Looking at Lifestyle: The Impacts of American Ways of Life on Energy/Resource Demands and Pollution Patterns

Loren Lutzenhiser and Susan Lutzenhiser, Portland State University

Keywords

Abstract

We report findings from work in progress on lifestyle and household consumption. The larger research draws upon a variety of data sources to examine differences among California
residential consumers in terms of their electricity and gas usage, building and appliance characteristics, travel behavior, water use, waste water and solid waste generation, recycling, and household-generated emissions. The goal is a new multi-resource household-level model of consumption and pollution. The findings presented here focus directly on household electricity and natural gas usage. We first consider the literature on variability in household consumption and particularly differences between lifestyle groups. Then we examine empirical patterns of electricity and natural gas usage across the lifecycle and within associated income and ethnic groups. The prospects for adding other forms of household consumption to the model are considered. Finally, implications for policy and forecasting are introduced—particularly issues related to environment/efficiency program designs, policy instruments, equity impacts, and social marketing.