Maria Petrova speaks…
Monday, March 12, 2012
12:30-1:45
Goddard 310 (Crowe Room)
The Fletcher School, 160 Packard Avenue, Medford
(a light lunch will be served)

View the event flyer here

Open to the public. Convened by the Energy, Climate, and Innovation Program of the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy at Fletcher.

Photo: “Say no to wind farm” credits: Gareth D. Jones,
www.njtoday.net  January 4, 2012

The acronym NIMBY, known to stand for “not-in-my-back-yard,” is generally used for describing resistance to siting projects close to one’s area of residence while exhibiting acceptance of similar projects elsewhere. As wind energy continues to be recognized as a successful technology for mitigating climate change, the siting of wind turbines is a growing challenge that policy makers, facility planners and wind developers face. Social science researchers have been examining NIMBY attitudes for the last three decades from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives because of the complexity of the issues and the multifaceted nature  of  this  phenomenon.  This presentation will review the state of knowledge and answer this particular question: Is the conventional wisdom that NIMBY-ism is so pervasive that no new energy facilities can be constructed in the U.S. correct?

Maria Petrova’s research involves analyzing U.S. climate and renewable energy policy from a socio-economic and policy perspective. More specifically, she summarizes and reviews U.S. public perceptions of renewable energy technologies (RETs), the impact of social networks on public opinion, and conceptualizing renewable energy values. Dr. Petrova came to CIERP from Oregon State University, where she completed her PhD in Environmental Science in 2010. Her doctoral dissertation focused on public acceptability of wave energy technology in Oregon. Her main interests are in public opinion and acceptability of RETs, as well as the policies that need to be in place to advance RET development and deployment. She is also interested in comparative RET policy studies, mainly between the U.S. and countries in the EU.