Publications

Global climate change has prompted many national plans for rapid emissions reductions. For example, the United States recently committed to transitioning to 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035 and net-zero emissions economy-wide by 2050. Parallel to conversations surrounding emissions reductions is the call for energy justice, or the demand for more equitable distribution of energy-related burdens and benefits among communities. To date, energy justice has evolved as a mostly academic conversation, which may limit its utility to praxis. In response, we offer an interdisciplinary framework that aims to organize existing knowledge and lessons learned from energy development. Specifically, we developed the Meaningful Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) Development Framework and conducted a literature review using MRE as a case study. MRE was chosen because it is a nascent renewable energy technology in the US with projects mostly in demonstration stages and no commercial deployment, making it a useful case study to apply lessons learned from other energy sectors and other countries. Discussion of current resources being developed among the MRE community and their implications for furthering energy justice priorities are also explored. We conclude the review with a compiled list of questions meant to support stakeholders in translating theoretical concepts of Meaningful MRE Development to practice. Although the Meaningful MRE framework was developed using MRE as a use case, our interdisciplinary theoretical framework can be applied beyond MRE to other sustainable and renewable energy projects.

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A proof-of-concept tool, the Produced Water-Economic, Socio, Environmental Simulation model (PW-ESESim), was developed to support ease of analysis. The tool was designed to facilitate head-to-head comparison of alternative produced water source, treatment, and reuse water management strategies. A graphical user interface (GUI) guides the user through the selection and design of alternative produced water treatment and reuse strategies and the associated health and safety risk and economic benefits. At the highest conceptual level, alternative water strategies include the selection of a source water (locally or regionally available produced water), treatment strategy (pre-treatment, physical, chemical, biological, desalination, and post-treatment processes) and product water purpose (e.g., irrigation, industrial processing, environmental). After selection of these details, the PW-ESESim output a number of key economic, societal, environmental, public/ecological health and safety metrics to support user decision-making; specific examples include, cost of treatment, improvements in freshwater availability, human and ecologic health impacts and growth in local jobs and the economy. Through the simulation of different produced water treatment and management strategies, tradeoffs are identified and used to inform fit-for-purpose produced water treatment and reuse management decisions. While the tool was initially designed using Southeastern New Mexico (Permian Basin) as a case study, the general design of the PW-ESESim model can be extended to support other oil and gas regions of the U.S.

Drinking water has and will continue to be at the foundation of our nation’s well-being and there is a growing interest in United States (US) drinking water quality. Nearly 30% of the United States population obtained their water from community water systems that did not meet federal regulations in 2019. Given the heavy interactions between society and drinking water quality, this study integrates social constructionism, environmental injustice, and sociohydrological systems to evaluate local awareness of drinking water quality issues. By employing text analytics, we explore potential drivers of regional water quality narratives within 25 local news sources across the United States. Specifically, we assess the relationship between printed local newspapers and water quality violations in communities as well as the influence of social, political, and economic factors on the coverage of drinking water quality issues. Results suggest that the volume and/or frequency of local drinking water violations is not directly reflected in local news coverage. Additionally, news coverage varied across sociodemographic features, with a negative relationship between Hispanic populations and news coverage of Lead and Copper Rule, and a positive relationship among non-Hispanic white populations. These findings extend current understanding of variations in local narratives to consider nuances of water quality issues and indicate opportunities for increasing equity in environmental risk communication.

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