C ONSECUENCIAS MORALES

In his study of the everyday rather than the campaigning activities of environmental activists in Nottingham, UK, Horton (2006) furthers Dobson’s view of environmental (that is, ecological) citizenship: that it is found not in the ‘institutions of the nation- state but with the cultural and political spaces of contemporary environmentalism’ (Horton 2006, p. 128). The activists live their lives as part of a particular ‘green’ culture, through which they assemble their ‘awareness of environmental risks, rights and responsibilities’ into ‘their diverse everyday practices, from the most “personal” to the most “political,” into a coherent whole’ (p. 127). This green culture is

maintained and reinforced by the social, political and material activities of a network of activists who tend to live their lives in similar ways: cycling and walking; rejecting television in favour of meeting and socialising with fellow activists; buying local, organically grown food wherever possible or growing their own; and buying ‘ethical’ products – in other words they seek to make their personal lives consistent with their political positions. Living essentially local lives, due to their non-use of cars, the activists’ green practices are constantly reinforced through ‘weak ties’, that is, through shared habits such as dress and diet, and through attendance at shared political and social events such as festivals and protests.

Horton identifies four concepts which encompass the ways in which the activists’ green lifestyle practices are created and maintained: green networks; green spaces – the availability of places where activists meet, socialise and shop;

‘materialities’ (the way their lifestyles are materially organised, for example transport and shopping); and green times, that is, times in their lives when activists are more likely to be able to devote themselves fully to living green lifestyles: when they are not working or full-time and not fully responsible for children.

Seyfang’s (2006) mixed-method study of producers and consumers involved in an organic farmers’ co-operative network (called Eostre) in Norwich, UK brings together the theoretical concepts of environmental citizenship and sustainable consumption. Seyfang’s hypothesis was that ‘ecological citizenship is a driving force for “alternative” sustainable consumption, via expression through consumer

behaviour such as purchasing local organic food’ (2006, p. 383). What she found, perhaps unsurprisingly, was that the relationship is not so linear: the co-operative itself undertook educational and outreach work that resulted in a more dynamic relationship with ecological citizenship.

Perhaps Seyfang’s major finding, which ties together sustainable consumption and ecological citizenship, is that through their choice of local organic food, which is often more expensive, these respondents internalise the currently externalised costs and benefits of such food, that is, they are making a personal sacrifice in order to live consistently with their beliefs and through such personal action helping alternative sustainable consumption to grow and thrive.

Wolf, Brown and Conway (2009) undertook targeted interview and focus group discussions in a part of British Columbia, Canada, where many people are involved in local sustainability organisations, and around half the respondents were chosen for their involvement in such organisations. The vast majority of respondents shared ‘a sense of individual responsibility for both causing and ameliorating climate change’; they also recognised the importance of individuals’ activities and felt

responsible in a non-reciprocal way to future generations and existing people living elsewhere (Wolf, Brown & Conway 2009, p. 513). Only one respondent (out of 86) was identified as a climate change sceptic.

Participants tied their sense of responsibility for climate change to their behaviour as consumers, both in terms of their well-off lifestyles in global terms, and as a means of wielding influence. They thus expressed both political and economic agency (discussed further in section 5.3.5) and responsibility. Expression of

responsibility, however, is not the same as acting upon it, as noted with regard to the ‘attitude-behaviour’ gap studies in section 5.3.2). The authors, however, found that their participants did act on their sense of responsibility, albeit mostly by taking simple actions in areas of life that are not ‘resistant to change’ and including actions that have little effect on reducing GHG emissions, like recycling more (Wolf, Brown & Conway 2009, p. 517). Participants still tended to undertake the most emission- intensive activity, flying, (Monbiot 2006) and not to make big lifestyle changes that

would reduce energy or fuel consumption, though they tended to be involved in local, community-based sustainability initiatives, in many cases co-ordinating them.

Evans and Abrahamse’s (2009) qualitative study of 28 people who live or are attempting to live in a sustainable way in south-east England makes the important point that living such a lifestyle involves more than changing particular practices: ‘it makes sense to think of sustainable lifestyles as an ongoing process, requiring

constant negotiation and maintenance across a range of social practices’ (p. 491); with these processes often being fraught with inconsistencies and contradictions (see section 5.3.4).

The participants in Horton’s (2006) and Seyfang’s (2006) studies are easily identified as environmental citizens: they put into practice in their daily lives and (in the case of Horton’s study, their political activities) their environmental values. They demonstrate the consciousness and commitment (Nash and Lewis 2006) which is the first step towards, and a continuing component of, environmental citizenship.

However, it is clear from the studies discussed in this chapter that such citizens are the exception: mostly, even if people have environmental concerns, they often only take the easiest options, whether because they are unable to take more expensive or difficult options, or because their environmental concerns are outweighed by other important values or simply desires. The following section discusses the motivations of people who are able to act consistently with their environmental beliefs.

5.3.3 Motivation for environmental citizenship through sustainable consumption