[MCN] Sustainability requires making do with less

[Lance Olsen]

Ecological Economics — In progress (February 2019).  This issue is in progress but contains articles that are final and fully citable.

Can We Consume Less and Gain More? Environmental Efficiency of Wellbeing at the Individual Level 

Kelly A. Claborn, Jeremy S. Brooks 

Introduction A key question for sustainability science is how to generate higher well-being by, or despite, reducing personal consumption — an outcome known as the “double dividend” (Alfredsson et al., 2018; Jackson, 2005). The idea of the double dividend originated from studies suggesting that, beyond a certain level, increases in GDP or income have little impact on well-being, happiness, or life satisfaction (Costanza et al., 2009; Easterlin et al., 2009; Kahneman and Deaton, 2010; Layard, 2006). 

Coupled with evidence of environmental degradation associated with economic growth and consumption (Steffen et al., 2007), these studies led scholars to explore how to increase well-being in a more environmentally responsible way. There are two broad perspectives on the relationship between consumption and well-being. Whereas the conventional economic perspective suggests that individual well-being increases with additional consumption, some psychologists and sociologists have argued that increasing consumption can reduce well-being (Brown and Vergragt, 2016). 

To understand when low consumption is associated with high well-being, it is important to examine (i) who has high well-being with a relatively small ecological footprint, (ii) what characteristics these individuals possess, and (iii) whether and how local conditions shape the relationship between consumption and well-being. 

Several studies have examined which nations have high levels of well-being (hereafter referred to as WB) with relatively small ecological footprints (hereafter referred to as EF) by calculating the environmental efficiency of well-being (EWEB) (Dietz et al., 2009; Knight and Rosa, 2011). 


********************* Climate & living standards. **********************

“Consumer expectations of ever-higher living standards were fuelled by more lenient and readily available bank lending, …. 

“Social status and identity became closely associated with consumption, in particular with the concept of luxury. 

"Identifying oneself with the good life meant being able to live beyond traditional understandings of basic needs. Debt was the price one paid for the joys of being part of a hedonistic consumer culture.”

Kenneth Dyson. The Morality of Debt. Foreign Affairs. May 3, 2015
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2015-05-03/morality-debt <https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2015-05-03/morality-debt>

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“The American way of life is not negotiable.”

George H. W. Bush. 1992

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“The ecological systems upon which humans rely for life support are in crisis, and human behavior is the root cause. These problems are ... related to how humans meet their needs and wants in disruptive ways.”
 
Elise Amel, Christie Manning, Britain Scott, Susan Koger

Beyond the Roots of Human Inaction. Science 21 April 2017

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Can we consume less without wrecking the economy? | Environment ...
https://www.dw.com/en/can-we-consume-less-without...the-economy/a-45308242 <https://www.dw.com/en/can-we-consume-less-without-wrecking-the-economy/a-45308242> <https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS737US737&ei=6U7XW5f-BcGG0wLev5hI&q=Can+We+Consume+Less+and+Gain+More%3F+ecological+economics&oq=Can+We+Consume+Less+and+Gain+More%3F+ecological+economics&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i299l2.17771.30785..32043...3.0..0.172.2779.7j17......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71j35i39j33i22i29i30j33i160.wumhjb6uZKI#> <https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:qJWgaVUDjFEJ:https://www.dw.com/en/can-we-consume-less-without-wrecking-the-economy/a-45308242+&cd=11&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us>
Sep 3, 2018 - Environmentalists say our species' addiction to consumption is ... where, "Economicactivity will gain meaning not by achieving economic growth but ... "Decoupling economic growth from resource use is one of the most critical …
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"We are not able even to think adequately about the behavior that is at the annihilating edge."

R. D. Laing. Introduction, The Politics of Experience. 
1967, New York. Pantheon Books, a division of Random House
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