Conjuring clean energy: exposing green assumptions in media and academia

摘要

Purpose - This paper aims to present uncomfortable questions about the viability of alternative energy technologies, which arise during economic contraction but are scarcely addressed within media and academia. Design/methodology/approach - The author identifies and graphically illustrates distinct differences between media coverage of energy production and energy reduction strategies during an oil price shock beginning in 2003. Findings - In writing about alternative energy production, journalists used promising storytelling and future-oriented language to frame these technologies as solutions to climate change. Meanwhile, journalists described energy reduction strategies using mundane language anchored in the present and not as strongly linked to climate change. For example, one in seven articles associated alternative energy production with energy independence. Only 1 in 5,000 linked energy reduction strategies to energy independence. Research limitations/implications - These observations loosely illustrate a pervasive energy production ethos (a reflexive network including behaviors, symbols, expectations and material conditions). Considering this ethos during a time of economic contraction exposes hidden assumptions about alternative energy technologies and the fossil fuels that they are expected to replace, as well as numerous unasked questions. For instance, does the high cost of alternative energy ultimately reveal hidden fossil fuel use behind the curtain? Where does the high cost of alternative energy ultimately accrue, if not to fossil fuels (via labor, materials, etc.)? Practical implications - This paper presents questions that journalists, policymakers, energy researchers and students can use to critically assess energy narratives. Originality/value - This paper critically explores numerous assumptions, which undergird belief that renewable energy production will ease hardship during transitions toward contraction and degrowth.