Ecologie appliqu é e et consommation

1. Ecologie appliquée et consommation

2. Plan de la présentation • Introduction • 1. Texte : “The New Politics of Consumption" Juliet Schor • 2. Histoire de la consommation • 3. Les ampoules à faible consommation • 4. L’économie de fonctionnalité • Conclusion

3. Juliet Schor : Biographie • Doctorat en économie (University of Massachusetts) • Enseigne durant 17 ans à Harvard University (Department of Economics and the Committee on Degrees in Women's Studies) • Professeur de sociologie au Boston College • Co-fondatrice du Center for a New Americain Dream • Prix Leontief du Global Development And Environment Institute en 2006

4. Juliet Schor : Bibliographie • 1992 : The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure • 1998 : A Sustainable Economy for the 21st Century • 1998 : The Overspent American: Upscaling, Downshifting and the New Consumer • 2000 : Do Americans Shop Too Much? • 2002 : Sustainable Planet: Solutions for the 21st Century • 2004 : BORN TO BUY , The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture

5. Autres auteurs • 1899 : Veblen : “conspicuous consumption" • 1976 : Hirsch :The Social Limits to Growth, positional goods • 1979 : Georgescu-Roegen : La décroissance • 1979 : Bourdieu : La Distinction. Critique sociale du jugement

6. Contexte :

7. Apports et idées fortes du texte

8. Approche socio-historique • “Growing aspirational gap“ • Déclin du quartier comme point de comparaison • Entrée des femmes sur le marché du travail • Diminution du niveau d’épargne

9. Consommation-développement • Distinction entre consommation privée et alternative (publique, épargne et loisirs) • Type de consommation défini le type de développement, type de société • Consommation privée comme principale sources d’inégalité • « Hyperbolic discounting » • La consommation privée génère des structures de pouvoir et des inégalités • Impossibilité d’une société plus égale avec les pratiques de consommation actuelles

13. Consommation collective • « The new consumerism » - 1980s/1990s • « Competitive consumption » - Pression • Redéfinition du groupe de référence

14. Se comparer avec qui & quoi?!

15. TV

16. Consommation collective • Bourdieu: « La distinction » • “the ways in which our sense of social standing and belonging comes from what we consume” • « Over-consumption » des biens identitaires • La consommation individuelle est liée à des décisions collectives • Nécessité d’une réponse collective aux problèmes

17. Consommation collective • Critiques de la théorie conventionelle/libérale: • Rationalité limité du consommateur

18. Le désir - niveau rationel?!

19. Consommation-Collectivité • Critiques de la théorie conventionelle/libérale: • Le consommateur n’a pas toutes les informations • Ses choix ne sont pas toujours consistent et structurellement déformés • Les consommateurs ne sont pas indépendants • La collectivité forme les préférences • Importance des inégalités sociales et du pouvoir dans les pratiques de consommation • Marché de la consommation alternative incomplet

20. Consommation=problème • Ce n’est plus un problème d’inégalité de revenu: la consommation fait partie du problème • Il faut déconstruire la consommation • Il faut construire des nouvelles normes collective pour la consommation • Bases pour une nouvelle consommation et un nouveau style de vie

21. Critiques • Points forts: • Aspect collectif de la consommation • N'hésite pas prendre partie et créer son propre concept de « competitif consumption » • Consciente de la limite des connaissances actuelles - Questionne le concept de besoin

22. Critiques • Points faibles: • Origine de l’individualisme pas questionnée au niveau sociologique (rêve américain) • Recours à des concepts économiques (marché incomplet,…) sans les discuter. • Pertinence de l’opposition consommation VS famille et religion • Est-ce que la politisation de l’argumentation ne décrédibilise pas son propos? • Ambiguïté entre démocratie corrompue par les producteurs de biens privés et espoir dans les politiques.

23. Applying Ecology to Daily Life How?

24. History of Consumption

25. Expansion of Consumption While the population has increased 600%, consumption has increased 2400%. In trillions of dollars, real terms

26. The Global Division of Consumption

27. Roots of Consumption • Technological advances resulted in the production of more goods • contribute to a rise in the world economy • without absorption of excess also facing unemployment and economic slow down • cheaper consumption: not want but ability to consume that is new • consumption necessary to finance technological advancement and the continuation of a growth-led economy

28. Roots of Consumption • Religion • a basis for legitimizing consumption • Social: new conception of consumption and pleasure • Luxuries made into necessities – expanding and “democratizing” consumption • Individualism: concern about social issues transformed into concern for fulfilling individual desires through consumption • Politics: • Hoover’s New Politics of Consumption • Government promotion of maximum consumption • Proposed the “Department of Consumption”

29. Applying Ecology to Consumption • Applied Ecology: the use of scientific and technological advances and innovative management to solve ecological problems • INSIGHT • INNOVATION • Scientific (engineers) vision of the world • substitutability • technology • biotic ressources

30. Consumption: a question of Public Policy? • Belongs in the private sphere? • Discourse of “personal choices” of the individual • However, consumption is social and structural • Consumer choices constrained by social barriers, inadequate incomes, imperfect information, lack of time, unavailability of goods • Consumer decisions impact the public realm • Environmental and other externalities not incorporated into the prices

31. Public measures • Consumption measures . . . environmentally friendly goods and technological solutions • Tax the “bad” (Swedish eco-tax) • Regulations • Promoting technology • “Green New Deal” - subsidies for certain industries and goods • An industry in its own right: $650 billion in 2006 • Improving information • Problem: still in an economic paradigm increasing consumption

32. Consume Differently • Taxes on non-necessary consumption • “Sensibilisation” campaigns • Diminishing the value of novelty • Different Standards for goods: • Georgescu-Roegen recommends: • Make goods last longer • Make them reparable

33. Applied ecology and consumption • Lighting • General information about the Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) • Consuming CFL • Issues

34. Lighting Worldwide(http://www.enerlin.enea.it/doconline/documents/CEN-Report.pdf)

35. Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL)

36. General information • A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), also known as an energy saving light, is a type of fluorescent lamp • The modern CFL was invented by Ed Hammer, an engineer with General Electric, in response to the 1973 oil crisis • CFLs generally use less power, have a longer rated life, but a higher purchase price

37. General information • Lifespan • The average rated life of a CFL is between 8 and 15 times that of incandescents • CFLs typically have a rated lifespan of between 6,000 and 15,000 hours, whereas incandescent lamps are usually manufactured to have a lifespan of 750 hours or 1,000 hours. • (http://www.osram-os.com/_global/pdf/Consumer/General_Lighting/Energy-Saving_lamps/102W008GB_SBH_Brochure.pdf)

38. General information • Energy Efficiency • For a given light output, CFLs use between one fifth and one third of the power of equivalent incandescent lamps • (http://www.osram-os.com/_global/pdf/Consumer/General_Lighting/Energy-Saving_lamps/102W008GB_SBH_Brochure.pdf)

39. General information • Cost • The purchase price of an integrated CFL is typically 3 to 10 times greater than that of an equivalent incandescent lamp. (see IKEA for example) • CFLs are popular for use in off-the-grid housing

40. DC CFL with small solar pannel

41. General information • CFLs, like all fluorescent lamps, contain small amounts of mercury as vapor inside the glass tubing • Sophisticated disposal • Concern for landfills or waste incinerators • Incandescent light bulbs consist of a glass enclosure with a filament of tungsten wire inside the bulb, through which an electric current is passed

42. Consuming CFL in Switzerland • Various organizations have encouraged the adoption of CFLs. • Publicity to encourage awareness, direct handouts of CFLs to the public. • Some electric utilities and local governments have subsidized CFLs or provided them free to customers as a means of reducing electric demand.

43. Consuming CFL in Switzerland

44. Consuming CFLs in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia • Australia, Canada, and the US (Thomas Act) have already announced nationwide bans on incandescent bulbs • At the meeting of the Ecodesign Regulatory Committee in Brussels on December 8, 2008, the European Union Member States experts approved the European Commission's proposals for regulation progressively phasing out incandescent bulbs starting in 2009 and ending in 2012

45. Consuming CFL in Switzerland • In Switzerland in 2012: ban of light bulbs efficiency class E (75% of used light bulbs in 2008) • (http://www.konsumentenschutz.ch/files/pdfs/downloads/08_12_merkblatt_gluehbirnenverbot.pdf)

46. Consuming CFL in Switzerland, Germany • New policy • The retail price includes an amount to pay for recycling, and manufacturers and importers have an obligation to collect and recycle CFLs • Germany since March 2006 • Switzerland 0.50 CHF in advance on the price since August 2005 • (http://www.slrs.ch/pdf/Merkblatt_d.pdf)

47. Consuming CFL in Switzerland, Germany • Rate of return • In Germany less than 25% of privately used CFLs are recycled, but up to 90% of commercially used ones – rate of return is 70-80%(http://www.dellekom.de/info/energiesparlampen-faq) • In Switzerland the rate of return is 65% - sent to Berlin for disposition. (SM Recycling AG)

49. Consuming CFL in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia • Awareness • Strong communication in general • Education – Mobilization – Change practices • People see the long term benefit for them in monetary terms (theoretically smaller electricity bill) • New temporality • Existing knowledge and facilities to dispose of the used or/and broken lamps • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh9GVoQrJxg&NR=1

50. Consuming CFL in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia • Question of accessibility • People can afford it • People can buy them almost everywhere • They suite existing light fixtures • Governmental incentives – measures including taxation, or bans on production of incandescent light bulbs • Promotions, publicity • On the way to become the standard light source in private residential buildings and commercial buildings/offices