Forests as Fuel: Energy, Landscape, Climate, and Race in the U.S. South

Hitchner, Sarah; Schelhas, John; Brosius, J. Peter

ISBN 10: 1793632340 / ISBN 13: 9781793632340

Published by Lexington Books, 2022

In. Seller Inventory # ria9781793632340_new

Synopsis:

In the US South, wood-based bioenergy schemes are being promoted and implemented through a powerful vision merging social, environmental, and economic benefits for rural, forest-dependent communities. While this dominant narrative has led to heavy investment in experimental technologies and rural development, many complexities and complications have emerged during implementation. Forests as Fuel draws on extensive multi-sited ethnography to ground the story of wood-based bioenergy in the biophysical, economic, political, social, and cultural landscape of this region. This book contextualizes energy issues within the history and potential futures of the region’s forested landscapes, highlighting the impacts of varying perceptions of climate change and complex racial dynamics. Eschewing simple answers, the authors illuminate the points of friction that occur as competing visions of bioenergy development confront each other to variously support, reshape, contest, or reject bioenergy development. Building on recent conceptual advances in studies of sociotechnical imaginaries, environmental history, and energy justice, the authors present a careful and nuanced analysis that can provide guidance for promoting meaningful participation of local community members in renewable energy policy and production while recognizing the complex interplay of factors affecting its implementation in local places.

About the Authors: Sarah Hitchner is assistant research scientist and adjunct professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Georgia.

John Schelhas is research forester with the Southern Research Station of the USDA Forest Service.

J. Peter Brosius is distinguished research professor of anthropology at the University of Georgia and founding director of the University of Georgia's Center for Integrative Conservation Research.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Forests as Fuel: Energy, Landscape, Climate,...
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication Date: 2022
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: New