scholarly journals U.S. Energy Independence With Lower Emissions

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-48
Author(s):  
Wes Williams ◽  
Balasundram Maniam ◽  
Geetha Subramaniam
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Wind Power ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Public ◽  
Energy Independence ◽  
Hydrogen Fuels ◽  
Over Time

Energy Independence as well as concern for carbon emissions are policy topics that have been frequently discussed on the public stage. This paper analyzes the possibility of creating an energy portfolio that will achieve energy independence while reducing carbon emissions and how that portfolio is likely to change over time. Domestic oil, hydrogen fuels, domestic natural gas, hydropower, wind power, solar power, and nuclear power are the fuels discussed to make up the energy portfolio that will eliminate the United States dependence on foreign oil while reducing the carbon emissions generated during the production of energy.

The New Economic Populism and the Future of Inequality in the United States

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
William W. Franko ◽  
Christopher Witko
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Labor Unions ◽  
Republican Party ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Public ◽  
Empirical Results ◽  
Income Disparities ◽  
The Face ◽  
Over Time

The authors conclude the book by recapping their arguments and empirical results, and discussing the possibilities for the “new economic populism” to promote egalitarian economic outcomes in the face of continuing gridlock and the dominance of Washington, DC’s policymaking institutions by business and the wealthy, and a conservative Republican Party. Many states are actually addressing inequality now, and these policies are working. Admittedly, many states also continue to embrace the policies that have contributed to growing inequality, such as tax cuts for the wealthy or attempting to weaken labor unions. But as the public grows more concerned about inequality, the authors argue, policies that help to address these income disparities will become more popular, and policies that exacerbate inequality will become less so. Over time, if history is a guide, more egalitarian policies will spread across the states, and ultimately to the federal government.

scholarly journals Author Middle Initial Correction: "Desensitization to Fear-Inducing COVID-19 Health News on Twitter: Observational Study" (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Stevens ◽  
Yoo Jung Oh ◽  
Laramie D Taylor
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Health News ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Third ◽  
Death Toll ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
Initial Correction ◽  
Over Time

BACKGROUND As of May 9, 2021, the United States had 32.7 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 (20.7% of confirmed cases worldwide) and 580,000 deaths (17.7% of deaths worldwide). Early on in the pandemic, widespread social, financial, and mental insecurities led to extreme and irrational coping behaviors, such as panic buying. However, despite the consistent spread of COVID-19 transmission, the public began to violate public safety measures as the pandemic got worse. OBJECTIVE In this work, we examine the effect of fear-inducing news articles on people’s expression of anxiety on Twitter. Additionally, we investigate desensitization to fear-inducing health news over time, despite the steadily rising COVID-19 death toll. METHODS This study examined the anxiety levels in news articles (n=1465) and corresponding user tweets containing “COVID,” “COVID-19,” “pandemic,” and “coronavirus” over 11 months, then correlated that information with the death toll of COVID-19 in the United States. RESULTS Overall, tweets that shared links to anxious articles were more likely to be anxious (odds ratio [OR] 2.65, 95% CI 1.58-4.43, P<.001). These odds decreased (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.2-0.83, P=.01) when the death toll reached the third quartile and fourth quartile (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.21-0.85, P=.01). However, user tweet anxiety rose rapidly with articles when the death toll was low and then decreased in the third quartile of deaths (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.37-1.01, P=.06). As predicted, in addition to the increasing death toll being matched by a lower level of article anxiety, the extent to which article anxiety elicited user tweet anxiety decreased when the death count reached the second quartile. CONCLUSIONS The level of anxiety in users’ tweets increased sharply in response to article anxiety early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, but as the casualty count climbed, news articles seemingly lost their ability to elicit anxiety among readers. Desensitization offers an explanation for why the increased threat is not eliciting widespread behavioral compliance with guidance from public health officials. This work investigated how individuals' emotional reactions to news of the COVID-19 pandemic manifest as the death toll increases. Findings suggest individuals became desensitized to the increased COVID-19 threat and their emotional responses were blunted over time.

Communicating About Climate Change, Natural Gas Development, and “Fracking”: U.S. and International Perspectives

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher E. Clarke ◽  
Dylan Budgen ◽  
Darrick T.N. Evensen ◽  
Richard C. Stedman ◽  
Hilary S. Boudet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
The United States ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
The Public

The impacts associated with unconventional natural gas development (UGD) via hydraulic fracturing have generated considerable controversy and introduced terms such as “fracking” into the public lexicon. From a climate change perspective, transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable sources in order to potentially avoid the worst consequences of a warming planet will need to also consider the climate implications of increased UGD and natural gas use that follows. Specifically, how much greenhouse gas is emitted as natural gas is extracted, transported, and consumed relative to other energy sources? Is UGD a “cleaner” energy source? Compared to what? Does it postpone or “bridge” the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy? Public perception of UGD’s climate impacts not only reflect individual attitudes but broader social discourse among stakeholder groups. Understanding these perceptions, their psychological and social factors antecedents, and how to engage audiences on this topic will play a key role in UGD’s long-term trajectory, especially as it relates to climate change. An added challenge is that most public opinion studies specific to UGD’s climate impacts (and indeed UGD in general) are limited to the United States, Canada, and a few countries in Europe and Africa, with other parts of the world entirely absent. Nonetheless, the studies that do exist highlight several common themes. In particular, UGD tends to be viewed as cleaner relative to fossil fuels because of the belief it produces less carbon emissions as a result of natural gas extraction and consumption. However, it tends to be viewed as dirtier relative to renewables amid the belief that it increases carbon emissions. This finding complements research showing that natural gas occupies a middle ground between renewables and other fossil fuels in terms of acceptance. Moreover, the extent UGD serves as a bridge energy source remains contentious, with some arguing that it and the natural gas it produces complement fossil fuels and facilitates a transition to renewables, while others claim that UGD entrenches society’s continued reliance on the former. Overall, despite the contentious nature of these issues, UGD’s climate impacts appear less salient across countries than other health, environmental, and economic impacts, perhaps because they are psychologically distant and difficult to experience directly. Amid efforts to convey the public health risks associated with a changing climate, we believe that emphasizing the public health dimensions of UGD’s climate impacts can potentially make them more psychologically tangible. Positively framed messages emphasize that reducing carbon emissions tied to both unconventional natural gas extraction and natural gas consumption (relative to other fossil fuels) and thus mitigating the resultant climate change that follows benefits public health. Conversely, negatively framed messages emphasize that increasing carbon emissions (relative to renewables) and thus amplifying the resultant climate change adversely affects public health. At present, though, there is little evidence as to how these messages affect the perceived connection between UGD’s climate impacts and public health and, in turn, support for UGD versus other energy types. Nor is it clear how these outcomes may vary across countries based on public sentiment toward UGD and climate change along with a variety of psychological and social factors that influence such sentiment. Data available for some countries offers tantalizing scenarios, but we remain limited due to the lack of social science research in countries outside the United States and a handful of others. We call for cross-national comparative studies that include places where UGD—and social science research on it—is still maturing.

scholarly journals Changing picture of energy generation in Australia and the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 232 ◽  
pp. 01004
Author(s):  
Lee L. Riedinger
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Energy Generation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Large Source ◽  
Government Leadership ◽  
Nuclear Component

The energy portfolio is changing for both the United States and Australia. Both countries are rich in fossil fuel reserves and both depend on burning them as a large source of energy. Both export coal and natural gas. Both are moving to more renewable supply of energy, although with different drivers and different degrees of government leadership. The United States has a sizeable nuclear component to its energy generation portfolio, but Australia does not due to a legal prohibition. How each country meets its goals of reduced carbon emissions (official or unofficial goals) is not clear at this time.

scholarly journals Desensitization to Fear-Inducing COVID-19 Health News on Twitter: Observational Study

10.2196/26876 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. e26876
Author(s):  
Hannah R Stevens ◽  
Yoo Jung Oh ◽  
Laramie D Taylor
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Coping Behaviors ◽  
Health News ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Third ◽  
Death Toll ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
Over Time

Background As of May 9, 2021, the United States had 32.7 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 (20.7% of confirmed cases worldwide) and 580,000 deaths (17.7% of deaths worldwide). Early on in the pandemic, widespread social, financial, and mental insecurities led to extreme and irrational coping behaviors, such as panic buying. However, despite the consistent spread of COVID-19 transmission, the public began to violate public safety measures as the pandemic got worse. Objective In this work, we examine the effect of fear-inducing news articles on people’s expression of anxiety on Twitter. Additionally, we investigate desensitization to fear-inducing health news over time, despite the steadily rising COVID-19 death toll. Methods This study examined the anxiety levels in news articles (n=1465) and corresponding user tweets containing “COVID,” “COVID-19,” “pandemic,” and “coronavirus” over 11 months, then correlated that information with the death toll of COVID-19 in the United States. Results Overall, tweets that shared links to anxious articles were more likely to be anxious (odds ratio [OR] 2.65, 95% CI 1.58-4.43, P<.001). These odds decreased (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.2-0.83, P=.01) when the death toll reached the third quartile and fourth quartile (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.21-0.85, P=.01). However, user tweet anxiety rose rapidly with articles when the death toll was low and then decreased in the third quartile of deaths (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.37-1.01, P=.06). As predicted, in addition to the increasing death toll being matched by a lower level of article anxiety, the extent to which article anxiety elicited user tweet anxiety decreased when the death count reached the second quartile. Conclusions The level of anxiety in users’ tweets increased sharply in response to article anxiety early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, but as the casualty count climbed, news articles seemingly lost their ability to elicit anxiety among readers. Desensitization offers an explanation for why the increased threat is not eliciting widespread behavioral compliance with guidance from public health officials. This work investigated how individuals' emotional reactions to news of the COVID-19 pandemic manifest as the death toll increases. Findings suggest individuals became desensitized to the increased COVID-19 threat and their emotional responses were blunted over time.

Anthony Downs, “Up and Down with Ecology: The ‘Issue-Attention’ Cycle”

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuhika Gupta ◽  
Hank Jenkins-Smith
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Environmental Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Domestic Policy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Seminal Paper ◽  
The Public ◽  
Issue Attention ◽  
Over Time

This chapter comments on Anthony Downs’s 1972 seminal paper “Up and Down with Ecology: The ‘Issue-Attention’ Cycle,” which tackles the concept of “public” or “issue” attention. Focusing on domestic policy, particularly environmental policy in the United States, Downs describes a process called “issue-attention cycle,” by which the public gains and loses interest in a particular issue over time. This chapter summarizes studies that directly put Downs’s propositions to the test, laying emphasis on research that probes the existence of and interrelationships among the public attention cycle, media attention cycle, and government attention cycle. It then reviews the main arguments put forward by Downs before concluding with a discussion of promising avenues for future research as well as important theoretical and methodological questions that need further elucidation.

Nuclear Power and Coal: An Unexpected Marriage

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael F. Keller
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
The United States ◽  
Coal Resources ◽  
Hybrid Technology ◽  
Energy Independence ◽  
Change Concerns ◽  
New Facilities

America possesses hundreds of years of low-cost coal resources that are becoming increasingly unpopular due to climate-change concerns. The promise of the nuclear gas reactor also remains out-of-reach as a result of technical and cost considerations, while the high cost of conventional nuclear power greatly hampers the building of new facilities. Hybrid-nuclear power is an unexpected breakthrough solution to the growing energy and climate change dilemmas. The emerging hybrid technology can help revitalize the coal as well as nuclear industries while also significantly helping the United States achieve energy independence.

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