DeepSummary
In this podcast episode, Kirsten Monroe is interviewed about her book 'The Production of Everyday Life in Eco-Conscious Households', which explores the household practices of families trying to live sustainably. Monroe explains how she initially expected to find affluent, progressive households engaging in green consumption, but instead discovered a diverse range of households focused on time-intensive household production activities to reduce waste and conserve resources.
The researcher describes the various eco-friendly practices adopted by these households, such as selective flushing, minimizing heating/cooling, and meticulous recycling. However, she also highlights the conflicts and unintended consequences that often arise from these practices, both within households and in terms of their actual environmental impact. Monroe argues that while well-intentioned, these household-level efforts are ultimately constrained by the broader societal and capitalist structures in which people live.
Towards the end of the interview, Monroe suggests that truly addressing environmental issues requires rethinking fundamental assumptions about how people should live, potentially reorganizing society itself. She emphasizes that simply shifting to greener inputs or production methods is insufficient if the underlying processes and meanings remain unchanged. The researcher expresses gratitude to her interview subjects and shares plans for future projects comparing eco-conscious households across different contexts.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Eco-conscious households engage in time-intensive household production activities to reduce waste and live sustainably, rather than just green consumption.
- These household sustainability practices often have unintended consequences and conflicts, both within families and in terms of actual environmental impact.
- Despite good intentions, household-level sustainability efforts are constrained by broader societal structures and capitalist systems.
- Truly addressing environmental issues requires rethinking fundamental assumptions about how people live and reorganizing society itself.
- Shifts in production methods or economic systems alone are insufficient for sustainability without also reimagining households and daily life processes.
- The researcher initially expected different findings but adapted her perspective based on interviews with eco-conscious households.
- There is diversity in the priorities and practices of eco-conscious households, not a one-size-fits-all approach.
- The research highlights the importance of qualitative studies in understanding complex social issues like sustainability.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “Really what they were doing was engaged in a very time intensive form of household production.“ by Kirsten Monroe
- “What I point to in the conclusion of the book is that we really, I think for a more sustainable or eco conscious world, that we need to rethink some of our fundamental assumptions about how people should live, whether that's the different actions that we take to feel comfortable when it's cold outside or even who we should be living with in a household and how many people should be living together.“ by Kirsten Monroe
- “And so what I point to is the importance of changing the meanings of these practices, the social meanings, but also reorganizing society entirely and changing the underlying production processes that produce day to day life.“ by Kirsten Monroe
- “It's not enough to change those production processes at the industrial scale, socialism or communism, that's sustainable, if you want to use those words, requires also rethinking the household.“ by Kirsten Monroe
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Episode Information
New Books in Environmental Studies
Marshall Poe
4/12/23