Showing papers by "Elizabeth Shove published in 2021"

Time to rethink energy research

Abstract: Energy research works with units and concepts forged in an age of fossil fuel, leading to problem formulations that reinforce current societal practices and patterns of consumption. Achieving low-carbon energy goals depends on shifting demand to match supply and reconceptualizing interactions between time and energy.

Obese societies: Reconceptualising the challenge for public health

Abstract: The prevalence of obesity and related health problems has increased sharply in recent decades. Dominant medical, economic, psychological, and especially epidemiological accounts conceptualise these trends as outcomes of individuals' lifestyles - whether freely chosen or determined by an array of obesogenic factors. As such, they rest on forms of methodological individualism, causal narratives, and a logic of substitution in which people are encouraged to set currently unhealthy ways of life aside. This article takes a different approach, viewing trends in obesity as consequences of the dynamic organisation of social practices across space and time. By combining theories of practice with emerging accounts of epigenetics, we explain how changing constellations of practices leave their marks on the body. We extend the concept of biohabitus to show how differences in health, well-being, and body shape are passed on as relations between practices are reproduced and transformed over time. In the final section, we take stock of the practical implications of these ideas and conclude by making the case for extended forms of enquiry and policy intervention that put the organisation of practices front and centre.

Conceptualising urban density, energy demand and social practice

Abstract: In urban studies and in energy policy there is much debate about the relationship between energy demand and the density of residential areas, measured in units such as those of population/ha or population/km2. A different approach is presented in this paper. Rather than evaluating the relative merits of compact or sprawling urban forms, the focus is on the spatial configuration of the infrastructures, appliances and systems of provision on which city life depends. An interview-based study of households living in the same extremely ‘dense’ neighbourhood in Hanoi, Vietnam, shows how practices of cooling, laundering and cooking (and the energy demands associated with these practices) are shaped by material arrangements that exist within the home and that also stretch far beyond. The conclusion that supply and demand are constituted across multiple spatial scales has practical implications for urban design, and for how the relation between energy demand and density is defined and understood. Practice relevance Energy demand is a consequence of how social practices are distributed and organised across space and time. By contrast, metrics of density can be counter-productive and tend to obscure potentially crucial questions regarding the constitution and the transformation of energy demand. A practical approach is presented to conceptualise relations between material arrangements and energy demands at different scales: from the layout of the home to more extensive infrastructures and systems of provision. The implications of these ideas can influence debates about urban density and design by focusing attention on infrastructures, appliances and the layout of the spaces that influence how they are actually used, and for the practices they accommodate and enable.

Was ist falsch an der Energieeffizienz

Abstract: Gemäß dem britischen Ausschuss für Klimawandel (UK’s Committee on Climate Change)gibt es zwei grundlegende Wege zur Reduktion der Kohlenstoffemissionen: Der eine ist der Kohleausstieg, der andere Weg führt über die Energieeffizienz. Der Rahmenplan für die europäische Klimaund Energiepolitik der Europäischen Kommission bis zum Jahr 2030 (European Commission’s 2030 climate and energy framework) fordert in seinem dreiteiligen Programm für den Teilbereich ›Energieeffizienz‹ eine Erhöhung von 27 Prozent (seit 2018 um 32,5 Prozent, Anm. der Übersetzerin) verglichen zum bisherigen ›business-as-usual‹ Szenario (2014). Der Europäische Rat für eine energieeffiziente Wirtschaft verpflichtet sich hinsichtlich der Bemühungen zur Bewältigung des Klimawandels dem Grundsatz »Energy Efficiency First«. Die Internationale Energieagentur (IEA) macht geltend: »Energy efficiency is key to ensuring a safe, reliable, affordable and sustainable energy system for the future« und schlägt vor: »It is the one energy resource that every country possesses in abundance and is the quickest and least costly way of addressing energy security, environmental and economic challenges.« Im Jahr 2009 fasst der damalige US-Energieminister Stephen Chu zusammen: »energy efficiency is not just low hanging fruit; it is fruit that is lying on the ground« (The Times 2009). Folglich: Was ist falsch an der Energieeffizienz? Diese Abhandlung argumentiert, dass das überstürzte Streben nach Energieeffizienz weit davon entfernt ist, effektive Antworten auf die Herausforderungen des Klimawandels zu bieten und als eindeutig kontraproduktiv zu bewerten ist. Dafür gibt es zwei Hauptgründe: Erstens reproduzieren Effizienzstrategien ein spezifisches Verständnis von ›Leistung‹ (inklusive spezieller Vorstellungen von Komfort,