Study of the Influential Leaders, Power Structure, Community Decisions, and Geothermal Energy Development in Imperial County, California

摘要

The economy of Imperial County, California, is now dominated by agriculture, but economic studies indicate that the emerging geothermal sector could grow to a size comparable to that of agriculture. The purpose of this study is to discover the kind of power structure operating in Imperial County, the influential leaders, the source of their power, their probable reactions to geothermal development, and the possible effects geothermal development will have on the power structure. Several social science research methods are used to identify the influential leaders and to describe the power structure in Imperial County. An analysis of the opinions of leadership and the public shows the likely response to geothermal development. The power structure analysis, combined with forecasts of the economic effects of geothermal development, indicates the ways in which the power structure itself may change. (ERA citation 06:005976)