Lifestyle , Status and Energy Consumption

The environmental effects of consumption are large and growing, with different lifestyles contributing in different ways to that growth. It would seem, then, that a recovery of the concept of “lifestyle” in energy research, policy and programming is overdue. This paper reviews the history ofthe lifestyle perspective in energy efficiency R&D and explores the status ofthe concept in marketing and sociology. The importance of lifestyles to social stratification and status display are discussed, a working definition of “lifestyle” is offered, and data on consumer culture, purchasing patterns and energy use are presented to illustrate lifestyle differences and their environmental effects. Finally, the implications of this new perspective on lifestyles are considered — for research, policy and environmental discourse. Consuming the Environment “I just love your house!” “Is that a new car? It’s so you.” “Look at the hillsides around here. In just the past five years, they’ve all been covered with McMansions.” “We just had to have the commercial range, the huge fridge and the extra ovens because Molly’s such a marvelous gourmet cook.” “Well, of course, every parent on the team either has a minivan or an SUV.” “I can’t imagine why anybody would want to live outside the city — particularly when you have to drive all the time.” “We’ve been in this neighborhood since 1965 and not muchhas changed, except we’re all older now. . . and our TV set is bigger.” In contemporary society, we live our lives in these and other stylized ways. All involve high levels of consumption — of energy, water, materials, and space. All have a variety ofmostly invisible impacts upon surrounding biological and human systems. And all contribute significantly to environmental change on a global scale (Durning 1992; Stern et al. 1997). To many observers, including signers ofthe 1997 Kyoto Protocol on global warming, it is clear that something must be done to rein in consumption. This is particularly true ofthe consumption of energy, and especially fossil fuels. But how can anyone successfully fight “affluence” or “consumerism” (the broad brush treatment of consumption in most environmental discourse)? Particularly if an “American way of life” is involved? The Energy Efficiency Fix Improvements in the efficiency of energy consumption — doing the same amount of work with less energy — can have clear environmental benefits, including reduced carbon and sulfur emissions and less demand for new power plants. The energy efficiency community has claimed for some time that large reductions in energy use and pollution are possible through the adoption of less consumptive technologies (Brown et al. 1998; Lovins Consumer Behavior and Non-Energy Effects 8.207 1977). As a result, these claims hold considerable attraction for environmental policy makers, including U.S. climate policy analysts (Lutzenhiser 2000). If these efficiencies — could be realized, at least some breathing space would appear possible. Unfortunately, the energy efficiency community knows little about consumers, demand, markets, processes of innovation, or adoption of alternative technologies — all of the things that one would want to know something about in order to make significant changes in technology, behavior, and consumption. This limitation has not stopped efficiency advocates from mounting ambitious programs to improve the efficiency of consumption in the U.S. over the course of the past two decades. And, unfortunately, only modest success on a societal scale can be reported from those efforts.’ Low energy prices, public disinterest and political opposition are frequently cited as causes. All of these certainly played a part. So too did the ways in which the energy efficiency community understands the problem of consumption in modern societies. The Techno-Rational Frame Using a “machine-centered” view, energy efficiency advocates see consumption as something primarily done by “end use” technologies — devices such as furnaces, refrigerators, air conditioners, buildings, industrial motors, automobiles. It is sometimes granted that these machines and systems are actually managed by people. But, lacking any social or psychological foundations in this framework, the model can only see people as generic “stick figure” consumers who use energy very much alike and who make rational economizing choices about their energy use (Lutzenhiser 1993; Wilhite et al. 2000). Of course the world doesn’t work that way at all. Machines don’t consume energy — people and machines do. And consumers are not generic. They live in a wide variety of ways. As suggested in the opening paragraph, they live in mansions and hovels, in settings dominated by business norms and in religiously-oriented communities, in suburbs and in cities. As a result, policies and appeals aimed at universal citizen-consumers are directed at no one in particular.2 It is little wonder that they ordinarily miss their mark, or that the efficiency movement has made so little headway. Bringing People into the Picture: Recovering the Concept of “Lifestyle” Social scientists interested in energy, technology, culture, and behavior have offered a number of theoretical correctives to this techno-rational view (Lutzenhiser 1993; Shove et al. 1998; Stern 1986). And, empirical observations ofactual consumers have shown repeatedly that their conduct is ordinarily neither technology-focused, rationalistic, nor generic. In fact, while persons do share a utility grid and a few common appliances, that’s about it. The story Efficiency advocates, and particularly those who have spent a good deal of time working to improve the energy efficiency ofschools, government facilities, appliances, buildings, and manufacturing processes, will immediately object that the movement has made greatprogress. It certainly has, but only in relative terms. The efficiency of societal energy use is better today than it was twenty years ago (DOE/ETA 2000). At the same time, however, the effects of economic growth, new technologies, new energy uses, and more people have swamped those gains, with overall energy use and carbon emissions steadily increasing throughout the I990s— albeit more efficiently. (DOE/ETA 2000). 2 While some efficiency efforts have targeted particular subgroups of consumers, the bulkof government and utility-sponsored advertising and programming has been directed at a “mass” market.