Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
ated with better socioeconomic conditions and high levels of education for women,
and urban areas are drivers of this trend. But the trend is particularly pronounced in
some areas, for example, in Bangladesh, where modest increases in socioeconomic
development overlap with drastic declines in fertility rates.
Another major determinant of consumer demand is taste and preference, in ad-
dition to price, income, marketing, consumer knowledge, situation, and food pref-
erences. Ample evidence has been provided that religion influences consumer at-
titude and behavior in general, and food purchasing decisions and eating habits in
particular. In many societies, religion even plays one of the most influential roles
in food choice. The impact of religion on food consumption depends on the re-
ligion itself and on the extent to which individuals follow the teachings of their
religion. Several religions forbid certain foods, for instance, pork and non-ritu-
ally slaughtered meat in Judaism and Islam, or pork and beef in Hinduism and
Buddhism. Christianity has no food taboos.
Climate influences the way houses are built or even the bathing routine, which,
for example, is extremely important to the Japanese lifestyle but also very energy
intensive. Norwegians heat most of the living area most of the time, while the
Japanese traditionally heat only the spaces they occupy, while they are occupying
them.
One way to capture the importance of lifestyles in energy consumption is to ana-
lyze the behavior of the energy intensity of a country or a number of countries.
Detailed studies in the OECD countries indicate that a decline in energy intensity
over time is due to two different factors:
1. The introduction of energy-efficient technologies in manufacturing, transportation,
households, and services, which are responsible for 80% of the reduction in energy in-
tensity; and
2. Structural changes in consumption patterns, which are essentially changes in lifestyles,
which account for the remaining 20%.