Suchergebnisse

The information-deficit model is a common framework for explaining public attitudes toward new technologies, including renewable energy technology. This model assumes that public opposition to technology is based on a lack of quality information. The siting of facilities, such as commercial wind farms, frequently face opposition from residents of local communities, despite broad public support for renewable energy. Although social science has been critical of the information-deficit model, providing information to the public can influence both the substance and quality of attitudes. In this study, residents of coastal communities in Michigan, supportive of wind energy on average, were provided in-depth information about wind energy. Compared with a control group, participants who attended information sessions exhibited greater change in both their general support for wind energy and the strength of those attitudes. Possible implications for the siting of wind farms and other renewable projects are discussed.

Conventional, positivist science is not well suited for addressing the contemporary risk landscape. To address high-uncertainty, high-stakes risks, Funtowicz and Ravetz have called for a postnormal science. Two key characteristics of postnormal science are the involvement of an extended peer community and the deliberation of extended facts. The health research community has responded to the shortcomings of normal science with approaches to field research, known collectively as community-based participatory research (CBPR). A review of case literature shows that although CBPR is not inherently postnormal, it can be friendly to a postnormal approach. A postnormal CBPR practice would rely more heavily on a deliberative process, which engages a broad range of expertise, including experts in normal science, in decisions about data collection, analysis, and actions.

Although visual effects may be the most defining characteristic of a wind project, implementing fair, transparent and just decision-making processes may be a significant determining factor in success. To shed light on this question, we undertook a study of perceptions of mainland coastal and island residents proximate to the Block Island project—the first offshore wind project in the United States. The study included a longitudinal survey of residents prior to and after turbine installation, and semi-structured interviews with residents and key stakeholders. We assessed the extent to which respondents were engaged in the planning process, opinions of transparency and fairness, and degree to which the planning process affected their opinion. Although interviewees who held a negative view of state government indicated that it did not cause them to oppose the project, trust in state government was the primary driver of perceptions of process fairness, which in turn was the primary driver of project support. We also found individuals to withhold final judgment of the process until the final outcome—project operation. Finally, fair process was seen as having benefits distinct from its effect on the outcome—that is, local residents valued the process itself.