Download or read book Power Narrative and Energy Transitions in the Fossil Fuel Landscapes of North America written by Megan Egler and published by . This book was released on 2024 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The urgency of energy transition is driven by growing public concerns around climate change and is underpinned with a desire for a more sustainable and equitable world. However, these more sustainable and equitable worlds are being negotiated on uneven terrains of power that privilege counterintuitive positions on the necessity of, and approach to, the phase out of fossil fuels, and favor initiatives that continue unequal distributions of wealth and resources. This dissertation investigates the obstacles in the way of just and ecological futures by scrutinizing the relationship between power, narrative, and materialities within the socioeconomic structures of our current capitalist system. To do so, it situates around contemporary energy transitions within the physical and cultural landscapes of historical fossil fuel regions in Canada and the United States. In the first study, I explore the production and circulation of narratives shaping pro-fossil fuel energy discourses in Canada. I use computational text analysis methods to unpack the narrative of Canadian energy constructed by a government funded provincial corporation in Alberta and identify a number of discursive tactics commonly used by the fossil fuel industry to reify fossil fuels' dominance. In the second study I draw on the experiences of individuals employed in the oil and gas industry in northern Alberta and West Texas to theorize the relationship between the alienation of workers and the adoption of narratives in defense of capital. I demonstrate how the structure of employment and the nature of work in the industry lead to conflicting conceptualizations of self and meaningful work. This conflict is exploited by fossil fuel actors to perpetuate subjectivities in support of continued extraction. The third study analyzes energy transition initiatives that leverage the landscapes and infrastructures of fossil fuels' past to operationalize narratives of just and ecological futures. Through a critical analysis of two projects developing solar projects on former fossil fuel sites in Alberta and Appalachia, I explore what it means to enact a just transition. While both initiatives address histories of extraction, dispel the perceived threats of solar, and position themselves as promising innovations in energy transition, they differ in the ways each redistributes power or entrenches systemic inequalities. Energy transitions represent more than technological progress or a solution to climate change - they are opportunities to correct past harms, redistribute power, and imagine more desirable futures. However, in regions of historical fossil fuel extraction discursive power is being wielded to protect fossil fuel's dominance, maintain existing power dynamics, and draw communities into polarized politics around climate change and energy's future. As we work toward the enactment of just transitions, this dissertation encourages readers to contemplate the relationships between histories of exploitation, class dynamics, and ideological influences.
Download or read book Electric Mountains written by Shaun A. Golding and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 2021-07-16 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate change has shifted from future menace to current event. As eco-conscious electricity consumers, we want to do our part in weening from fossil fuels, but what are we actually a part of? Committed environmentalists in one of North America’s most progressive regions desperately wanted energy policies that address the climate crisis. For many of them, wind turbines on Northern New England’s iconic ridgelines symbolize the energy transition that they have long hoped to see. For others, however, ridgeline wind takes on a very different meaning. When weighing its costs and benefits locally and globally, some wind opponents now see the graceful structures as symbols of corrupted energy politics. This book derives from several years of research to make sense of how wind turbines have so starkly split a community of environmentalists, as well as several communities. In doing so, it casts a critical light on the roadmap for energy transition that Northern New England’s ridgeline wind projects demarcate. It outlines how ridgeline wind conforms to antiquated social structures propping up corporate energy interests, to the detriment of the swift de-carbonizing and equitable transformation that climate predictions warrant. It suggests, therefore, that the energy transition of which most of us are a part, is probably not the transition we would have designed ourselves, if we had been asked.
Download or read book New Energies written by Stephen G. Gross and published by University of Pittsburgh Press. This book was released on 2023-02-28 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the past 250 years, energy transitions have occurred repeatedly—the rise of coal in the nineteenth century, the explosion of oil in the twentieth century, the nuclear utopianism of the 1950s and 1960s. These transitions have been as revolutionary as any political or economic upheaval, and they required changes in infrastructure and behavior. Yet new energies never wholly replace old ones. This volume historicizes energy production and consumption while demonstrating how energy use has reshaped everything from social life and economic organization to political governance. It foregrounds the importance of energy for big historical questions about capitalism, democracy, inequality, the environment, and identity, and it argues that energy systems themselves merit attention as key agents of historical change. Given the urgency of climate change, and the central position that energy plays in causing and potentially solving global warming, this volume engages history as a discipline in the debate over what may be most monumental energy transition of all time: the shift away from fossil fuels.
Download or read book Routes of Power written by Christopher F. Jones and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2014-04-07 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fossil fuel revolution is usually a tale of advances in energy production. Christopher Jones tells a tale of advances in energy access—canals, pipelines, wires delivering cheap, abundant power to cities at a distance from production sites. Between 1820 and 1930 these new transportation networks set the U.S. on a path to fossil fuel dependence.
Download or read book Revolutionary Power written by Shalanda Baker and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2021-01-14 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In September 2017, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, completely upending the energy grid of the small island. The nearly year-long power outage that followed vividly shows how the new climate reality intersects with race and access to energy. The island is home to brown and black US citizens who lack the political power of those living in the continental US. As the world continues to warm and storms like Maria become more commonplace, it is critical that we rethink our current energy system to enable reliable, locally produced, and locally controlled energy without replicating the current structures of power and control. In Revolutionary Power, Shalanda Baker arms those made most vulnerable by our current energy system with the tools they need to remake the system in the service of their humanity. She argues that people of color, poor people, and indigenous people must engage in the creation of the new energy system in order to upend the unequal power dynamics of the current system. Revolutionary Power is a playbook for the energy transformation complete with a step-by-step analysis of the key energy policy areas that are ripe for intervention. Baker tells the stories of those who have been left behind in our current system and those who are working to be architects of a more just system. She draws from her experience as an energy-justice advocate, a lawyer, and a queer woman of color to inspire activists working to build our new energy system. Climate change will force us to rethink the way we generate and distribute energy and regulate the system. But how much are we willing to change the system? This unique moment in history provides an unprecedented opening for a deeper transformation of the energy system, and thus, an opportunity to transform society. Revolutionary Power shows us how.
Download or read book Clean Energy Nation written by Jerry McNerney and published by HarperChristian + ORM. This book was released on 2011-08-01 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the vein of “An Inconvenient Truth,” a sobering assessment of our nation’s energy policies and a stirring call for change. Dangerous CO2 emissions, massive oil spills, dwindling supplies—the problems with fossil fuels are driving a long-overdue reassessment of our nation’s energy policies. U.S. Congressman Jerry McNerney, a renewable energy engineer and the first representative with expertise in energy independence, leads the way to change. In Clean Energy Nation, he and journalist Martin Cheek make an impassioned argument for drastically reducing dependency on fossil fuels and developing sustainable, readily available energy sources—solar, wind, biofuel, geothermal, and hydrogen-based power. Bringing together a rare combination of scientific knowledge, political savvy, and insightful journalism, the authors reveal the pros and cons of alternative energy sources and examine how our nation became addicted to fossil fuels in the first place. The book reads like the dramatic story it is, complete with dire projections about peak oil and grim scenarios of rising oceans...keen insights into policies and players that have stalled progress on climate change and favored big oil...and astute recommendations for building a clean energy economy and a prosperous, stable future.
Download or read book The Geopolitics of the Global Energy Transition written by Manfred Hafner and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-06-09 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world is currently undergoing an historic energy transition, driven by increasingly stringent decarbonisation policies and rapid advances in low-carbon technologies. The large-scale shift to low-carbon energy is disrupting the global energy system, impacting whole economies, and changing the political dynamics within and between countries. This open access book, written by leading energy scholars, examines the economic and geopolitical implications of the global energy transition, from both regional and thematic perspectives. The first part of the book addresses the geopolitical implications in the world’s main energy-producing and energy-consuming regions, while the second presents in-depth case studies on selected issues, ranging from the geopolitics of renewable energy, to the mineral foundations of the global energy transformation, to governance issues in connection with the changing global energy order. Given its scope, the book will appeal to researchers in energy, climate change and international relations, as well as to professionals working in the energy industry.
Download or read book Power Trip written by Amanda Little and published by Harper Perennial. This book was released on 2010-09-14 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After covering the environment and energy beat for more than a decade, columnist Amanda Little decided that the only way to fully understand America’s energy crisis was to travel into the heart of it. So she embarked on a daring, cross-country power trip to the most extreme and exciting frontiers of our energy landscape. In Power Trip, we accompany her to a deep-sea oil rig, the cornfields of Kansas, the catacombs of the Pentagon, the Talladega Superspeedway, and inside New York City’s electrical grid. We visit laboratories creating the innovations that will carry us into a clean-energy future. Little also travels back through history to investigate how America developed its unrivaled appetite for fossil fuels. In vivid, fast-paced prose, she illustrates how the same American ingenuity that got us into this mess can get us out of it too.
Download or read book Global Energy Politics written by Thijs Van de Graaf and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-05-07 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ever since the Industrial Revolution energy has been a key driver of world politics. From the oil crises of the 1970s to today’s rapid expansion of renewable energy sources, every shift in global energy patterns has important repercussions for international relations. In this new book, Thijs Van de Graaf and Benjamin Sovacool uncover the intricate ways in which our energy systems have shaped global outcomes in four key areas of world politics: security, the economy, the environment and global justice. Moving beyond the narrow geopolitical focus that has dominated much of the discussion on global energy politics, they also deftly trace the connections between energy, environmental politics, and community activism. The authors argue that we are on the cusp of a global energy shift that promises to be no less transformative for the pursuit of wealth and power in world politics than the historical shifts from wood to coal and from coal to oil. This ongoing energy transformation will not only upend the global balance of power; it could also fundamentally transfer political authority away from the nation state, empowering citizens, regions and local communities. Global Energy Politics will be an essential resource for students of the social sciences grappling with the major energy issues of our times.
Download or read book Racing to the Top written by William R. Thompson and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the international political economy of the last two millennia, there tends to be one state leading the world as the foremost producer of energy and new technology. In Racing to the Top, William R. Thompson and Leila Zakhirova argue that the US and China, like previous leading countries, rely on energy transition, or the development of alternative energy, in order to make new technology relatively inexpensive to develop and to fuel. While the US has historically held the lead, its edge in the global energy economy appears to be eroding, and as energy leadership diminishes, so does the country's position in world politics. Thompson and Zakhirova take a long view in order to show what will be necessary for a new power to emerge as the system leader, then map a path forward for energy policy. Informed by a deep knowledge of world history, political economy, and environmental technology, this book is the first complete overview of energy transitions over the past thousand years.
Download or read book America s Energy Gamble written by Shanti Gamper-Rabindran and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-01-13 with total page 539 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can America get back to an energy transition that's good for the economy and the environment? That's the question at the heart of this eye-opening and richly informative dissection of the Trump administration's energy policy. The policy was ardently pro-fossil fuel and ferociously anti-regulation, implemented by manipulating science and economic analysis, putting oil and gas insiders at the helm of environmental agencies, and hacking away at democratic norms that once enjoyed bipartisan support. The impacts on the nation's health, economy, and environment were - as this book carefully demonstrates - dire. But the damage can be reversed. Ordinary Americans, civil society groups, environmental professionals, and politicians at every level all have parts to play in making sure the needed energy transition leaves no one behind. This compelling book will appeal to course instructors and students, government and industry officials, activists and journalists, and everyone concerned about the nation's future.
Download or read book Home Fires written by Sean Patrick Adams and published by Johns Hopkins University Press. This book was released on 2014-05-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Home heating networks during the Industrial Revolution helped create the modern dependence on fossil fuel energy in America. Home Fires tells the fascinating story of how changes in home heating over the nineteenth century spurred the growth of networks that helped remake American society. Sean Patrick Adams reconstructs the ways in which the “industrial hearth” appeared in American cities, the methods that entrepreneurs in home heating markets used to convince consumers that their product designs and fuel choices were superior, and how elite, middle-class, and poor Americans responded to these overtures. Adams depicts the problem of dwindling supplies of firewood and the search for alternatives; the hazards of cutting, digging, and drilling in the name of home heating; the trouble and expense of moving materials from place to place; the rise of steam power; the growth of an industrial economy; and questions of economic efficiency, at both the individual household and the regional level. Home Fires makes it clear that debates over energy sources, energy policy, and company profit margins have been around a long time. The challenge of staying warm in the industrializing North becomes a window into the complex world of energy transitions, economic change, and emerging consumerism. Readers will understand the struggles of urban families as they sought to adapt to the ever-changing nineteenth-century industrial landscape. This perspective allows a unique view of the development of an industrial society not just from the ground up but from the hearth up.
Download or read book Energy Futures written by Daniel Soeder and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-10-13 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The objective of this book is to help readers better understand the links between fossil fuel, greenhouse gas, and climate change in a clear, explanatory format. It avoids sensationalism and politics, using plain language to explain the details of the science, how the science works, and how we know what we know. It describes the history of fossil fuels, why fossil fuel combustion products are a problem, and what must be done to address the impacts on climate. It provides details about a number of energy engineering solutions to replace fossil fuels and technology called geoengineering that can cool the planet and directly remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Some of these technologies can be implemented almost immediately, and others may be applied in the future. Many young people are pessimistic about the future and prepared to give up on addressing climate change. The book strives to maintain hope throughout that humanity can solve this and other environmental problems. The climate crisis was caused by human engineering, and human engineering can fix it. The goal is to produce informed readers that can have responsible discussions with their political leaders about implementing solutions to climate change.
Download or read book The Power Surge written by Michael Levi and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014-10 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Looks at the clash between gas/oil proponents and supports of alternative energies and offers a plan for the future that combines the best of both worlds.
Download or read book Climate of Contempt written by David Spence and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2024-08-06 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why is the United States struggling to enact policies to reduce carbon emissions? Conventional wisdom holds that the wealthy and powerful are to blame, as the oligarchs and corporations that wield disproportionate sway over politicians prioritize their short-term financial interests over the climate’s long-term health. David B. Spence argues that this top-down narrative misses a more important culprit—with critical consequences for the energy transition. Climate of Contempt offers a voter-centric, bottom-up explanation of national climate and energy politics, one that pinpoints bitter partisanship as the key impediment to transitioning to a net zero carbon future. Members of Congress respond to voters whose animosity toward the opposing party makes compromise politically risky. The most powerful driver of polarization, in turn, is the mixture of ideology and social media that constitutes today’s information environment, which amplifies anger, spreads half truths and falsehoods, and sows division, distorting voters’ understandings of the energy transition and their fellow citizens. Spence explores the effects of polarization, partisanship, and propaganda on energy policy and considers how to build a broader climate coalition. He contends that cooperation on this crucial issue is still possible, but it will require sustained person-to-person engagement across ideological and partisan boundaries to foster a more productive dialogue. Providing a timely and incisive understanding of the politics of the energy transition, Climate of Contempt suggests new paths forward and offers hope for a net-zero future.
Download or read book Energy Transitions written by Vaclav Smil and published by Praeger. This book was released on 2010-05-26 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Energy transitions are fundamental processes behind the evolution of human societies: they both drive and are driven by technical, economic, and social changes. This title describes the history of modern society's dependence on fossil fuels and the prospects for the transition to a nonfossil world.
Download or read book Energy in America written by Ingrid Kelley and published by Vermont Books: Publishers. This book was released on 2008 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scientists tell us we need to cut carbon emissions immediately to forestall effects of global warming. Reducing fossil fuel use is the key, and energy experts are hard at work devising solutions. Engineers create remarkable clean energy technologies. Energy policy analysts invent carbon credits and renewable portfolio standards. Fossil energy industrialists promise new, “clean” technology. Renewable energy industrialists compete to develop the magic bullet for transportation fuel or power generation. Every idea is designed to change the nation’s energy sector to one that is clean and sustainable for the future. But what is this energy sector we have and how did it come about? Design professionals, planners, elected officials, and community leaders are under tremendous pressure to find solutions to climate change. They need a broader view of America’s relationship with energy to gain perspective on how new ideas might work. Energy in America tells this story, emphasizing that energy use has always been based on cultural factors as well as technology. Energy in America relates how coal, oil and natural gas built the nation from its beginning and created today’s consumer culture. It continues with the rise of the electric utility industry and its influence on American society. Finally, it explores the 1970s, when America woke to conservation and efficiency, and the renewable energy industries were born. It concludes with a look at the future possibilities for community energy planning and current trends in sustainable energy policy. The book features a comprehensive energy timeline from 1775 to the present. Each chapter provides primary web sources, and the book contains a complete index.
