Initial Thoughts

So my first proper blog (apologies for the somewhat cheesy name incidentally)...as previously mentioned I'm a masters student doing the MRes Environmental Social Science course, which is linked to a PhD that I am set to start at UEA (Oct 2010). The PhD will be looking into low carbon housing and include investigating, amongst other issues, how best to tackle the 2016 zero carbon housing target but with a view to evaluating each option's lifetime emissions - i.e. "cradle (construction, raw materials) to grave (demolition, recycling)".

The majority of my knowledge has been acquired through my undergraduate course and a 12-month industrial placement with a local council as their Waste & Energy Efficiency Officer. I hope to build on this largely technical-based knowledge and critically analyse 'sustainable actions' through the various models/theories raised within this Sustainable Consumption course. Such skills will hopefully help me in the years thereafter.

Lastly - "what I find interesting about Sustainable Consumption" - well, the whole topic is so interdisciplinary thereby affecting all walks of life. Thus everyone seems to have an opinion on it and mostly love to voice it, making for interesting debates! Also the issue of subjectivity within carbon footprinting interests me as the assumptions that the 'footprinter' deems relevant to include play a crucial role in decision-making processes. Issues can range from site-specific comparisons (e.g. weather compensation) to global responsibility allocation (e.g. whether cumulative and/or per capita emissions should be considered).

Welcome

Hi all, welcome to my blog, I'm a master student doing the MRes Environmental Social Science course...