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Environmental attitudes and household consumption: an ambiguous     relationship / Erling Holden  and Kristin Linnerud. International Journal of Sustainable Development, Vol. 13, N°    3, 2010, pp. 217 - 231.http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ind/ijsd/2010/00000013/00000003/art00001This article analyses the relationship between environmental       attitudes and energy use in the home and for transport by       Norwegian households. Quantitative surveys were used to find       statistical correlations, and qualitative analyses to reveal       mechanisms that influence the ability to behave in an       environmentally friendly way. Three theses about attitudes,       mechanisms and household consumption are presented. Firstly, a       desire to project an environmentally friendly image has little       influence on energy use in the home and for transport. Secondly, a       sense of powerlessness prevents people from translating positive       environmental attitudes into low energy use in the home and for       everyday transport. Thirdly, a desire to self-indulge prevents       people from translating positive environmental attitudes into low       energy use for long distance leisure travel. These results have       important implications for environmental policy. Public       information and awareness campaigns can give consumers information       on how to behave in an environmentally responsible way, but tend       only to influence categories of consumption with little       environmental impact. Structural change can be used to mitigate       the effect of the sense of powerlessness and encourage       environmentally friendly behaviour, but the desire to self-indulge       is much more difficult to deal with. (© Holden &#38; Linnerud)