Teaching and Learning Guide for: Green Consumption and Social Change: Debates over Responsibility, Private Action, and Access

There is an ongoing debate over how to address climate change and other environmental issues. The job of sociology is to show students that environmental problems are often structural and require solutions which go beyond individual efforts, while at the same time empowering students to be change agents. The original review article, for which this teaching guide is intended, describes the green consumption literature and offers students a solid foundation on how individual efforts fit into the big picture of social and environmental change. It covers debates over who has the responsibility for addressing climate change, the (limited) potential of individual and household action, and the question of improving access to technology or organic food versus pursuing environmental justice. Many articles weigh in on these debates; they are discussed below. The goal of this teaching guide is to explore strategies for social and environmental change, explain the consequences of working on a small scale with market mechanisms, and create a bridge between popular tactics familiar to students and the importance of broader policy solutions. Adapted from the source document.