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.
The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (CT) seeks applications for its U.S./Canada Citizens’ Summit for Sustainable Development, slated for March 24-25, 2012. Leading to the upcoming 
AASHE has partnered with Earth Day Network for the launch of MobilizeU, an international collegiate competition calling upon students to mobilize their campus communities around four weeks of environmental activism surrounding Earth Day 2012 (March 29 – April 29). Students worldwide are encouraged to join the movement as a regional coordinator or school coordinator and organize activities including campus clean-ups, new voter registration drives and Earth Day events. Coordinators will share a photo or video documenting their efforts on the 
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