From appropriate technology to the clean energy economy: renewable energy and environmental politics since the 1970s

Sarah Mittlefehldt ()
Additional contact information
Sarah Mittlefehldt: Northern Michigan University

Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 2018, vol. 8, issue 2, No 11, 212-219

Abstract: Abstract Although many people think of the current transition to a lower carbon economy as a process that has just begun, this movement has historical roots. This paper examines how different ideological and political frameworks shaped the development of renewable technologies in the USA since the energy crises of the 1970s. Public discourse about renewable energy embodied conflicting ideas about how to manage natural resources and different plans for distributing political power in society. Questions about the appropriate role of government in shaping energy futures also influenced the politics of renewable technologies. Illuminating the hidden ideological and political dynamics that surrounded energy policy in this formative era helps us to see the barriers involved in our current energy transition as part of a broader historical continuum. By revealing how different political and environmental goals shaped—and in some ways limited—the transition away from fossil fuels in the late twentieth century, this research demonstrates the importance of history for thinking about current sustainability challenges.

Keywords: Historical perspective; Energy transitions; Renewable technology; Environmental politics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13412-018-0471-z Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:jenvss:v:8:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s13412-018-0471-z

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/13412

DOI: 10.1007/s13412-018-0471-z

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences is currently edited by Walter A. Rosenbaum

More articles in Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences from Springer, Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().