Graduate Exit Seminar via Zoom - Anne Junod

Plan to join via Zoom Anne Junod's graduate exit seminar on Thursday, July 2, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. Anne will present, "Risks, Attitudes, and Discourses in Hydrocarbon Transportation Communities: Oil by Rail and the United States’ Shale Energy Revolution."

Abstract:

The ongoing shale energy revolution has transformed global energy markets and positioned the United States as a leader in oil and natural gas production for the first time in generations. However, little scholarly attention has been directed toward the downstream impacts of these developments on the people and places which experience energy export activity, particularly those in rail export corridors. This research presents a first-of-its kind, cross-regional comparative analysis of community risks, perceptions, energy and environmental attitudes, and related discourses in oil train export corridor communities. The mixed-methods design uses household-level survey data (N=571), interview data (N=58), and news media content analysis data (N=149), to address three key knowledge gaps regarding impacts of and attitudes toward oil by rail in examining: 1) the influences and distributions of support, opposition, and concern to oil by rail; 2) views toward hydrocarbon exports and broader energy preferences; and 3) dominant news media and stakeholder discourses concerning oil train activity. Results and recommendations include the identification of community risk perceptions, vulnerabilities, and energy and export attitudes and are discussed in the context of their contribution to the risk perception and environmental sociology fields..

Advisor: Dr. Jeffrey B. Jacquet