Pecologix Political Ecology Blotter

Unsustainable private consumption causes energy and environmental problems. This occurs directly (resource depletion and emissions through using cars for transport) or indirectly (purchase of consumer goods and services for which the production uses energy and emits damaging gases).A hybrid energy analysis proved that indoor energy consumption, mobility, and vacations are the main consumer categories from [...]

With its seal of approval on more than 6% of all wild-caught fish, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is the world’s biggest eco-label for sustainable seafood. But it’s also controversial: Critics have accused MSC of having subjective standards and not adequately protecting marine ecosystems. A new analysis, released last week, makes the most detailed case [...]

In recent years, greenhouse gas emission controls that incorporate the supply chains of products and services, thereby emphasizing the role of consumers rather than producers, have been drawing increasing attention. A country’s consumption-based emissions, including those due to global supply chains, reflect the total emissions on which the national economy relies. To design effective emissions [...]

Political consumerism has become over the past years an ever growing phenomenon, by which citizens express through their consumption their political, environmental and ethical opinions. This paper discusses political consumerism from an economic science perspective, focusing on the link between political consumerism and public policies. It wonders to what extent political consumerism may represent an [...]

In a single half-hour of news, one can view segments about the rising rates of obesity, the devastating failure of our financial markets, and a woman who hoards. All of these stories have one thing in common: they are effects of maladaptive resource-allocation decisions.Food, money, and material goods are necessary for survival. We have highly [...]

We estimated the amount of waste reduction induced by the use of refills for shampoo and hair conditioner in Japan using point-of-sales (POS) data collected by retailers. The amount of waste reduction estimated was about 276 in fiscal year 2000, and increased to about 54% in fiscal year 2008, contributing to a waste reduction of [...]

This paper investigates the effect of eco-labeling on rental rates, sale prices and occupancy rates. The consensus emerging from previous studies appears to be that investors in and occupiers of eco-labeled buildings obtain a bundle of benefits related to lower operating costs, reputation benefits and productivity higher. In this study, a hedonic model is used [...]