My research interest is in the interdisciplinary study of US environmentalism. Specifically, I'm interested in the responses to environmental and social degradation especially as it relates to equity and justice. My work explores the emergence of "green lifestyles" as a response to the current environmental crisis and examines the relationship between being green and being just.
I'm currently working on two major projects. First, I continue to examine the consumption of "green" commodities as a means to affect environmental change through creating a "green lifestyle". This research builds on my early ethnography of Ecovillage at Ithaca, where residents attempt to create a social and ecological sustainable community. Through this work, I question the compatibility between green consumption and capitalism, and explore ways to make equity matter in sustainable communities.
Building on my Ecovillage work, my current research is an ethnography of urban agriculture in the San Francisco Day Area. Eating the Front Yard asks how growing food in the front and backyard might contribute to a sense of community and civic engagement. I use tools from political ecology and environmental justice to explore sustainable community in the urban landscape. Using GIS technology and quantitative methods I document the relationship between growing food and access to various social and cultural amenities in the city.
As an applied environmental anthropologist, I have a strong interest in qualitative research design and methodology as well as participatory community based research.
