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

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  • Sarah Mittlefehldt

    (Northern Michigan University)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah Mittlefehldt, 2018. "From appropriate technology to the clean energy economy: renewable energy and environmental politics since the 1970s," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 8(2), pages 212-219, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jenvss:v:8:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s13412-018-0471-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s13412-018-0471-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Grossman,Peter Z., 2013. "US Energy Policy and the Pursuit of Failure," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107005174, September.
    2. Grossman,Peter Z., 2013. "US Energy Policy and the Pursuit of Failure," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521182188, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jae Yun Jeong & Inje Kang & Ki Seok Choi & Byeong-Hee Lee, 2018. "Network Analysis on Green Technology in National Research and Development Projects in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-12, April.
    2. Sarah Mittlefehldt & Erin Bunting & Emily Huff & Joseph Welsh & Robert Goodwin, 2021. "New Methods for Assessing Sustainability of Wood-Burning Energy Facilities: Combining Historical and Spatial Approaches," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-18, November.
    3. Galina S. CHEBOTAREVA & Wadim STRIELKOWSKI & Viktor A. BLAGININ, 2019. "The renewable energy market: Companies’ development and profitability," Upravlenets, Ural State University of Economics, vol. 10(3), pages 58-69, July.
    4. Yu Hao & Shang Gao & Yunxia Guo & Zhiqiang Gai & Haitao Wu, 2021. "Measuring the nexus between economic development and environmental quality based on environmental Kuznets curve: a comparative study between China and Germany for the period of 2000–2017," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(11), pages 16848-16873, November.
    5. Sokołowski, Maciej M. & Heffron, Raphael J., 2022. "Defining and conceptualising energy policy failure: The when, where, why, and how," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).

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