Visibility, Ambivalence and Trust

This paper has been written for EcoAlign to provoke critical thinking on why consumers who may “talk the talk” in relation to understanding global warming and the need for energy conservation do not “walk the walk.” In this essay, Dr. Pippa Trench examines consumption from an anthropological standpoint and suggests that the moral stance taken by many environmentalists against consumption and materialism flies in the face of societal realities, creating ambiguity, guilt and ambivalence among consumers. One logical conclusion of this effect is to shift the emphasis towards changing the nature and quality of consumption rather than the just the quantity. Information and education alone is not enough – energy efficiency must be visible and "consumable".