Cross Currents: Water Scarcity and Sustainable CHI

摘要

Growing awareness of the threats posed by global freshwater shortages coupled with increased interest in environmental sustainability among CHI researchers make water management a ripe area for new CHI applications. This paper presents a qualitative study of practices and attitudes in a water-stressed region of the United States. We describe water conservation as a culturally-situated activity influenced by a variety of social factors, and show "sustainability" to be a complicated concept rife with competing, often incompatible interpretations and prescriptions. We discuss implications for designing interfaces that encourage personal conservation, and identify environmental policy making as an area ripe for new CHI activity. Finally, we suggest that sustainability has the potential to move from the periphery of CHI research and become a galvanizing force for the community at large.