HOME WITH THE LIGHTS ON: IGNITING THE SPARK

Abstract: The amount of environmental degradation occurring in our world today continues to rise in large part due to human behaviors. As this paper discusses the relation between households, their energy-saving behaviors, and how these behaviors can affect the environmental impact of individuals as well as national climate-change policies, the power each one of us has in making a change within this world becomes obvious. Energy-saving behaviors and rates of electricity consumption of households are discussed in relation to their impact on the natural environment that surrounds us. This consumption is analyzed through a field study in Uppsala, Sweden, in order to understand if and to what extent consumption levels can be lowered through basic curtailment behaviors. With this result, I then contextualize these findings and analyze what these answers could mean in terms of environmental impacts as well as effects they could have on national climate-change objectives. Through this multi-level approach it is my hope to empower each individual with the realization that they posses the power to make a significant change within their household, and the overall global environment