In the Netherlands, as in other countries, consumption of energy and materials is still increasing sharply. Government environmental policy has had a certain amount of influence on how people behave, but the actual effect on the environment is minimal when compared to the unintended side-effects of policy with respect to incomes, housing, the socio-economic structure of the country and the emancipation of women. Moreover, current trends offer little prospect of a reduction in the pressure on the environment. These are the preliminary results of a study carried out as part of the Sustainability & Environmental Quality research programme run by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). The study examined patterns of consumption in the Netherlands since the 1950s.
Environmental policy has certainly led to significant changes in the way people dispose of household waste. Nevertheless, the size of the population is growing, the number of households is increasing and these households are becoming smaller. Disposable income is also rising, more and more appliances and services are being introduced all of which use up energy and there is no real cost incentive for people to make economical use of gas, water or electricity. In addition, people are finding more and more ways to spend their free time and the number of cars continues to increase. The rapid growth in consumption does seem to be tempered by increased concern about the impending depletion of natural resources and a greater understanding of environmental problems. But to achieve any real effect, people's life-styles would in fact need to change drastically. The development of environmentally-friendly goods and technology is as yet insufficient to deal with the threat to the environment.
Literature: K.J. Noorman and A.J.M. Schoot Uiterkamp (eds.) 1998, Green Households? Domestic Consumers, Environment and Sustainability. London, Earthscan Publications Ltd.
Further information:
Dr. Klaas Jan Noorman (Groningen University)
T 31-50-363-4613, F 31-50-363-7168
E-mail K.J.Noorman@FWN.RUG.NL
Internet: www.fwn.rug.nl/ivem/home.htm