Marie Curatolo

Envir 490: Tentative Project/Questions

November 3, 2010

Tentative Project Description:

We will be working with Ashley Zanolli at the EPA Region 10 office. We will work
as a team on an independent research project to help create a consumption
clearinghouse providing tools and resources for EPA and local government officials to
help address climate issues. We will be consulting with the Consumption Subcommittee
of the West Coast Climate and Materials Management Forum to discuss the scope of
our research and determine our final deliverable. Our research will focus largely on
literature searches and assessment of existing information which we will then compile to
synthesize an annotated bibliography that will be accessible online to stakeholders. This
information is useful in developing climate change programs with a focus on sustainable
consumption. Global consumption (a disproportionate amount of which comes from the
U.S.) is one of the largest and most omnipresent factors affecting natural resource
availability, distribution, and other environmental, social, and economic issues. With a
better understanding of current consumption research, sustainable consumption could
be incorporated in new approaches to any number of environmental problems.
Additionally, our work will allow the EPA to have a better understanding of what
information about consumption already exists. This can help them better streamline and
direct their future research and build off of previous accomplishments and findings.

Potential Researchable Questions:

- Where can one go for comprehensive information on consumption?

- What kinds of resources/information are/is available on consumption?

- How is consumption used as a tool for policymakers? How can sustainability

benefit from knowledge about consumption?

- How and why is consumption an environmental issue? How can information on

this subject shape environmental decisions?

- How can consumer behavior/habits be examined or studied?

- How can consumer behavior/habits be changed? What sort of

mechanisms/factors (social, economic, environmental, etc.) drive consumer
behavior?
- What are the most important factors contributing to consumer behavior?