Behavioral and Social Aspects of Energy Consumption and Production Preliminary Report (1982) / Chapter Skim
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Areas of Contribution of the Behavioral and Social Sciences to Energy Policy
Areas of Contribution of the Behavioral and Social Sciences to Energy Policy
Pages 5-16
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From page 5... ...
Although this list is not meant to exhaust the possibilities, it does suggest a wide range of potential contributions. Consumer Response to Incentives Recently, economic incentives regarding energy use have changed in several ways: prices have risen, tax advantages have been offered for investments in energy efficiency, and a number of programs based on loans and free assistance have been tried, with limited success.
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From page 6... ...
Consumer Response to Information Various media disseminate information of possible use by consumers for making energy decisions: mass media, direct mail messages, advertising, government pamphlets, appliance labels, utility bill inserts, outreach programs, word of mouth. Policy makers sometimes seem to assume that consumers have Full information" about their energy options or that the official information made available to consumers is actually processed and is used by them in making energy decisions.
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From page 7... ...
To what extent may different types of energy-using behaviors be influenced by particular values, or appeals to them? Energy Conservation in Rented Buildings Economic signals tend to be ineffective when one party benefits from another's investment in energy efficiency-as when tenants pay heating and cooling bills -- or has no incentive to protect that investment -- when landlords pay bills.
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From page 8... ...
The outcome of conservation efforts may depend not only on organizational aspects of the programs themselves but also on whether they are especially restricted to capital investment or involve substantial changes in individual behavior. Distributional Implications of Energy Policies In the U.S.
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From page 9... ...
These forces in turn interact with and condition demographic effects, such as settlement patterns, changes in household size, changing proportions of adults in the work force, and the emergence of the dual-career household, with its greater disposable income and different spending patterns. How will these major changes in economy and society affect energy production and consumption?
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From page 10... ...
Examinations of such indirect but potentially major influences on energy consumption may increase understanding of the outcomes of energy policy options. Local Energy Initiatives and Responses With a decreased federal commitment to meeting energy needs with programs of energy assistance, home weatherization, and the like, the activities of local government, community, and trade groups take on increased significance.
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From page 11... ...
Consumer Options in an Energy Crisis Current policies affect the ability of consumers to respond quickly and effectively to a future oil shortage. They affect the availability of options such as mass transit, the financial status of consumers who may be faced with fuel rationing by price, and present conservation efforts that will affect consumers' ability to withstand future shortages.
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From page 12... ...
TOPICS SELECTED FOR DETAILED STUDY BY THE COMMITTEE After considering the areas of potential contribution by the behavioral and social sciences and the issues likely to be of the greatest relevance to policy in the next few years, the committee defined three topics for its immediate consideration: the behavior of energy consumers, local actions to provide energy services, and preparation of and response to energy emergencies. These topics cut across most of the areas originally identified by the committee, yet they do not deal at all with some of those issues.
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From page 13... ...
In addition, some groups have identified local energy activities with particular economic or environmental goals. All these pressures for local action have iEnergy services are the things energy is used for: space heating and cooling, mobility, mechanical work, etc.
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From page 14... ...
The vast literature on innovation and diffusion processes should provide suggestions about the ways in which energy activities may spread among local areas and about the ability of local groups to adapt imported ideas to local conditions. Research on social movements identifies some factors likely to influence the ability of community energy groups to mobilize political and human resources and to provide sustained services to their constituents.
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From page 15... ...
But crises might also arise from other sources -- to name a few: a rapid increase in military demand for oil in response to an international threat, weather conditions disrupting waterborne shipments of coal, regulatory shutdown of nuclear power plants in response to a major accident. And the seriousness of such crises would depend on other energy-related events: for example, a disruption of oil supply that might not by itself create a crisis may create increased military demand for oil, to magnify the effect of the supply disruption.
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From page 16... ...
The committee plans to draw on knowledge about social response to past emergencies to clarify, as much as currently possible, the relationships between such dimensions of emergency situations and modes of preparation and response likely in the face of major shortfalls of oil supply or other energy emergencies. The committee's analysis of energy emergencies will clarify the major problems of preparation and response characteristics of various types of energy emergency and of energy emergencies in general.
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