TY - JOUR
T1 - Opposing wind energy landscapes
T2 - A search for common cause
AU - Pasqualetti, Martin
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2011/7
Y1 - 2011/7
N2 - Although wind power is local, sustainable, affordable, and carbon free, mounting public opposition to the landscape changes it produces threatens its expansion. In an era when many countries are looking to renewable energy as an answer to questions about national security and the risks of climate change, it is important to explain the sources of this reaction. This article looks for similarities in public resistance to wind developments in four diverse settings: Palm Springs, California; Cape Cod, Massachusetts; the Isle of Lewis, Scotland; and Oaxaca State, Mexico. Despite the natural and cultural diversity among these places, there are five common threads in the opposition that has been experienced: immobility, the site specificity of the resource; immutability, an expectation of landscape permanence; solidarity, the close relationship between people and the land; imposition, a sense of marginalization; and place identity, a loss of security. Considering more deeply the relationship between land and life, in advance of the development of renewable energy resources, will help smooth the otherwise bumpy road toward a more sustainable future.
AB - Although wind power is local, sustainable, affordable, and carbon free, mounting public opposition to the landscape changes it produces threatens its expansion. In an era when many countries are looking to renewable energy as an answer to questions about national security and the risks of climate change, it is important to explain the sources of this reaction. This article looks for similarities in public resistance to wind developments in four diverse settings: Palm Springs, California; Cape Cod, Massachusetts; the Isle of Lewis, Scotland; and Oaxaca State, Mexico. Despite the natural and cultural diversity among these places, there are five common threads in the opposition that has been experienced: immobility, the site specificity of the resource; immutability, an expectation of landscape permanence; solidarity, the close relationship between people and the land; imposition, a sense of marginalization; and place identity, a loss of security. Considering more deeply the relationship between land and life, in advance of the development of renewable energy resources, will help smooth the otherwise bumpy road toward a more sustainable future.
KW - Landscapes
KW - Place
KW - Wind energy
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U2 - 10.1080/00045608.2011.568879
DO - 10.1080/00045608.2011.568879
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79958705236
SN - 0004-5608
VL - 101
SP - 907
EP - 917
JO - Annals of the Association of American Geographers
JF - Annals of the Association of American Geographers
IS - 4
ER -