Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Keyword
-
- Energy policy (4)
- Renewable energy (3)
- Energy justice (2)
- 100% renewable energy (1)
- AVERT (1)
-
- Agenda setting (1)
- Agrivoltaics (1)
- Air pollutant (1)
- Appropriate technology (1)
- Athletics (1)
- Bioenergy (1)
- Bioenergy sustainability certification (1)
- Brownfield (1)
- COBRA (1)
- Carbon dioxide emissions (1)
- Climate change (1)
- Climate change liability (1)
- Climate governance (1)
- Climate lawsuits (1)
- Collaborative Governance (1)
- Collaborative governance (1)
- Community Engagement (1)
- Community Solar (1)
- Community acceptance (1)
- Corporate environmental responsibility (1)
- Cost-Benefit Analysis (1)
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering (1)
- Department of Social Sciences (1)
- Diffusion of innovations (1)
- Distributed generation (1)
- Publication
- Publication Type
Articles 1 - 15 of 15
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Accepting Change: Facets Of Acceptance & Sustainable Redevelopment, Zoe L. Ketola
Accepting Change: Facets Of Acceptance & Sustainable Redevelopment, Zoe L. Ketola
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports
As the effects of climate change worsen, it becomes increasingly apparent that just development efforts must be rooted in principles of sustainability and community engagement. This research addresses the role that acceptance plays within two different examples of sustainable redevelopment. The first empirical case examines acceptance of genetically improved trees among family forest owners. The second case explores policy acceptance of community-centric redevelopment of brownfield sites for renewable energy generation. This work uses a combination of survey data and document analysis to shed light on two specific forms of sustainable redevelopment and the consideration given to community priorities and acceptance …
Improving Energy Stewardship At Michigan Technological University’S Athletic Complexes, Cynthia L. Pindral
Improving Energy Stewardship At Michigan Technological University’S Athletic Complexes, Cynthia L. Pindral
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports
Athletics departments are showcases for universities, serving as a public face and recruitment outlet that communicates university identity to the world. This applied research project examines the state of electrical energy infrastructure at Michigan Technological University with special attention to the Athletic Department and reports on the process for energy decisions in both settings. I take a qualitative research approach analyzing University documents and conducting interviews with informants in Athletics Administration, Facilities, and MTU’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience. Four major barriers to efficiency emerged: (1) lack of University-wide climate action goals, (2) staffing issues due to a large number …
The Social Dimensions Of A Technological Innovation: Agrivoltaics In The U.S., Alexis S. Pascaris
The Social Dimensions Of A Technological Innovation: Agrivoltaics In The U.S., Alexis S. Pascaris
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports
This thesis lays the groundwork for the broader realization of agrivoltaics by identifying the socio-political opportunities and barriers to development. Combining theoretical frameworks on technology diffusion and social acceptance of renewable energy with expert perspectives, this work seeks to understand, address, and accommodate the role of society and policy in combining solar energy and food systems. Three empirical studies are presented that first investigate the impediments to farmer adoption of the technology, then explore the challenges to development from the perspective of solar industry professionals, and conclude by outlining a comprehensive legal framework for agrivoltaics in the U.S. The findings …
A Transdisciplinary Analysis Of Just Transition Pathways To 100% Renewable Electricity, Adewale Aremu Adesanya
A Transdisciplinary Analysis Of Just Transition Pathways To 100% Renewable Electricity, Adewale Aremu Adesanya
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports
The transition to using clean, affordable, and reliable electrical energy is critical for enhancing human opportunities and capabilities. In the United States, many states and localities are engaging in this transition despite the lack of ambitious federal policy support. This research builds on the theoretical framework of the multilevel perspective (MLP) of sociotechnical transitions as well as the concept of energy justice to investigate potential pathways to 100 percent renewable energy (RE) for electricity provision in the U.S. This research seeks to answer the question: what are the technical, policy, and perceptual pathways, barriers, and opportunities for just transition to …
U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emission Bottlenecks: Prioritization Of Targets For Climate Liability, Alexis Pascaris, Joshua M. Pearce
U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emission Bottlenecks: Prioritization Of Targets For Climate Liability, Alexis Pascaris, Joshua M. Pearce
Michigan Tech Publications
Due to market failures that allow uncompensated negative externalities from burning fossil fuels, there has been a growing call for climate change-related litigation targeting polluting companies. To determine the most intensive carbon dioxide (CO2)-emitting facilities in order prioritize liability for climate lawsuits, and risk mitigation strategies for identified companies as well as their insurers and investors, two methods are compared: (1) the conventional point-source method and (2) the proposed bottleneck method, which considers all emissions that a facility enables rather than only what it emits. Results indicate that the top ten CO2 emission bottlenecks in the U.S. …
Linking Energy Efficiency And Public Health: A Case Study Of Illinois, Azat Turegeldin
Linking Energy Efficiency And Public Health: A Case Study Of Illinois, Azat Turegeldin
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports
A growing body of research has established the connection between emissions from fossil fuels and severe impacts on human health, such as asthma attacks in children and adults and chronic cardiovascular problems. This work evaluates in monetary terms the implementation of two energy-saving scenarios. Illinois, as a state with high coal electricity generating content, has been chosen as a case study to quantify the impacts brought up by air pollution on public health. The potential benefits of improved air quality and health are the considered results of implemented energy efficiency technologies. This report is a culmination of a summer internship …
Aging Pipeline Infrastructure In The United States: How Do A Changing Policy Mix, Issues Of Energy Justice, And Social Media Communication Impact Future Risk Analysis?, Brent Burns
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports
Over two and a half million miles of pipeline cross the United States today, half of which is over fifty years old and thus was designed, located, and debated without today’s modern environmental policies in place. Aging pipeline infrastructure, such as the (infamous in Michigan) Enbridge Line 5 pipeline underwater crossing at Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac, has undergone increased public scrutiny and risk analysis this past decade. This has led to the potential for policy changes in the historically stable energy services institution associated with pipeline infrastructure regulation. While policy process literature generally describes how policy changes over time, it …
Policies To Overcome Barriers For Renewable Energy Distributed Generation: A Case Study Of Utility Structure And Regulatory Regimes In Michigan, Emily Prehoda, Joshua M. Pearce, Chelsea Schelly
Policies To Overcome Barriers For Renewable Energy Distributed Generation: A Case Study Of Utility Structure And Regulatory Regimes In Michigan, Emily Prehoda, Joshua M. Pearce, Chelsea Schelly
Department of Social Sciences Publications
Because of its environmental damage and now often being the most expensive source for electricity production, coal use is declining throughout the United States. Michigan has no active coal mining and seemingly supportive legislation for distributed generation (DG) and renewable energy (RE) technologies. However, Michigan still derives approximately half of its power production from large centralized coal plants, despite the availability of much lower cost RE DG technologies. To understand this conundrum, this study reviews how Michigan investor owned utilities utilize their political power to perpetuate utility structures that work toward the financial interests of the utilities rather than the …
Community Solar Energy Programs: A Bright Spot For Just Energy Policy?, Emily Prehoda
Community Solar Energy Programs: A Bright Spot For Just Energy Policy?, Emily Prehoda
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports
Energy systems are complex, and this complexity requires diverse regulatory forms and strategies of management. Michigan’s energy system is situated within a multi-scalar governance structure reaching from national to local levels. As a result, the process of energy system decision-making can leave out smaller, remote communities and those without the economic, political, and knowledge capital necessary to engage in complex bureaucratic processes. These communities can become subject to high electricity prices and unreliable electrical service from long transmission and distribution lines, raising energy justice concerns. Additionally, resulting from utility regulatory practices, small remote communities are often not afforded the opportunity …
Wisconsin Non-Industrial Private Forest Landowners And Wood-Based Bioenergy, Jennifer L. Dunn
Wisconsin Non-Industrial Private Forest Landowners And Wood-Based Bioenergy, Jennifer L. Dunn
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports
Wood-based bioelectricity production is expanding due to its ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional fossil fuel resources. U.S. non-industrial private forest landowners (NIPFs) are key to the production of wood-based bioelectricity since they own 59% of the forestland in the country that could supply bioelectricity feedstocks (The National Association of State Foresters 2018). This is particularly important in states like Wisconsin with a mandatory renewable portfolio electricity standard (RPS). My dissertation focuses on issues around Wisconsin bioelectricity production including related NIPF views and the creation of the state’s sustainable biomass harvesting guidelines. In Chapter Two, I present …
Addressing Policy Challenges To Woody Biopower Production: Social Acceptance, Biomass Certification And Limited Policy Support, John B. Barnett
Addressing Policy Challenges To Woody Biopower Production: Social Acceptance, Biomass Certification And Limited Policy Support, John B. Barnett
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports
Forestlands have been identified as a valuable resource to mitigate climate change due to the biome’s capacity to both sequester greenhouse gases and substitute for fossil fuels. Woody biomass has been proposed as a substitutable input for coalgenerated electricity as economies attempt to transition to renewable power while addressing economic development goals. However, increasing the intensity of forest management for energy production has the potential to result in significant ecological, economic and social consequences at local, regional and global scales. In this context, my dissertation explores the capacity of existing policy frameworks to stimulate and support sustainable power production from …
Soft Energy Paths Revisited: Politics And Practice In Energy Technology Transitions, Chelsea Schelly, Aparajita Banerjee
Soft Energy Paths Revisited: Politics And Practice In Energy Technology Transitions, Chelsea Schelly, Aparajita Banerjee
Department of Social Sciences Publications
This paper argues that current efforts to study and advocate for a change in energy technologies to reduce their climate and other environmental impacts often ignore the political, social, and bodily implications of energy technology choices. Framing renewable energy technologies exclusively in terms of their environmental benefits dismisses important questions about how energy infrastructures can be designed to correspond to democratic forms of socio-politics, forms of social organization that involve independence in terms of meeting energy needs, resilience in terms of adapting to change, participatory decision making and control, equitable distribution of knowledge and efficacy, and just distribution of ownership. …
Examining Policy Capacity Initiatives Within Climate Change Frameworks In Three Us And Canadian Sectors Using Nvivo Content Analysis, Mehjabeen Rahman
Examining Policy Capacity Initiatives Within Climate Change Frameworks In Three Us And Canadian Sectors Using Nvivo Content Analysis, Mehjabeen Rahman
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open
The climate change narrative has changed from one of mitigation to one of adaptation. Governments around the world have created climate change frameworks which address how the country can better cope with the expected and unexpected changes due to global climate change. In an effort to do so, federal governments of Canada and the United States, as well as some provinces and states within these countries, have created detailed documents which outline what steps must be taken to adapt to these changes. However, not much is mentioned about how these steps will be translated in to policy, and how that …
Writing A Community Guidebook For Evaluating Low-Grade Geothermal Energy From Flooded Underground Mines For Heating And Cooling Buildings, Edward Peace Louie
Writing A Community Guidebook For Evaluating Low-Grade Geothermal Energy From Flooded Underground Mines For Heating And Cooling Buildings, Edward Peace Louie
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open
When underground mines close they often fill with water from ground and surface sources; each mine can contain millions to billions of gallons of water. This water, heated by the Earth’s geothermal energy, reaches temperatures ideal for heat pumps. The sheer scale of these flooded underground mines presents a unique opportunity for large scale geothermal heat pump setups which would not be as economically, socially, and environmentally feasible anywhere else. A literature search revealed approximately 30 instances of flooded underground mines being used to heat and cool buildings worldwide. With thousands of closed/abandoned underground mines in the U.S. and a …
A Cost-Benefit Analysis Of A 25% Rps In Michigan, Fei Li
A Cost-Benefit Analysis Of A 25% Rps In Michigan, Fei Li
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open
Michigan depends heavily on fossil fuels to generate electricity. Compared with fossil fuels, electricity generation from renewable energy produces less pollutants emissions. A Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is a mandate that requires electric utilities to generate a certain amount of electricity from renewable energy sources. This thesis applies the Cost-Benefits Analysis (CBA) method to investigate the impacts of implementing a 25% in Michigan by 2025. It is found that a 25% RPS will create about $20.12 billion in net benefits to the State. Moreover, if current tax credit policies will not change until 2025, its net present value will increase …