Skip to main content

Information Source Reliance and Alternative Energy Tradeoffs

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Prospects for Alternative Energy Development in the U.S. West

Part of the book series: Environmental Challenges and Solutions ((ECAS,volume 8))

  • 306 Accesses

Abstract

10 percent of Americans take a “dismissive” attitude toward climate science and think climate change isn’t happening. Why the gap? Misleading representations of climate science in the media have a lot to do with it. (Aaron Huertas, Press Secretary, Union of Concerned Scientists; Huertas 2012)

Some mainstream media around the world have a tendency to publish misinformed or, worse, systematically and falsely negative stories about renewable energy. Some of those stories’ misinformation looks innocent, due to careless reporting, sloppy fact checking, and perpetuation of old myths. But other coverage walks, or crosses, the dangerous line of a disinformation campaign—a persistent pattern of coverage meant to undermine renewables’ strong market reality. (Armory B. Lovins, Chief Scientist, Rocky Mountain Institute; Lovins 2013)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • American Press Institute. (2015). How millennials get news: Inside the habits of America’s first digital generation. https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/publications/reports/survey-research/millennials-news/. Accessed 16 Aug 2016.

  • Anderson, M. (2014, September 14). How social media is reshaping news. Pew Research Center. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/24/how-social-media-is-reshaping-news/. Accessed 13 Aug 2016.

  • Bimber, B. (1998). The internet and political transformation: Populism, community, and accelerated pluralism. Polity, 31, 133–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan-Olmsted, S., Rim, H., & Zerba, A. (2013). Mobile news adoption among young adults: Examining the roles of perceptions, news consumption, and media usage. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 90, 126–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delli Carpini, M., & Keeter, S. (1996). What Americans know about politics and why it matters. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hesse, B. W., Nelson, D. E., Kreps, G. L., Croyle, R. T., Arora, N. K., Rimer, B. K., & Viswanath, K. (2005). Trust and sources of health information: The impact of the nternet and its implications for health care providers. JAMA Internal Medicine, 165, 2618–2624.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huertas, A. (2012, October 9). Why you need to worry about how the media covers climate change. Renewable Energy World. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2012/10/why-you-need-to-worry-about-how-the-media-covers-climate-change.html. Accessed 13 Aug 2016.

  • Jamieson, K. H. (2000). Everything you think you know about politics … And why you’re wrong. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lovins, A. B. (2013, July 31). Debunking the renewables “disinformation campaign.” Rocky Mountain Institute. http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2013_07_31_debunking_renewables_disinformation_campaign. Accessed 13 Aug 2016.

  • Lupia, A., & Baird, Z. (2003). Can web sites change citizens: Implications of web white and blue 2000. Political Science and Politics, 37, 77–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malka, A., Krosnick, J. A., & Langer, G. (2009). The association of knowledge with concern about global warming: Trusted information sources shape public thinking. Risk Analysis, 29, 633–647.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen, A., & Western, M. (2007). Socio-structural correlates of online news and information adoption/use: Implications for the digital divide. Journal of Sociology, 43, 167–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pierce, J. C., Steel, B. S., & Warner, R. L. (2009). Knowledge, culture and public support for renewable energy technology policy in Oregon. Comparative Technology Transfer and Society, 7, 270–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pierce, J. C., Steger, M. A., Steel, B. S., & Lovrich, N. P. (1992). Citizens, political communication, and interest groups. Westport: Praeger Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saad, L. (2013, July 8). TV is Americans’ main source of news. Gallup Poll. http://www.gallup.com/poll/163412/americans-main-source-news.aspx. Accessed 13 Aug 2016.

  • Sotirovic, M., & McLeod, J. M. (2001). Values, communication behavior, and political participation. Political Communication, 18, 273–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steel, B. S., Lovrich, N. P., & Pierce, J. C. (1992). Trust in natural resource information sources and post-materialist values: A comparative study of U.S. and Canadian citizens in the Great Lakes area. Journal of Environmental Systems, 22, 123–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steger, M. A., Pierce, J. C., Steel, B. S., & Lovrich, N. P. (1988). Information source reliance and knowledge acquisition: Canadian/U.S. comparisons regarding acid rain. Western Political Quarterly, 41, 747–764.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uslaner, E. (2004). Trust, civic engagement, and the internet. Political Communication, 21, 223–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westerman, D., Spence, P. R., & van Der Heide, B. (2014). Social media as information source: Recency of updates and credibility of information. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19, 171–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Pierce, J.C., Steel, B.S. (2017). Information Source Reliance and Alternative Energy Tradeoffs. In: Prospects for Alternative Energy Development in the U.S. West . Environmental Challenges and Solutions, vol 8. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53414-5_12

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics