CAREER: Political-Industrial Ecology of Petrochemicals: Energy Metabolism, Landscapes and Governance

该项目将调查与页岩气盆地资源开发相关的区域转型。这些地区的石化产品是通过化学加工乙烷（页岩气中含有的副产品）来生产的，乙烷是制造塑料的原料。该项目将通过以下活动研究社会和环境关系：1）分析沿着石化供应链的潜在环境影响; 2）与政府、工业、民间社会和学术代表举行利益相关者研讨会，以确定石化发展的不同观点; 3）创建石化走廊的沉浸式虚拟实地考察; 4）设计关于页岩气盆地能源历史的在线课程;并利用研究，推广和教育组成部分，以确定石化发展的潜在负面社会环境后果和减轻这些影响的机制。该项目将利用政治工业生态学的理论和方法，地理学的一个新兴分支领域政治-工业生态学旨在考虑自然资源开发与其更广泛的政治经济，历史和环境背景的关系。通过这一政治-产业生态框架，该项目将：A）对石化供应链进行空间上明确的物质和能量流分析; B）对规范石化走廊的不同联邦、州、市法规和私营治理实践进行比较治理分析; C）对考虑系统风险和累积影响的替代治理安排进行情景分析。总的来说，该项目将创造一个新的理解之间的相互关系的环境系统，生计和监管的做法，在石化producingregions.This奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得的支持，通过评估使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

This project will investigate regional transformation associated with resource development in shale gas basins. Petrochemicals in these regions are produced by chemically processing ethane, a by-product contained in shale gas, into inputs for manufacturing plastics. This project will study social and environmental relationships through the following activities: 1) analyze the potential environmental impacts along petrochemical supply chains; 2) stakeholder workshops with government, industry, civil society, and academic representatives to identify diverse perspectives on petrochemical development; 3) create an immersive virtual fieldtrip of petrochemical corridors; 4) design an online course on the energy history of shale gas basins; and draw on research, outreach and education components to identify potential negative socio-environmental outcomes of petrochemical development and mechanisms to mitigate those impacts.The project will utilize theory and methods from political-industrial ecology, an emerging sub-field of geography. Political-industrial ecology aims to consider natural resource development in relation to their broader political-economic, historic, and environmental contexts. Through this political-industrial ecology framework the project will: A) produce a spatially explicit material and energy flow analysis of the petrochemical supply chain; B) develop a comparative governance analysis of the different federal, state, municipal regulations and private governance practices regulating petrochemical corridors; and C) perform scenario analysis of alternative governance arrangements that consider systemic risk and cumulative impacts. Collectively, the project will create a novel understanding of the inter-relationships between environmental systems, livelihoods and regulatory practices in petrochemical producing regions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.