Author Archives: dougbessette

Moving toward a sustainable global society requires substantial change in both social and technological systems. This sustainability is dependent not only on addressing the environmental impacts of current social and technological systems, but also on addressing the social, economic and political harms that continue to be perpetuated through systematic forms of oppression and the exclusionContinue reading “Understanding Socio-Technological Systems Change through an Indigenous Community-Based Participatory Framework”

Prepared for the Michigan Energy Office Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy This report identifies the most commonly mentioned values, benefits, and concerns associated with utility-scale wind and solar development projects, as identified over the course of a 3-month pilot project in the State of Michigan (MI). Bessette and DePew attended 11 public meetingsContinue reading “Tracking Renewable Energy Values, Benefits, and Concerns in Michigan: In the Media and at Public Meetings”

“We need to build a lot of wind turbines. Will Americans agree to live near them?” Emilie Pontecorvo reviews Dr. Mills’ and my research on Grist and its implications for a clean energy transition.

Using the psychometric paradigm of risk in conjunction with surveys of the Michigan public (n = 638) and a regional planning organization (n = 65), we examine the perceived risk and concerns associated with underwater oil pipelines, the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline in particular, and oil spills under ice. The fate of Line 5 isContinue reading “The perceived risk of the Line 5 Pipeline and spills under ice”

Utility-scale wind energy is now the largest source of renewable electricity in the US. Wind energy’s continued growth remains contingent upon finding adequate resource potential and transmission capacity, along with communities willing to host turbines. While previous research on the social acceptance of wind has relied predominantly on case studies, resident surveys, and reviews ofContinue reading “Farmers vs. Lakers: Agriculture, amenity, and community in predicting opposition to United States wind energy development”

Dr. Nelson reflects on his 50+ years at MSU as he approaches retirement, and Dr. Bessette shares his unique perspective as an alumni and now professor in our department.

In addition to evaluating the economic, ecological, and health impacts of major public policy initiatives, impact assessments typically also need to identify and evaluate an action’s social and cultural (S/C) impacts. A wide range of S/C metrics have been suggested, and guidelines exist to help ensure their thoughtful and comprehensive development. Nevertheless, many of theContinue reading “The promise and reality of social and cultural metrics”

The global COVID-19 pandemic is a health crisis, an economic crisis, and a justice crisis. It also brings to light multiple ongoing, underlying social crises. The COVID-19 crisis is actively revealing crises of energy sovereignty in at least four ways. First, there are many whose access to basic health services is compromised because of theContinue reading “The energy crises revealed by COVID: Intersections of Indigeneity, inequity, and health”

The concept of energy sovereignty redefines the priorities for decision making regarding energy systems while encouraging increased reliance on renewable energy technologies like solar. Energy sovereignty involves centering the inherent right of humans and communities to make decisions about the energy systems they use, including decisions about the sources, scales, and forms of ownership thatContinue reading “Energy policy for energy sovereignty: Can policy tools enhance energy sovereignty?”