From World Watch Institute
flickr/Road Trip
Research shows that people who work fewer hours per week are likely to be happier and live in more sustainable ways. A recent U.S. study concluded that "If, by 2050, the world works as many hours as do Americans, it could consume 15-30 percent more energy than it would following Europe. The additional carbon emissions could result in 1 to 2 degrees Celsius in extra global warming."
Policies that promote "time affluence," minimize advertising's influence on consumers, and prioritize new measurements of development would help shift the world toward values that not only connect to our own wellbeing, but may also help us avert ecological catastrophe, writes Tim Kasser in State of the World 2009.
Read: "Shifting Values in Response to Climate Change" in State of the World 2009: Into a Warming World, and "A New Bottom Line for Progress" and "The Challenges of Sustainable Lifestyles" in State of the World 2008.
