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).
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Hi Chris, welcome to the module and the world of blogging! It will be really interesting to draw on your experience from your placement on waste, and also your early ideas for your phd, on the module. What sorts of low-carbon housing are you particularly keen on examining?
ReplyDeleteHi Chris, looks good - and looking forward to hearing more about your experiences as the course develops. Following Gill's comment, I was wondering if you're thinking of looking at householders as well as households? By which I mean thinking about how various domestic practices change over time and what impact this has on household footprints?
ReplyDeleteHello to you both, thanks for the comments. As I'm only now beginning to focus my attention on future research, I can only really speculate on where I hope to go - perhaps as I get stuck into certain issues my interests will change!
ReplyDeleteBut my Masters Dissertation is set to focus on the emissions generated through the construction of Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4 properties. I'm keen to examine the wider implications of the code more and more, as it is obviously the basis for the transition to the 2016 building regs.
I do also hope to look into the role householder consumption habits play in the success of low carbon and highly efficient technologies. For instance, by exploring questions such as - why do homes with exactly the same building fabric/structure differ so much in their energy consumption patterns?