RAPID: Collaborative Research: Post-Sandy Discourse about Energy Infrastructure and Security

超级风暴桑迪突显了美国能源系统的脆弱性。这场风暴导致860万客户停电，纽约和新泽西出现汽油短缺。对智能电网开发和使用的价值以及实施障碍的研究已经在进行中，来自美国四个地区的合作人员将探索桑迪是否以及如何影响有关能源基础设施和安全的政治和政策话语，以及它是否会在没有受到风暴直接影响的地区这样做。为了解决这些研究问题，这项由科学、技术和工程学院资助的快速反应基金。社会计划和能源促进可持续发展计划将记录美国四个不同地区能源部门参与者和媒体之间的对话：纽约和新泽西州(受灾最严重的地区)，马萨诸塞州(受灾较轻的新英格兰地区)，明尼苏达州(中西部地区，未受到直接影响)，以及德克萨斯州(易受飓风影响但未直接受到超级风暴桑迪破坏的海湾地区)。记录超级风暴桑迪等事件后不同地区的话语变化或稳定，将通过完善我们对自然灾害与现有通信网络如何结合来影响政治重要性的理解，为环境传播理论做出贡献。这项研究还将通过阐明桑迪等自然灾害影响社会技术向可持续发展转型的潜力，为社会技术转型文献做出贡献。研究人员的成果将使能源专业人士、州和地区规划者、政策分析师、非营利组织和企业能够制定更有效的战略，向更安全和更可持续的能源系统过渡。

Superstorm Sandy highlighted the vulnerability of US energy systems. The storm resulted in power outages to 8.6 million customers and gasoline shortages in New York and New Jersey. Extending research already underway on the values that inform Smart Grid development and use as well as barriers to implementation, collaborators from four regions in the US will explore if and how Sandy will influence political and policy discourse about energy infrastructure and security and whether it does so in regions not directly impacted by the storm. To address these research questions, this RAPID response grant, funded by the Science, Technology & Society Program and the Energy for Sustainability Program, will document discourse among energy sector actors and the media in four different U.S. regions: New York and New Jersey (those areas hardest hit), Massachusetts (a New England region which was less severely hit), Minnesota (a Midwest region which was not directly affected), and Texas (a Gulf region which is vulnerable to hurricanes but was not directly disrupted by Superstorm Sandy).Documenting discursive shifts or stability in different regions in the aftermath of an event like Superstorm Sandy will contribute to environmental communication theory by refining our understanding of how natural disasters combine with existing communication networks to influence political salience. This research will also contribute to the socio-technical transitions literature by illuminating the potential of natural disasters like Sandy to influence socio-technical transitions toward sustainability. The researchers' results will enable energy professionals, state and regional planners, policy analysts, non-profits, and businesses to develop more effective strategies for transitioning to more secure and sustainable energy systems.