Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 202 Document Number: D12116
Notes:
Online from the website of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona. 3 pages., Author describes four things for reporters to keep in mind as context when covering jobs in the energy sector of society.
35 pages, Despite the significance and growth of wind energy as a major source of renewable energy, research on the risks of wind turbines in the form of accidents and failures has attracted limited attention. Research that applies data analytics methodologically in this context is scarce. The research presented here, upon construction of a text corpus of 721 selected wind turbine accident and failure news reports, develops and applies a custom-developed data analytics framework that integrates tabular analysis, visualization, text mining, and machine learning. Topic modeling was applied for the first time to identify and classify recurring themes in wind turbine accident news, and association mining was applied to identify contextual terms associated with death and injury. The tabular and visual analyses relate accidents to location (offshore vs. onshore), wind turbine life cycle phases (transportation, construction, operation, and maintenance), and the incidence of death and injury. As one of the insights, more incidents were found to occur during operation and transportation. Through topic modeling, topics associated most with deaths and injuries were revealed. The results could benefit wind turbine manufacturers, service providers, energy companies, insurance companies, government bodies, non-profit organizations, researchers, and other stakeholders in the wind energy sector.
7 pages., via online journal., This essay comments and expands upon an emerging area of research,
energy communication, that shares with environmental communication
the fraught commitment to simultaneously study communication as
an ordinary yet potentially transformative practice, and a strategic
endeavour to catalyse change. We begin by defining and situating energy
communication within ongoing work on the discursive dimensions of
energy extraction, production, distribution, and consumption. We then
offer three generative directions for future research related to energy
transitions as communicative processes: analysing campaigns’ strategic
efforts, critically theorizing energy’s transnational power dynamics, and
theorizing the energy democracy movement.
USA: Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, Arizona State University, Phoenix.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 166 Document Number: D11683
Notes:
3 pages., Via online article., Description of proposed legislation in support of efforts to implement environmental/green practices and technologies. Describes seven features of the Green New Deal and provides questions reporters might ask in gather information about it.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 151 Document Number: D10054
Notes:
1 page., Via AAEA Byline newsletter. From the website, "Freelancer by Contenting.", Announces a calculator which provides an estimate for freelance rates on written assignments across multiple publications, verticals, and formats. Article provides live link to the calculator.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 133 Document Number: D11392
Notes:
25 pages., Via online., "National survey by Pew Research Center, conducted March 27-April 9 among 2,541 adults, finds pockets of partisan agreement over expanding solar and wind power, though wide political divides remain over increasing fossil fuels through such methods as coal mining, hydraulic fracturing and offshore drilling for oil and natural gas, a pattern consistent with a 2016 Pew Research Center survey."
13 pages., via online journal., News reporting on sustainability has been criticized for (1) having a limited
coverage of solutions, (2) reporting on solutions with a negative bias, (3)
being dominated by sources from government and mainstream
business, and (4) promoting frames that prioritize the role of the market
and techno-scientific solutions, which leave unchallenged the
unsustainable behavior of consumer societies and the focus on
economic growth. This study was the first to examine how sustainability
is reported in a constructive media outlet and found that articles (1)
consistently elaborated solutions, (2) described them in optimistic ways,
(3) quoted various sources, and (4) developed a frame that challenged
consumerism and critiqued society’s preoccupation with growth while
helping to imagine a desirable sustainable future. It is thus argued that
this novel, constructive approach to journalism can help move society to
a sustainable future by expanding the repertoire of culturally-resonant
stories to live by.
3 pages., "Given my years of energy reporting in California, I could spot several warning signs early on; others took additional reporting to uncover."
22 pages., via online journal., This study investigates German news media coverage and PR material of offshore wind
stakeholders from industry, politics, science and civil society thoroughly to provide
insights about offshore wind benefits and risks communicated frequently and rarely to
the public. By comparative analyses, differences between stakeholder and media
messages are revealed: while stakeholders strongly focused on the supportive argument
relevance of offshore wind for the energy turnaround, the media often discussed the
negative impacts higher costs and delays in grid connection. Furthermore, the influence
of offshore wind arguments on acceptance is measured within a survey representative of
the German population. With these results, it can be assessed how far influential
arguments were presented and which messages have been used frequently despite their
low impact. Disruptions to viewscapes, limitation of commercial fishing areas, and
hazards to shipping proved to be effective a
2 pages., Summary of results from a survey among British citizens inviting attitudes toward food and farming. First such research effort by the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists.
Online from publisher. 4 pages., "Building trust in food begins with empowering farmers through one of the largest and most diverse conservation- and sustainability-focused pulic-private partnerships in our nation's history."
Available online at www.centmapress.org, Bio-economy describes an economy based on renewable instead of fossil resources. Findings identified three perspectives: "sufficiency and close affinity to nature," technological progress" and "Not at any price."
5pgs, At a central Illinois feed mill, electricity from its rural electric co-op was exceeding grain costs as its biggest operating expense. With a new 3-megawatt solar array, the facility expects to reduce energy costs by about 50%.
26 pages., Article #: 113429., via online journal., Aspects of sustainability and social justice deserve special attention in the research and innovation landscape in Europe. In this vein, the inclusion of innovative research and innovation policies, such as Responsible Research and Innovation, devoted to mainstream social outcomes, to deploy democratic governance of science, and to drive innovation into a direction that is ethically acceptable, societally desirable and sustainable are noteworthy. However, substantial efforts are required when it comes to integrate the interactions between renewable energy research and energy and climate policies within responsible approaches. In order to adapt responsible research and innovation approach for the purpose of building an alternative context and assessment approach for sustainable transitions, this paper presents a review of approaches around sustainability and social justice dimensions. The thresholds of this endeavour are detailed in terms of the challenges for the integration, the identification of the inhibitors and facilitators of policy integration and the proposal of the levels for a methodology for this integration. The results show that the different readings and understanding of the contexts and dimensions and the existence of knowledge gaps between policy targets and the outcomes of research and innovation can be considered inhibitors for the integration. In contrast the interlinks between dimensional concepts, backgrounds and rationales appear as facilitators. The innovative contribution of this paper is focused on the contextualization of the dimensions through the use of socio-technical and multi/inter/trans and cross-disciplinary approaches. The authors conclude that the process of introducing a more holistic and alternative approach opens the re-envision of policy elements. Moreover, RRI offers an innovative perspective to the transition approach as well as tools for decision-making and policy processes assessment, in an arena where constant innovation is taking place and new structures, processes and metrics are necessary to guide this process.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 133 Document Number: D11393
Notes:
15 pages., Online research report., Reports findings of a survey of 3,627 U.S. adults, October 1-13, 2019. Democrats mostly agreed the federal government should do more on climate, while Republicans differed by ideology, age and gender
16 pages., via online journal., Synthetic biology will probably have a high impact on a variety of fields, such as healthcare, environment, biofuels, agriculture, and so on. A driving theme in European research policy is the importance of maintaining public legitimacy and support. Media can influence public attitudes and are therefore an important object of study. Through qualitative content analysis, this study investigates the press coverage of synthetic biology in the major Nordic countries between 2009 and 2014. The press coverage was found to be event-driven and there were striking similarities between countries when it comes to framing, language use, and treated themes. Reporters showed a marked dependence on their sources, mainly scientists and stakeholders, who thus drives the media agenda. The media portrayal was very positive, with an optimistic look at future benefits and very little discussion of possible risks.
15 pages, Integrating renewable energy (RE) technologies into agriculture can contribute to attaining sustainable production. Farmers’ adoption of RE in agriculture can lead to substantial reductions in Greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions as well as providing alternative income sources for farmers, and reliable energy supplies for farms and households. Policies can facilitate, support, or encourage farmers’ adoption of RE. However, it is not clear what policies currently exist which facilitate or promote the adoption of RE technologies in Ghanaian agriculture. This paper aims to identify policies in Ghana that can facilitate the adoption of RE in agricultural production. A policy review was conducted to identify such policies, evaluate their potential impact on RE adoption, and suggest paths to enhance RE adoption by farmers. These policies are focused on two aspects: 1) promoting solar energy and 2) the conversion of agricultural waste to energy. Noting limitations including the underdevelopment of the RE sector and the lack of a central policy to promote RE utilization in Ghanaian agriculture, the review suggests that policymakers need to fully implement provisions of the Renewable Energy Act-(832) (2011) through the application of, for example, policy levers such as subsidies, tax exemptions, financing, and training potential end-users in the agricultural community.
15 pages., via online journal., Jeju, an island in Korea, became a place to site wind turbines with an unusually high level of public acceptance. Based on interviews, media analyses, and policy research, we found that the collective memory of socio-economic deprivation enabled community engagement to matter to residents, the provincial government, and environmental activists. It was within socio-historically contextualized processes of articulating the vision of a “good” society that an actual form of community engagement, however inadequate it might appear to some, became relevant to stakeholders in a particular locality. We emphasize that community engagement in renewable energy governance does not have one but multiple and situated ways of mattering depending on local contexts.