Social Science and the Alternative Energy Future: A Workshop Proposal to the National Science Foundation

美国文理科学院社会科学与替代能源的未来：向国家科学基金会提交的研讨会提案项目摘要：迫切需要确定采用新能源技术的法律、社会和经济障碍，并评估如何使用社会科学开发的工具更好地理解和管理这些障碍。为了满足这一需求，美国科学院将于2011年5月19日至20日在华盛顿特区召开“社会科学与替代能源未来”研讨会，确定未来社会科学研究的优先领域，并为弥合能源和社会科学界之间的差距提出建议。研讨会将汇集社会科学家、科学家和工程师、法律学者、商界领袖和政府官员，探讨将从进一步的社会科学研究中受益的问题，并了解如何将社会科学专业知识更有效地应用于能源政策的制定。智力优势：美国国家科学院和其他机构此前的研究得出结论，能源系统必须经历转型变革，以确保能源系统的可负担性、安全性和可持续性。现有技术基础设施的转型变革也需要对经济、社会和法律结构进行变革，然而，这些必要变革背后的许多社会因素尚未得到充分解决。本次研讨会将考虑四个关键问题，这些问题将需要社会科学家的新思维，以满足政策制定者的需求，而其他研究尚未充分解决这些问题：能源系统的转型将如何影响个人和社区的决策？法规需要如何改变以支持新能源技术？什么样的治理框架将有助于长期维持能源政策？改变能源系统对其他物理系统（包括生态系统和自然资源）会产生什么影响？更广泛的影响：研讨会的最终报告将审查现有的社会科学研究，确定未来研究的优先领域，并为加强社会科学家和能源政策制定者之间的交流提出建议。通过在以前孤立的专业团体之间建立新的跨学科合作，该研讨会将为政府的政策制定和非政府组织的研究活动提供信息，并将提高公众对替代能源技术的社会风险和利益的认识。

American Academy of Arts and SciencesSocial Science and the Alternative Energy Future: A workshop proposal to the National Science FoundationPROJECT SUMMARYThere is a critical need to identify the legal, social, and economic barriers to the adoption of new energy technologies and to assess how they might be better understood and managed using tools developed by the social sciences. To address this need, the American Academy will convene a workshop on "Social Science and the Alternative Energy Future" on May 19-20, 2011, in Washington, D.C., that will identify priority areas for future social science research and develop recommendations for bridging the gap between the energy and the social science communities. The workshop will bring together social scientists, scientists and engineers, legal scholars, business leaders, and government officials to investigate issues that will benefit from further social science research and to understand how social science expertise can be more effectively applied to the development of energy policy.Intellectual Merit: Previous studies from the National Academies and others have concluded that the energy system must undergo transformational change to ensure an affordable, secure, and sustainable energy system. Transformational change of the existing technological infrastructure will require changes to economic, social, and legal structures as well, yet many of the societal considerations underlying these necessary changes have not been adequately addressed. This workshop will consider four key issues that will require new thinking from social scientists in order to meet the needs of policy-makers, and that have not been adequately addressed by other studies:1. How will the transformation of the energy system affect the decisions made by individuals and communities?2. How do regulations need to change to support new energy technologies?3. What governance framework will help sustain energy policies over the long term?4. What will be the effect of changing the energy system on other physical systems, including ecosystems and natural resources?Broader Impact: The final workshop report will review existing social science research, identify priority areas for future research, and develop recommendations for increasing communication between social scientists and energy policy-makers. By creating new interdisciplinary collaborations between previously-isolated professional communities, this workshop will inform governmental policy development and the research initiatives of nongovernmental organizations, and will increase public awareness of the societal risks and benefits of alternative energy technologies.