (and limitations) of conceptualizing social change through a consumer-focused, “shopping for change,” lens. Drawing from framing theory and the concept of the democratic imagination, we use a case study of “eat-local” food activism to contribute to this debate. We ask two questions: first, how do activists in the local food movement come to diagnose and critique the conventional industrial food system? and second, what roles do they envision for participants in the sustainable food movement? We address these questions by drawing from activist interview data (n = 57) and participant observation of the eat-local movement in three Canadian cities. Our findings illuminate a mixed picture of possibilities and limitations for consumer-based projects to foster social change. On the one hand, the diagnostic frames presented by food activists suggest skills in critical thinking, attention to structural injustice, and widespread recognition of the importance of collective mobilization. This framing suggests a politically thick democratic imagination among eat-local activists. In contrast, when it comes to thinking about prescriptions for change, activist understandings draw from individualistic and market-oriented conceptualizations of civic engagement, which indicates a relatively thin democratic imagination. These findings demonstrate that despite the sophisticated understandings and civic commitment of movement activists, the eat-local movement is limited by a reliance on individual consumption as the dominant pathway for achieving eco-social change.

Environmental evaporation: the invisibility of environmental concern in food system change

Overcoming the barriers to ecological sustainability requires extensive civic engagement. In many respects, citizens have met this challenge yet, despite widespread environmental concern and activism, the structures that threaten the biosphere persist. Using data from a qualitative, comparative case study of local food movements in three Canadian cities, I introduce the concept ‘environmental evaporation’ to explain how activism may inadvertently reproduce dominant – particularly individualistic and market-oriented – social structures. Environmental evaporation refers to the process by which individual concern for the environment disappears in public life. Private environmental concerns ‘evaporate’ because themes relating to the environment are viewed as too polarizing to catalyze broad support and necessary allegiances with elite actors. Understanding the process of environmental evaporation has the potential to catalyze future research into the complex relationship between collective action and structural change.

The Practice of Green Consumption

This chapter problematizes the dominant viewpoint of sustainable consumption as a personal and voluntary act by arguing that such a conceptualization makes individuals appear responsible for complex, systemic issues and then limits individuals to respond solely as consumers. We argue that environmental policy solutions based on this dominant conception are limited and we make a case for a more promising conceptualization of green consumption: the ‘social practice approach.’ Social practices analyze patterns of behavior rather than individual acts, recognizing that individual characteristics are in constant dialogue with structural arrangements. This chapter provides commentary on the limitations of the individualistic approach, an overview of how social practice theory is an improved conceptualization of sustainable consumption, and argues that social practice theory can rejuvenate environmental political discourse.

Reinterpreting the gender gap in household pro-environmental behaviour

ABSTRACT Research has identified a gender gap in household-level environmental protection, with women engaging more frequently than men. However, this gender gap is rarely seen as problematic; environmental sociologists have referred to household-level pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) as ‘low-hanging fruit’ in the pursuit of ecological sustainability – actions that are easy to adopt and reduce environmental impact. To date, environmental sociologists have neglected to ask how women’s higher rate of engagement in these behaviours relates to women’s outcomes more generally. In this article, we draw on past literature within and beyond environmental sociology to develop a theoretical approach for future research on the gender gap in PEB. We also use descriptive statistical analyses of cross-national survey data to demonstrate our argument. Not only do we show that women’s engagement in PEB is tied to her economic status in ways that are distinct from men’s engagement in PEB, we see that this difference persists across varying household arrangements of paid work. Understanding this as evidence of a gendered relationship between household PEB and economic status, we recommend future directions of research. Given that household environmental protection is a gendered practice, we feel environmental sociologists are poised to make important contributions to research on gender.

Gendered citizenship and the individualization of environmental responsibility: evaluating a campus common reading program

Abstract Campus common reading programs are intended to stimulate critical thinking and dialogue across disciplines yet scarce evidence exists to evaluate the success of such programs. We assess the extent to which engagement in an environmentally-themed common reading program is related to (1) concern for waste-related issues, (2) beliefs that addressing waste is an individual responsibility, and (3) individual behaviors intended to reduce personal waste. Results are drawn from a sample of undergraduate students (n = 398) with varying levels of engagement in the common reading program. Students who participated in the common reading program have higher levels of concern for waste than those who did not, are more likely to locate responsibility for addressing the problem of waste on the individual, and self-report higher frequency of engagement in individual efforts to reduce waste. We conclude with recommendations for further developing the critical thinking capacity of campus common reading programs.

Extension of What and to Whom? A Qualitative Study of Self-Provisioning Service Delivery in a University Extension Program

Abstract Purpose Research has established a connection between industrially-produced food and negative health outcomes. Scholars have also shown a significant link between poor food environments and health. This paper explores the experiences of university extension program agents in order to initiate greater dialogue about the role of extension in lessening the deleterious health impacts of unequal access to high quality and sufficient quantity foods. Specifically, we consider the role of food self-provisioning instruction (e.g., food gardening, preservation). Methodology/approach The paper draws on semi-structured interviews with 20 university extension program officers in the state of Washington. Findings Although our participants report that demand for education in food production skills is on the rise across Washington, there are barriers to the equitable distribution of self-provisioning skills. Practical implications There is considerable promise for extension programs to have positive implications for health and nutrition for communities struggling to access quality foods. To meet this progress, extension must be more aware of serving the entire public either through hiring agents mirror their constituencies or funding a more diverse array of programming. Originality/value Little existing research examines or evaluates using university extension programs as a vehicle for teaching food self-production, though these topics have been taught since the founding of extension.