I am interested broadly in whether and in what ways renewable energy transitions can engender social equity. Drawing on feminist and critical race theory, energy geography, and critical development studies, my research engages with archival material and contemporary advocates for justice to ask how people encounter and experience energy in everyday life, and with what effects on the larger outcomes of energy transitions. I focus specifically on Atlanta, where I grew up and where state and private for-profit electricity regulation is encountering grassroots energy activism. Viewing renewable energy transitions as pivotal moments to intervene in deep historical inequities, I hope to ask what it would mean for our collective climate and energy futures to view energy as a basic need rather than a commodity, as a means for social justice rather than business-as-usual.
Publications:
- Bollman, M., K. Hudlet-Vazquez, J. Craigg, and J. McCarthy. Forthcoming [2022]. Utopias and dystopias of renewable energy imaginaries. In: Energy Democracies for Sustainable Futures, ed. M. Nadesan, M. Pasqualetti, and J. Keahey. Elsevier. https://www.elsevier.com/books/democratizing-energy/nadesan/978-0-12-822796-1
Research Group(s):
- Water Group (Ray), Chung Lab
Contact: