Energy Transitions & Geothermal Development

Several projects examine public views toward energy conservation and different energy technologies. Some of this research involves collaboration with faculty and staff at Cornell, which seeks to reach its carbon neutrality “net zero” goal by 2035. This work has involved investigating attitudes and behaviors of Cornell faculty, staff, graduate, and undergraduate students toward energy conservation on campus, as well as community members’ attitudes toward different strategies Cornell could use to reach carbon neutrality, which might have community impacts. Other research examines public views about the acceptability of trade-offs associated with renewable energy technologies.

A series of projects has delved into these questions in the context of geothermal energy development. Working in collaboration with researchers at University of Geneva in Switzerland, we used a cross-national survey to explore how perceptions of the deep underground impact reactions to deep geothermal and other subterranean processes in Europe and the US. Ongoing work with collaborators at the University of Edinburgh, Stirling University, and King’s College London as part of the “GEOHUB” project further explores these concepts and their implications for effective risk communication for renewable energy transitions and geothermal energy development.

Selected publications  and  presentations:

2019 SRA Annual Meeting

2019 SRA Annual Meeting