ABSTRACT
On many measures, policies, actions, and technologies to shape consumption appear to be “improving” environmental management. Research in the subfield of global environmental politics is increasingly probing the deep problem of consumption. Wasteful and excessive consumption is increasing as consumer prices underestimate the environmental and social costs of everything from a cup of Colombian coffee on sale in Paris to a made-in-China Barbie on sale in San Francisco. On Indonesia’s outer islands, for example, plantation companies are burning down degraded forests to clear land for oil palm for the rising worldwide consumption of margarine and oil for deep-frying. Genuine and perceived uncertainty in what actually comprises “sustainable consumption” and “sustainable lifestyles” can also cause consumers to lose interest or confidence, providing a justification for some people to prioritize other factors above environmentalism. International environmental laws to control transboundary pollution are helping a little to mitigate the environmental damage of consumption.
