The Winds of Change: Environmental Justice in Energy Transitions

Evolution of the environmental justice movement: activism, formalization and differentiation

“…Energy production and environmental justice have long been linked through the history of controversies surrounding the siting of heavy pollutionproducing energy facilities such as coal fired power plants and oil refineries (Ottinger 2013). For many years grassroots activists have also pointed to the disproportionate impact of the long-term consequences of global energy choices on low income and minority populations (Scholsberg and Collins 2014).…”

Public views on renewable energy in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States: Distinct attitudes, exposure, and other key predictors of wind energy

“…Understanding how and why local residents respond to nearby large-scale renewable energy generation systems is an important factor in paving the way for a smoother transition to a renewable energy future. Not only can public acceptance of renewable systems influence the rate of development, but understanding the experiences of individuals and communities residing near large-scale renewable energy facilities is critical since, as is the case for fossil-fuel based energy production, adverse impacts may arise that highlight issues of power, rural disparity, and environmental justice [38]. Furthermore, debates over local renewable energy development have been shown to be complex, multifaceted, and qualified by a range of contextual factors [11,52,4], such as impacts on the local economy, local landscape aesthetics, and community autonomy.…”

Emerging Renewable Energy Landscapes in Southern European Countries

“…10 by Afonso and Mendes in this volume), as was hydropower at the turn of the nineteenth century. Yet wind power, by virtue of scale, has also been the fi rst decentralised energy technology to 'concentrate hazards-in the form of very large clusters of very large turbines-while distributing the benefi t of electricity primarily to faroff populations who do not experience… the altered views, land-use changes, ecosystem damage, noise, optical effects, and risk of accidents that come from the 400-foot high structures' (Ottinger 2013 ). Last but not least, wind power has been the fi rst energy technology to materialise a new political and economic order in rural Europe: the increasing liberalisation of the electricity market and sector.…”