Investigation of Public Discourse Methods in Energy Policy Decision-Making: A Summary of What You Told Us and What We Learned

Analysis Team ; Eileen DeShazo ; John Freemuth ; Tina Giannini ; Troy Hall ; Ann Hunter ; Jeffrey C. Joe ; Michael Louis ; Carole Nemnich ; Jennie Newman ; Steven J. Piet ; Stephen Sorensen ; Paulina Starkey ; Kendella Vogt ; Patrick Wilson

关键词: ATTITUDES;    COAL;    DECISION MAKING;    EFFICIENCY;    ENERGY CONSERVATION;    ENERGY POLICY;    FOSSIL FUELS;    IDAHO;    LEARNING;    NATURAL GAS;    NUCLEAR ENERGY;    POWER PLANTS energy policy;    public communication;    public discource;    publi;   

DOI  :  10.2172/1004260
RP-ID  :  INL/EXT-10-19548
PID  :  OSTI ID: 1004260
Others  :  TRN: US201104%%945

学科分类：能源（综合）

美国|英语

来源: SciTech Connect

【 摘 要 】

The ground is littered with projects that failed because of strong public opposition, including natural gas and coal power plants proposed in Idaho over the past several years. This joint project , of the Idaho National Laboratory, Boise State University, Idaho State University and University of Idaho has aimed to add to the tool box to reduce project risk through encouraging the public to engage in more critical thought and be more actively involved in public or social issues. Early in a project, project managers and decision-makers can talk with no one, pro and con stakeholder groups, or members of the public. Experience has shown that talking with no one outside of the project incurs high risk because opposition stakeholders have many means to stop most (if not all) energy projects. Talking with organized stakeholder groups provides some risk reduction from mutual learning, but organized groups tend not to change positions except under conditions of a negotiated settlement. Achieving a negotiated settlement may be impossible. Furthermore, opposition often arises outside pre-existing groups. Standard public polling provides some information but does not reveal underlying motivations, intensity of attitudes, etc. Improved methods are needed that probe deeper into stakeholder (organized groups and members of the public) values and beliefs (sometimes called /heuristics) to increase the potential for change of opinions and/or out-of-box solutions. The term ???heuristics??? refers to the mental short-cuts, underlying beliefs, and paradigms that everyone uses to filter and interpret information, to interpret what is around us, and to guide our actions and decisions. This document is the final report of a 3-year effort to test different public discourse methods in the subject area of energy policy decision-making. We analyzed 504 mail-in surveys and 80 participants in groups on the Boise State University campus for their preference, financial support, and evaluations of eight attributes for energy conservation and efficiency, fossil fuels, nuclear energy, hydropower, and renewable energy. All participants saw a 7-person diverse energy expert panel. Some participants attended deliberation sessions; some received a 35-page briefing document that included pros and cons of the different energy options.