Research

Our primary goal in conducting original research is to provide community education that can be used to orient our lifestyles to more positively impact our world. To accomplish this, our research will be directed on two fronts: domestic and international. As we are just beginning, we plan to start small, but we will eventually become a full-fledged think tank.

All research we conduct will only be undertaken if it can be shown to have direct benefits and practical applications toward promoting ecofficiency. Every effort will be made to publicize and promote all findings, and all finding will become an integral part of advancing our mission.

We strive to incorporate academic processes into our research. As part of his PhD program, ecofficiency.org founder Jesse Baker has taken and taught (as an assistant) several classes in research design and methods in the Department of Planning, Policy, and Design in the School of Social Ecology at the University of California in Irvine. A major tenet of Social Ecology is to make research practically relevant and applicable at the community level.

Through his studies of globalization, environmental policy, and consumer behavior, Jesse has conducted original research, and led several academic (and adventure) expeditions throughout Latin America. He has the qualifications and real life experience necessary to design and lead both domestic and international research projects.

All projects are currently under design, and we are actively seeking funding and support. If you would like to get involved, or have ideas for future research projects, email Jesse Baker: jesse@ecofficiency.org

Domestic

Domestic research projects will focus on lifestyle choices and decisions that minimize negative consumer impacts and promote positive ones. Findings will be incorporated into our community action plans, presentations, and educational efforts.

Planned domestic projects:

Landscaping: Rakes, Brooms, and the Leaf-blower
Buying Organic and Low Impact Food: Is It Really More Expensive?
Green Cleaning: Effectiveness vs. Impact and Cost
Dry cleaning and the professional wardrobe

International

The United States is the most influential and impacting country in the history of human kind. Therefore, it is imperative that we as US citizens understand our relationship with the world around us. Our international research projects are expeditions that delve into the nature of the relationships that globalization has influenced between industrialized (consumer) countries and developing (producer) countries, as well as the overall climactic implications stemming from global consumer systems.

The process for each expedition is to form a team of active and vocal community members (from any type of community, from anywhere in the world) in order to give them first hand exposure to the realities of life in developing countries — particularly related to global consumer impacts, how we are all connected through global consumer systems, and possibilities for how we might improve these systems.

In turn, team members will act as a community liaison, bringing their experiences, observations, and lessons from what they have learned back home — through a community education project that they will have designed. Although the selection process will be competitive, there are no restrictions as to who can become a team member. Requirements are: a passion about making a positive difference, a clear understanding of the general issues involved, and a demonstrated commitment to educating your community about what you will have experienced and learned. We will NOT dictate what you have to say — it is YOUR experience, and it will be up to YOU to decide how YOU want to present what YOU find to YOUR community.

First research expedition (currently in development) • From the Congo to China: Upstream and Downstream Impacts of Consumer Electronic Goods.