Catherine E. Lambert , Katherine McComas , Dominic Balog-Way , Evelina Trutnevyte , Julia Cousse
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Public perceptions of subterranean renewable energy technologies are shaped not only by technical and environmental considerations but also by deep-seated psychological and cultural associations with the underground. We posit the concept of the “uncanny underground” to describe how interpretations of the subsurface blur boundaries between the familiar and the strange, evoking both curiosity and unease. To explore this phenomenon, we analyze free associations people make with the deep underground, using data collected from a cross-national survey on deep geothermal systems with participants from the US (n = 1003) and Switzerland (n = 1028). While approximately half of the associations describe the physical properties of the underground (e.g., heat, depth, geological structures), a substantial portion reflect symbolic and emotional themes often in the form of dualisms, including: life and death, safety and threat, past and future, and the known and unknown. These associations frequently draw from cultural narratives and symbolic meanings such as burial and the underworld, subterranean adventure stories (e.g., Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth), and disaster imagery (e.g., The Core). Our findings support research showing that public attitudes towards deep geothermal and other subsurface technologies are shaped by not only technical or economic considerations but also unconscious, culturally embedded meanings that a lifetime of experience and learning create. Understanding how these meanings influence people's perceptions of what we call the “uncanny underground” provides valuable insight into how individuals might react to subterranean energy technologies aimed at addressing climate change.
期刊介绍:
Energy Research & Social Science (ERSS) is a peer-reviewed international journal that publishes original research and review articles examining the relationship between energy systems and society. ERSS covers a range of topics revolving around the intersection of energy technologies, fuels, and resources on one side and social processes and influences - including communities of energy users, people affected by energy production, social institutions, customs, traditions, behaviors, and policies - on the other. Put another way, ERSS investigates the social system surrounding energy technology and hardware. ERSS is relevant for energy practitioners, researchers interested in the social aspects of energy production or use, and policymakers.
Energy Research & Social Science (ERSS) provides an interdisciplinary forum to discuss how social and technical issues related to energy production and consumption interact. Energy production, distribution, and consumption all have both technical and human components, and the latter involves the human causes and consequences of energy-related activities and processes as well as social structures that shape how people interact with energy systems. Energy analysis, therefore, needs to look beyond the dimensions of technology and economics to include these social and human elements.