Introduction

Ecological citizenship and sustainable consumption: Examining local organic food networks

“…Seeking to define and embed a new 'environmental ethic' in public debates and discourses, environmentalists aim for a rationale for changing behaviour towards more sustainable lifestyles motivated by an ethical position, rather than simply responding to superficial incentives. An environmentally informed morality implies particular types of political relationships-the nature of citizenship-between strangers, across generations and even across species (Dobson, 2003;Dobson and Valencia, 2005). This is a normative theory of change, and Dobson develops the idea of ecological citizenship by developing existing well-accepted theories of citizenship to accommodate environmental concerns, and proposes that ecological citizenship could be a motivating force for sustainable consumption.…”

Environmental citizenship and public attitudes to hydrogen energy technologies

“…Ecological citizenship seeks a just distribution of (ecological) resources. Dobson and Valencia Saiz (2005) take these arguments further. They propose that ecological citizenship must be based on the recognition that sustainability implies commitment to the idea of 'the common good' (versus self-interest) and that in practice this requires a major shift in attitudes and behaviour.…”

Environmental dialogue in online communities: negotiating ecological citizenship among global travellers

“…In green political thought and environmental policy‐oriented consumer research, many of the traditional market‐based and liberal democratic political solutions to sustainable development have been recently problematized. Policy initiatives that deploy fiscal measures to encourage consumers to choose ecologically sound alternatives in the markets have been criticized for not inducing deep enough changes in consumer attitudes, social value systems and other institutional structures that would result in a significant shift towards more sustainable consumer culture/society (Dolan, 2002; Dobson and Valencia Sáiz, 2005; Seyfang, 2005; Valencia Sáiz, 2005; Moisander, 2007). Moreover, because environmental problems such as the consequences of travel and tourism are essentially global in nature, it is argued, sustainable development calls for new transnational political solutions that do not rely on the centrality of the nation state as the core of political community and citizenship (Dobson, 2003; Valencia Sáiz, 2005).…”