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The U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) 2021 report on solar geoengineering research is a political intervention in global climate politics. Although the NASEM report explicitly acknowledges the risks of unilateral research without broad-based public participation and global governance, the report minimizes these concerns by recommending that the U.S. act swiftly to establish a publicly funded national research program. By providing details for how the research program should be designed, the report contradicts its own recommendations for an inclusive and international process. By mainstreaming solar geoengineering, the report risks increasing the likelihood of international conflict and unilateral deployment, and further exacerbates delays in prioritizing other climate actions. Instead of expanding research on global manipulation of the earth's climate, the United States, like other countries around the world, should commit to multilateral, coordinated efforts to phase out fossil fuels, advance global climate action, and invest in climate justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responding to the climate crisis requires a large-scale transformation of energy systems away from fossil fuels toward a more distributed, equitable, renewable-based society. The societal benefits of this transformation which could redistribute power, literally and figuratively, go well beyond decarbonization; a renewable society could also be a healthier, more economically just society. This study conceptualizes action researchers as key drivers of these systemic change processes. We argue that transforming and democratizing energy systems should be the focal point of action researcher's efforts to address climate change. To advance this argument, the study draws on the systemic action research, energy democracy, and sustainability transitions literature and includes recommendations, examples, and practical suggestions for conducting energy-related action research. This study's findings will be useful to researchers interested in engaging the climate crisis by building transformative capacity in the context of local and regional energy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As social scientists, we are concerned about the impact of the National Academies Report on solar geoengineering. It has already set into motion a major, federally coordinated national research program in the United States to develop this dangerous technology. We emphasize that scientists and researchers are not the ones who will be making decisions on deployment, so research and development should not proceed without integrating broader international perspectives. If the US government does not pause to establish effective international governance and public participation before investing more in solar geoengineering, then the NAS report will have – regardless of the intentions of the committee – opened the door for the US to unilaterally shape and advance the global development of solar geoengineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition from centralized energy systems based on fossil fuels to renewable-based systems is a macro-level societal shift necessitated by climate change. This review of recent environmental education (EE) research identifies gaps and opportunities for promoting environmental action in this new context. We found that environmental educators and researchers are currently focused on researching and promoting energy conservation behavior with an emphasis on children and youth. We also found an emerging research focus on energy transitions at the regional and national levels. We recommend that environmental educators and researchers adopt a vision and strategy for climate change and energy education that more explicitly addresses the role of collective action, multiactor networks, and sociotechnical innovation in shaping energy transition processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion on the concept of energy democracy. Topics discussed include the community-run and -initiated energy projects for the establishment of renewable local schemes, the energy poverty alleviation, and the factors that threatened the promotion of energy democracies such as fossil fuel unfair practices, inclusion, diversity and politics. Other topics include power redistribution, social activism and energy restructuring.

Mounting evidence that even aggressive reductions in net emissions of greenhouse gases will be insufficient to limit global climate risks is increasing calls for atmospheric experiments to better understand the risks and implications of also deploying solar geoengineering technologies to reflect sunlight and rapidly lower surface temperatures. But solar geoengineering research itself poses significant environmental and geopolitical risks. Given limited societal awareness and public dialogue about this climate response option, conducting such experiments without meaningful societal engagement could galvanize opposition to solar geoengineering research from civil society, including the most climate vulnerable communities who are among its intended beneficiaries. Here, we explore whether and how a solar geoengineering research enterprise might be developed in a way that promotes legitimacy as well as scientific credibility and policy relevance. We highlight the distinctive responsibilities of researchers and research funders to ensure that solar geoengineering research proposals are subject to legitimate societal review and scrutiny, recommend steps they can take to strive towards legitimacy and call on them to be explicitly open to multiple potential outcomes, including the societal rejection or considerable alteration of the solar geoengineering research enterprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Reviews is focused on the social and policy dimensions of smart grids, an emerging set of technologies and practices which have the potential to transform dramatically electricity systems around the world. The six related articles explore social and political dynamics associated with smart grid deployment in the United States of America (USA) and Canada. Aspects examined in this special issue include the evolution of smart grid policy in Ontario, media coverage of smart grid experiences in Canada and smart grid approaches being taken in Québec. Other aspects covered include an analysis of smart grid systems planning post-Superstorm Sandy (that hit the Northeastern coast of the USA in 2012), the environmental framing of socio-political acceptance of the smart grid in British Columbia, and news coverage of the smart grid in the USA and Canada. These articles were supported by collaborative research from the National Science Foundation in the USA and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council in Canada which involved three expert workshops held in Canada in 2013, 2014 and 2015. The six articles were accepted after a vigorous review process overseen by the guest editors of this special issue. The contents are in keeping with the aims and scope of the journal which is to bring together under one roof the current advances in the ever broadening field of renewable and sustainable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term smart grid (SG) has been widely used in both the United States (U.S.) and Canada to represent multiple visions and configurations of electricity system change. In both countries policies, programs, and initiatives have emerged to promote technological and social changes associated with SG, and different patterns of SG implementation and governance are apparent at local, regional, and national levels. This paper reports on a comparative analysis of SG media content in nationally-circulating newspapers in the U.S. and Canada to explore patterns of SG conversations in the two countries. Media reporting about SG provides a valuable lens that reflects public discourse and also contributes to setting the public agenda by shaping public opinion and framing key issues. Despite similarities in terms of policy, program design, and SG deployment strategies, several prominent differences between the two countries emerge in public conversations. Firstly, Canadian SG newspaper content focuses more on implementation and describing people's experiences with smart meters, while the U.S. content focuses more on commercial opportunities with more reference to private sector actors and various technological components beyond smart meters. Secondly, although media coverage in both countries frequently highlights technological and economic benefits of SG, positive SG framing is more frequent in the U.S. newspapers than in the Canadian ones. Negative SG portrayals, including cultural, political and health and safety risks, are more frequently mentioned in the Canadian newspapers. These differing SG framings could be due to national level cultural differences. In the U.S, considered to be more of an individualistic society, there is more emphasis on business opportunities, being entrepreneurial, and more private sector involvement in the electricity sector. By contrast, in Canada, public authorities, more prominent in the electricity market than in the U.S., play a key role in smart grid deployment. Furthermore, in Canada, considered to have more social support structures for individuals and communities, there was more emphasis on the experiences of people. This suggests that cultural differences at the national level be a further contextual lens helpful to policy makers and technology proponents as they embark upon energy system change initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distributed and renewable energy technologies are changing the electricity sector and altering traditional relationships between electric utilities and their customers. This analysis involving focus groups with fourteen electric utilities in seven U.S. states (California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Texas, and Vermont) demonstrates divergence in framing among utility representatives in terms of how they characterize customer engagement opportunities and renewable energy integration. This research is among the first qualitative studies comparing utility representatives’ discourse across the United States. Utilities in Texas and Vermont are particularly divergent especially in their framing of customer engagement opportunities during this time of energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a growing sense of urgency to improve energy systems so as to reduce fossil-fuel dependency, energy system change has been slow, uncertain, and geographically diverse. Interestingly, this regionally heterogeneous evolution of energy system change is not merely a consequence of technological limitations but also and importantly a product of complex socio-political factors influencing the deployment of new energy technologies. The socio-political context for energy deployment differs on national, state, and even local levels, making cross-jurisdictional analysis of energy systems challenging. At the same time, understanding how social, legal, cultural, and political factors influence energy deployment across multiple jurisdictions is critical to developing effective policies for reducing fossil-fuel dependency. In response to such challenges, in 2008 we developed the Socio-Political Evaluation of Energy Deployment (SPEED) framework. SPEED is an interdisciplinary framework for analyzing how technological, social, and political conditions influence the development and deployment of specific energy technologies. SPEED has been applied to compare regional disparities in the deployment of multiple specific technologies. This Article illustrates how an enhanced version of the original SPEED framework can be used to characterize the socio-political factors influencing the development of energy systems across multiple regions. First, we describe the value of SPEED analysis in characterizing interactions among multiple factors--including cultural, political, environmental, legal, technical, and economic influences--that shape energy technology deployment and drive system change. Then, using smart grid development as an example of a system-wide energy initiative, we describe how the application of SPEED analysis could improve policy and regulatory effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in the potential of smart grid to transform the way societies generate, distribute, and use electricity has increased dramatically over the past decade. A smarter grid could contribute to both climate change mitigation and adaptation by increasing low-carbon electricity production and enhancing system reliability and resilience. However, climate goals are not necessarily essential for smart grid. Climate change is only one of many considerations motivating innovation in electricity systems, and depending on the path of grid modernization, a future smart grid might do little to reduce, or could even exacerbate, risks associated with climate change. This paper identifies tensions within a shared smart grid vision and illustrates how competing societal priorities are influencing electricity system innovation. Co-existing but divergent priorities among key actors' are mapped across two critical dimensions: centralized versus decentralized energy systems and radical versus incremental change. Understanding these tensions provides insights on how climate change objectives can be integrated to shape smart grid development. Electricity system change is context-specific and path-dependent, so specific strategies linking smart grid and climate change need to be developed at local, regional, and national levels. And while incremental improvements may bring short term gains, a radical transformation is needed to realize climate objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A large and growing body of research examining sustainability in higher education has emerged in the past decade. This literature is dominated by empirical and descriptive studies of specific approaches and individual initiatives, but lacks a cohesive research agenda and is not yet supported by strong theoretical underpinnings. This paper contributes to the advancement of this emerging field by exploring the theoretical framework of transition management (TM), a multi-scale, multi-actor, process-oriented approach and analytical framework to understand and promote change in social systems. The TM framework provides guidance toward informing and prioritizing future empirical research in this important emerging field. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A transformation in the way the United States produces and uses energy is needed to achieve greenhouse gas reduction targets for climate change mitigation. Wind power is an important low-carbon technology and the most rapidly growing renewable energy technology in the U.S. Despite recent advances in wind deployment, significant state-by-state variation in wind power distribution cannot be explained solely by wind resource patterns nor by state policy. Other factors embedded within the state-level socio-political context also contribute to wind deployment patterns. We explore this socio-political context in four U.S. states by integrating multiple research methods. Through comparative state-level analysis of the energy system, energy policy, and public discourse as represented in the media, we examine variation in the context for wind deployment in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, and Texas. Our results demonstrate that these states have different patterns of wind deployment, are engaged in different debates about wind power, and appear to frame the risks and benefits of wind power in different ways. This comparative assessment highlights the complex variation of the state-level socio-political context and contributes depth to our understanding of energy technology deployment processes, decision-making, and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenge of reversing rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations is growing with the continued expansion of CO2-emitting energy infrastructure throughout the world and with the lack of coordinated, effective measures to manage and reduce emissions. Given this situation, it is prudent for society to explore all potential carbon management options, including those with seemingly low probability for success. Recent initiatives for advancing and enhancing carbon storage options have focused primarily on the physical trapping of CO2 in underground geologic formations and on the biological uptake of CO2; less attention has been given to approaches that rely primarily on geochemical reactions that enhance transformation of CO2 gas into dissolved or solid phase carbon by liberating cations to neutralize carbonic acid. This paper provides a structured review of the technical status of these geochemical approaches, and also presents a simple framework for assessing the potential and limitations of various proposed geochemical approaches to assist prioritizing future research in this area. Despite major limitations, geochemical approaches have unique potential to contribute to CO2 reductions in ways that neither physical nor biological carbon storage can by allowing for the direct removal of CO2 from the atmosphere with minimal requirements for integrating with existing infrastructure. Recognizing the severity and urgency of the need for carbon management options, we argue for an increase in research activity related to geochemical approaches to carbon management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laboratory experiments were conducted with volcanic ash soils from Mammoth Mountain, California to examine the dependence of soil dissolution rates on pH and CO2 (in batch experiments) and on oxalate (in flow-through experiments). In all experiments, an initial period of rapid dissolution was observed followed by steady-state dissolution. A decrease in the specific surface area of the soil samples, ranging from 50% to 80%, was observed; this decrease occurred during the period of rapid, initial dissolution. Steady-state dissolution rates, normalized to specific surface areas determined at the conclusion of the batch experiments, ranged from 0.03 μmol Si m-2 h-1 at pH 2.78 in the batch experiments to 0.009 μmol Si m-2 h-1 at pH 4 in the flow-through experiments. Over the pH range of 2.78–4.0, the dissolution rates exhibited a fractional order dependence on pH of 0.47 for rates determined from H+ consumption data and 0.27 for rates determined from Si release data. Experiments at ambient and 1 atm CO2 demonstrated that dissolution rates were independent of CO2 within experimental error at both pH 2.78 and 4.0. Dissolution at pH 4.0 was enhanced by addition of 1 mM oxalate. These observations provide insight into how the rates of soil weathering may be changing in areas on the flanks of Mammoth Mountain where concentrations of soil CO2 have been elevated over the last decade. This release of magmatic CO2 has depressed the soil pH and killed all vegetation (thus possibly changing the organic acid composition). These indirect effects of CO2 may be enhancing the weathering of these volcanic ash soils but a strong direct effect of CO2 can be excluded. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Elevated concentrations of soil CO2, ranging from 20% to 90%, from a magmatic source have been killing coniferous trees in the last decade in several distinct areas on the flanks of Mammoth Mountain, California. These areas of elevated soil CO2 provide a natural laboratory to examine how chemical weathering in soils responds to extremely high-CO2 concentrations in conjunction with possible changes in organic acids resulting from vegetation mortality. These volcanic ash soils have a particularly low resistance to chemical weathering due to the predominance of volcanic glass and other noncrystalline phases. Thus, decade-long exposure to anomalous conditions may result in differences in soil characteristics. Soil samples from within the high-CO2 region have been analyzed and compared to samples from outside the anomalous area in the adjacent healthy forest areas where background CO2 concentrations are less than 1%. Compared to the control soil, the high-CO2 soil has lower pH values (5.0 compared to 5.6), higher soil moisture content, and higher surface area. Dithionite-citrate and acid-oxalate extractants were less effective in leaching Al and Si from the high CO2 than from the control soil, indicating a distinct difference in the mineralogy of these soils. The observed differences between the high-CO2 and control soils are consistent with an enhancement of weathering intensity in the soil exposed to elevated CO2 concentrations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article focuses on a recommendation by a National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine report released in March 2021 that the U.S. should invest unilaterally to expand research on solar geoengineering, which was proposed to cool the planet by reflecting sunlight back to space.

The article discusses the possible use of renewable energy in Puerto Rico as the energy infrastructure of the island is rebuilt after Hurricane Maria. Topics include the role of fossil fuels in electricity generation on the island, the installation of solar power infrastructure in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, and the need for resilience in rural areas.

Superstorm Sandy hit the northeastern United States in October 2012, knocking out power to 10 million people and highlighting energy and critical infrastructure system vulnerabilities in the face of a changing climate. The increased frequency and intensity of such disruptive events is shifting priorities in electricity system planning around the world, including how multiple stakeholders consider linkages between climate vulnerability and energy. This research links smart grid development with adaptation to changing climates and explores how different stakeholders grapple with system vulnerabilities and climate disruptions. To illustrate this, the in-depth case study assesses post-Sandy discourse to compare how electricity sector stakeholder groups in New York, Massachusetts and Vermont associate energy, smart grid, and climate change. To explore how different energy system stakeholders frame the impacts of Superstorm Sandy on energy system planning, we conducted 22 focus groups with a broad range of organizations representing diverse aspects of the electricity system including utilities, regulatory authorities, research and development agencies, regional transmission organizations, academic research institutions, consumer advocacy and environmental organizations across the three states. We used these data to examine post-Sandy discourse about climate mitigation and climate adaptation, routine system management, and the potential value of “smart grid” for future energy system planning. We found that both New York and Massachusetts stakeholders focused more on climate adaptation than climate mitigation, while stakeholders in Vermont focused more on mitigation. In all three states stakeholder discussions of adaptation focused most heavily on system resilience and reliability, whereas discussions of mitigation focused on demand-side management and demand response followed by alternative energy strategies. These results suggest that extreme weather and climate disruptions will differentially shape discourse around smart grid and energy system change and shift the focus among energy system stakeholders on climate adaptation compared to climate mitigation. This research demonstrates variation between political jurisdictions (states) and energy system stakeholders in energy system planning in the face of new challenges related to an uncertain and rapidly changing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moving beyond technocratic approaches to climate action, climate justice articulates a paradigm shift in how organizations think about their response to the climate crisis. This paper makes a conceptual contribution by exploring the potential of this paradigm shift in higher education. Through a commitment to advancing transformative climate justice, colleges and universities around the world could realign and redefine their priorities in teaching, research, and community engagement to shape a more just, stable, and healthy future. As inequitable climate vulnerabilities increase, higher education has multiple emerging opportunities to resist, reverse, and repair climate injustices and related socioeconomic and health disparities. Rather than continuing to perpetuate the concentration of wealth and power by promoting climate isolationism’s narrow focus on technological innovation and by prioritizing the financial success of alumni and the institution, colleges and universities have an opportunity to leverage their unique role as powerful anchor institutions to demonstrate climate justice innovations and catalyze social change toward a more equitable, renewable-based future. This paper explores how higher education can advance societal transformation toward climate justice, by teaching climate engagement, supporting impactful justice-centered research, embracing non-extractive hiring and purchasing practices, and integrating community-engaged climate justice innovations across campus operations. Two climate justice frameworks, Green New Deal-type policies and energy democracy, provide structure for reviewing a breadth of proposed transformational climate justice initiatives in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the factors contributing to the durability of community-university partnerships, focusing on variation in the strength and priorities of the stakeholders involved. The three partnerships included in the analysis are UniverCity, the Healthy Options for Prevention and Education Coalition, and the Institute for Energy and Sustainability. A third role for universities beyond teaching and research is direct involvement in community issues. According to policy analysts, higher education researchers, and urban planners, social change takes place as a consequence of community-university partnerships.

Many U.S. states have taken significant action on climate change in recent years, demonstrating their commitment despite federal policy gridlock and rollbacks. Yet, there is still much we do not know about the agents, discourses, and strategies of those seeking to delay or obstruct state-level climate action. We first ask, what are the obstacles to strong and effective climate policy within U.S. states? We review the political structures and interest groups that slow action, and we examine emerging tensions between climate justice and the technocratic and/or market-oriented approaches traditionally taken by many mainstream environmental groups. Second, what are potential solutions for overcoming these obstacles? We suggest strategies for overcoming opposition to climate action that may advance more effective and inclusive state policy, focusing on political strategies, media framing, collaboration, and leveraging the efforts of ambitious local governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis of The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The New York Times from 1998 to 2013 suggests that media coverage of smart grid issues focuses more on benefits than risks. Coverage peaked in 2009 with substantial federal-level investment in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart grid has strong potential to advance and encourage renewable energy deployment, but given the multiple motivations for smart grid, renewables are not always central in smart grid policy discussions. The term "smart grid" represents a set of technologies, including advanced meters, sensors and energy storage that are crucial for the integration of more renewable and low carbon electricity into the electric power grid. However, developing and building a smart grid is jurisdictionally complex, path dependent and context specific; states and regions are approaching grid modernization in different ways. This paper reports on a comparative analysis of smart grid development in seven U.S. states. We use state-level policy documents to learn what motivates smart grid development and how smart grid is framed in relation to renewable energy. In some states, renewable technologies are presented as an integral part of the smart grid policy discussion, while in others they are largely absent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Over the past decade, the United States (US) has demonstrated strong and evolving interest in the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS), an emerging set of technologies with potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants. Given the many technical, economic, and environmental uncertainties about the future of CCS, the political salience of this technology is high. In the US, states make key decisions about deploying energy technology projects, but variation in state-level energy context (both technical and socio-political) is substantial. This research assesses variation in the state-level energy context for CCS development by exploring energy policy stakeholders' perceptions of CCS in four geographically and demographically diverse states. Policy stakeholders have different degrees of familiarity with CCS, and the goal of this research is to understand and compare the perceptions of CCS among stakeholders who shape state-level energy policy. Semi-structured interviews with 84 energy policy stakeholders across government, industry, academia, and non-governmental organizations active in four different states (Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana and Texas) were analyzed to compare perceptions of CCS risks and benefits. Negative associations of CCS were mentioned more frequently than positive attributes in each state, and technical, political and economic risks are more dominant than environmental or health and safety risks. Content analysis of the interviews provides insight on emerging sub-national discourse regarding CCS, on state-level variation in familiarity with CCS, and on sub-national variation in the socio-political context for energy technologies. The variation in state and stakeholder energy priorities and perceptions revealed in this study highlights challenges in the development and implementation of national-level energy policy and also specific challenges in the deployment of CCS. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]