Consuming the Earth: Money, values, land use, and ecological footprints in Los Angeles (California)

Research in the environmental field has recently produced an innovative way to evaluate ecologically intensive consumption within the context of sustainability: It is called, Ecological Footprint Analysis. The footprint analysis approach reveals ecological impacts not addressed by some of the most widely used assessment tools in the policy sciences, such as cost-benefit analysis or environmental impact reporting. Much useful work has been done in political science on the interaction of environmental policy, values, and economic development. Where ecological impacts have been given consideration in this work using the Environmental Kuznets Curve, however, the evidence is mixed and incomplete. Upon closer inspection it also becomes clear that because the primary focus in much research is on economic income the potential influence of environmental values and land use on ecological impacts is often neglected.; Those working under the rubric of sustainability, on the other hand, have not utilized political theory and research methodologies to garner insights into factors influencing consumptive behavior. Thus they are often at a loss when it comes to changing ecologically significant consumption patterns to meet environmental sustainability goals in manner that is politically tenable and practically effective. The gap between sustainability and political research and action is unfortunate because both approaches have much to offer in a study that provides a better understanding about how big our ecological impact is and why.; This dissertation draws together some of the theories and methods from work in political inquiry and sustainability to investigate several factors that influence how much of the earth we consume. Evidence from a series of comparative case study analyses using cities in Los Angeles county (and supplementary evidence from cross-country statistical tests) provides support for the contention that relatively high levels of per capita income tend to correspond with larger carbonprints, and more generally ecological footprints. The data also suggests that in many cases where environmental values seem to be high (or strong) the income effect can be partially offset. A similar effect is also apparent in cities that are more compact and where the ratio of employment opportunities (places to work) and residents employment requirements are better, as compared to lower density cities with a lower percentage of jobs for local residents. Where environmental values seem to be weaker, density is lower, and there are fewer suitable places to work available for local residents, on the other hand, it was also found that levels of income contribute considerably to explaining the magnitude of ecological impacts stemming from consumption, especially among the highest income cities in the county. These findings pose some difficult challenges to sustainability and point to new areas of potentially fruitful research and action.