Hydrosocial dynamics and environmental justice in water-energy transitions

为应对气候变化，能源和水系统目前正在发生重大变化。新的基础设施提案经常寻求提高能源和水供应的弹性和可持续性。然而，这些项目经常遭到公众的争议，包括对当地环境不公正的指责。本研究考察了社区、政策制定者和开发商考虑与水和能源交叉的基础设施相关的环境正义的不同方式。鉴于目前正在努力通过改变水和能源部门来减缓气候变化，该研究的重点是一个日益重要的问题。该项目将调查如何使水-能源转型和治理更加关注环境正义和社区关切。这项研究将直接吸引包括土著社区在内的社区参与，并将形成一份面向政策的报告，除学术出版物外，还包括社区提出的建议。本研究的目标是促进对拟议的水-能源关系基础设施和资源开采项目的多种观点的理解，重点是环境正义问题和对水社会变化的看法。本研究使用定性方法来了解：(1)邻近社区如何应对旨在缓解或适应气候变化的水能项目，以及相关的水社会动态变化？(2)邻近社区、政策制定者和开发商对水能基础设施相关的水文社会变化和环境正义的设想有哪些重叠和不同之处？(3)公共机构、法院、环保组织、社区组织、部落政府和其他参与水-能源治理的人是如何构建和实施环境正义的主张的？这项研究有助于更好地理解不同的参与者如何想象通过通常被认为是“绿色”的活动来重塑水文社会流动和空间，这些活动实际上涉及关键的环境正义问题。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Energy and water systems are currently undergoing significant changes in response to climate change. New infrastructure proposals frequently seek to improve resilience and sustainability of energy and water supplies. Yet, these projects are often met with public controversy, including accusations of localized environmental injustice. This research examines the different ways in which communities, policymakers, and developers think about environmental justice in relation to infrastructure at the intersection of water and energy. The research focuses on an issue of increasing importance given ongoing efforts to mitigate climate change through transforming the water and energy sectors. The project will investigate how water-energy transitions and governance can be more attentive to environmental justice and community concerns. The research will engage communities directly, including Indigenous communities, and will result in a policy-facing report with community-generated recommendations in addition to academic publications. The goal of this research is to advance understanding of the multiple perspectives on proposed water-energy nexus infrastructure and resource extraction projects, focusing on issues of environmental justice and perceptions of hydrosocial changes. The research uses qualitative methods to understand: (1) How are neighboring communities reacting to water-energy projects intended to mitigate or adapt to climate change, and the associated changes to hydrosocial dynamics? (2) What are the overlaps and differences between the ways that neighboring communities, policymakers, and developers imagine hydrosocial change and environmental justice in relation to water-energy infrastructures? (3) How are claims of environmental (in)justice framed and operationalized by public agencies, courts, environmental groups, community organizations, Tribal governments, and others involved in water-energy governance? The research contributes a stronger understanding of how different actors imagine the reshaping of hydrosocial flows and spaces through activities often considered “green” that, in practice, involve critical environmental justice issues.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.