Globalisering, forbrugskultur og energi

In the first part of the article, John Tomlinson's and Mike Featherstone's theoretical discussion of the concepts of homogenisation, de-territorialisation, consumer culture and lifestyle are presented. In order to capture omportant aspects of a consumer culture based on large scale consumption of energy, two terms, the "well-being individual" and the "20 degree culture", are then introduced and related to these concepts. The second part of the article discusses the globalisation of the energy sector on three levels: as a process based on liberalisation and de-regulation, as a consequence of regional integration, and as a part of the global debate on climate and sustainable development. The Califormian energy crisis 2000-2001 is brought in to illustrate how the current consumer culture affected the crisis, and it underlines that globalisation is a process with immanent conflicts.