Showing papers by "Angela Druckman published in 2007"

The local Area Resource Analysis (Lara) Model: Concepts, Methodology and Applications.

Abstract: Sponsored by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of the Research Councils' Energy Programme, RESOLVE aims to unravel the complex links between lifestyles, values and the environment. In particular, the group will provide robust, evidence-based advice to policy-makers in the UK and elsewhere who are seeking to understand and to influence the behaviours and practices of 'energy consumers'. The working papers in this series reflect the outputs, findings and recommendations emerging from a truly inter-disciplinary research programme arranged around six thematic research strands: Carbon Footprinting: developing the tools to find out which bits of people's lifestyles and practices generate how much energy consumption (and carbon emissions). Psychology of Energy Behaviours: concentrating on the social psychological influences on energy-related behaviours, including the role of identity, and testing interventions aimed at change. Sociology of Lifestyles: focusing on the sociological aspects of lifestyles and the possibilities of lifestyle change, exploring the role of values and the creation and maintenance of meaning. Household change over time: working with individual households to understand how they respond to the demands of climate change and negotiate new, low-carbon lifestyles and practices. Lifestyle Scenarios: exploring the potential for reducing the energy consumption (and carbon emissions) associated with a variety of lifestyle scenarios over the next two to three decades. Energy/Carbon Governance: reviewing the implications of a low carbon society for governance, and investigating, in particular, the role of community in stimulating long-term lifestyle change. Abstract Addressing resource intensive consumption patterns and lifestyles is vital in the struggle to reduce the impact of modern society on the environment. The sustainable consumption agenda not only needs to be based on robust evidence of the scale of current resource use and associated emissions but also on an understanding of the drivers of consumption. Furthermore, if we are to devise policies that move towards more sustainable consumption patterns in an equitable manner, then it is also important to have an understanding of inequalities. The subject of this paper is the Local Area Resource Analysis (LARA) model that begins to address both of these requirements. LARA estimates household resource use and associated emissions at high levels of socioeconomic and geographical desegregation. This paper focuses largely on use of LARA for modelling direct household energy use and associated carbon dioxide emissions, although LARA has also been applied to other types of resource use such as food and clothing, and in …