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Developing an Energy Literacy Curriculum in Support of Sustainability By Catherine Dwyer

Pace University

Seidenberg School of Computer Science & Information Systems

163 William St., #225

New York, NY 10038

cdwyer@pace.edu

Abstract:

In the US, individual consumption choices will be a key determinant for improving energy

sustainability and decreasing carbon emissions. While increasing the cost of energy does lead to

reductions in energy consumption, this is a blunt weapon that causes hardship and disruption in the

broader economy. Therefore non-economic mechanisms for encouraging sustainability must be

developed. This paper will describe efforts to develop undergraduate curricula materials in support of

Energy Literacy, defined as conceptual fluency with the economic and social components of energy use.

The intention of this research is that an increase in Energy Literacy will result in more sustainable energy

practices. These Energy Literacy materials have been developed and piloted over a two year period, and

were included as coursework for five undergraduate sections. Students completed a pre- and post-course

survey with questions regarding their sustainability attitudes and behaviors, based on the New

Environmental Paradigm (NEP) and Environmentally Responsible Behavior (ERB). An analysis of

student comments, responses, and survey results suggests that discussions of sustainability with disaster

themes can trigger anxiety and emotional withdrawal that is counterproductive and interferes with the

development of ERB. In contrast, materials that emphasize the pragmatic necessity and benefits derived

from sustainability are related to improvements in ERB. The implications of these findings are that

mechanisms to mitigate anxiety aroused by sustainability themes need to be found, and that future

sustainability curricula emphasize pragmatic motivations for changing energy consumption patterns.

Keywords:

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Sustainability, energy literacy, social impact of technology, climate change

Introduction:

The US is the world‟s largest consumer of energy (Smil, 2006, p. 11). US per capita energy use is

330 Giga Joule per year (GJ), compared to 176 GJ for Germany, 164 GJ for Great Britain, 169 GJ for

Japan and 47 GJ for China (WikiPedia, 2009). Although China‟s use of energy is growing rapidly and has

become a source of concern (IEA, 2009), much of this energy use is related to production targeted for the

US. If energy consumption and carbon footprint of a product is measured by full life cycle emissions, as

suggested by Matthews et al. (2008), then certainly the growth in China‟s energy use is fed by and

directly correlates to US consumption patterns. US energy use is roughly 40% higher than prosperous EU

countries. If US consumers adopted energy use patterns more in line with EU habits, this would reduce

carbon emissions by at least 2.5 GT of CO2 per year (Smil, 2006).

In the past, energy use has declined in the wake of dramatic price increases or economic

downturns. However, applying these mechanisms to decrease energy use is far from ideal. The oil shocks

of the 1970s led to worldwide economic hardship (Yergin, 1991), and the rapid run up in oil prices in

2007 led to food riots in Bangladesh (Dummett, 2008), trucker strikes in Spain (Fuchs, 2008), and has

been cited by the International Energy Agency as a factor contributing to the 2008 global recession (IEA,

2009). Therefore it is critical to determine what non-economic factors can influence individual energy

consumption choices.

In his book Collapse, Jared Diamond discusses several case studies of societies that faced

environmental challenges. He found that success in facing these challenges was influenced by a number

of factors: “environmental damage, climate change, hostile neighbors, and friendly trade partners.” One

factor was critical is all instances: “the society‟s responses to its environmental problems,” (Diamond,

2005, p. 11). Diamond argues that when cultures faced deforestation or other environmental damage,

some societies developed successful forest management practices (such as Japan or Tikopia), while others

did not (Easter Island). A society‟s response is influenced by its economic, social, and cultural values.

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These values, according to Diamond, affect whether a society can address, or will even attempt to address

pressing environmental problems (Diamond, 2005, p. 15).

The critical role of culture and whether it can change and adapt to new energy use patterns has

been seconded by other scholars as a key ingredient for overcoming climate change. Noting the efficient

habits of the Japanese, the environmental researcher Vacal Smil has commented that “they waste

everything less, less food, less energy. So if the whole world wants to eat like Japan it‟s still dicey but

kind of doable, but if the world wants to replicate the two biggest wasters in the world, the U.S. and

Canada, there is no hope for anybody,” (Revkin, 2009).

The effort to change US cultural values to support sustainability will be an enormous challenge.

But consider the alternatives – either to ignore the threat of climate change, or trigger disruptive economic

impact from sharp increases in the cost of energy. While changing US consumption patterns is quite

daunting, it has great potential for mitigating climate change, and therefore must be attempted. The next

section describes efforts to change values towards consumption by introducing the concept of Energy

Literacy, and explains its implementation as curricula for an undergraduate course.

Energy Literacy: A Definition

Energy Literacy is defined as a baseline fluency and knowledge of the complexities related to

energy and energy use. Topics include understanding the differences between types of fossil fuels, the

availability of renewable energy alternatives, and the link between consumption decisions and carbon

emissions and environmental impact. Energy Literacy is related to an understanding of the impact on

sustainability of individual and policy decisions with regard to energy use. The objective of developing

Energy Literacy is to lead to an increase in sustainable energy use behavior.

Literacy in general has been identified as a social good, and a key to continued growth and

improvement of human society. In the modern information economy, an educated, literate citizenship is

widely recognized as an important social objective. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and

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Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defined literacy as the “ability to identify, understand, interpret, create,

communicate, compute and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy

involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their

knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society,” (UNESCO,

2004).

The term literacy has been extended as a construct to other domains, with these two key

components: first, it defines a baseline for a type of cognitive fluency, related to a specific knowledge

area; and secondly, the development of this baseline fluency is identified as a social good that supports a

more engaged citizenry. Examples include information technology literacy (Snyder et al., 1999),

information and communications technology (ICT) e-readiness (Gomez & Turoff, 2007), mathematical

literacy (Meyer & Dwyer, 2006).

Information technology literacy has been identified as a goal by the National Science Foundation,

and a project to define and support this has been carried out by the Computer Science and

Telecommunications board (CTSB) of the National Research Council. As outlined in the paragraph

above, information technology literacy has two components: a baseline fluency, and an argument that

literacy in information technology is a public good. The CTSB, citing the ubiquity of information

technology, declared that it was essential to establish a baseline of knowledge about information

technology, for the purpose of “empowering all citizens to participate in the information age,” (Snyder et

al., 1999, p. vii).

ICT e-readiness describes fluency with the use ICT in coordinating ad-hoc teams responding to

an emergency. In the onset of a crisis, volunteers on the ground provide critical assistance before specialty

resources can arrive to help. Volunteer teams form and quickly use ICT such as text messaging, social

media, and smart phones to coordinate response efforts (Potts, 2009). ICT e-readiness refers to the

baseline skills volunteers need to optimize their use of technology in responding to disasters. Research

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suggests ICT training on communication protocols and plain language communication increases e-

readiness among community volunteers, leading to a more effective response in the wake of an

emergency (Gomez & Turoff, 2007).

Mathematical or quantitative literacy refers to baseline fluency with quantitative concepts and

quantitative reasoning. A second order effect of ubiquitous computer information management systems is

the critical need for citizens to understand, follow and replicate quantitative reasoning. Data are freely

included in public discussions and news articles. Quantitative measures report on public opinion, trends in

financial markets, school test scores, risks of disease, and so forth. In an ideal world, this unprecedented

access to numerical information could place more power in the hands of individuals and serve as a

stimulus to democratic discourse and civic decision making. However, without information technology

fluency, coupled with quantitative literacy, the use of quantitative analysis in the public discourse about

sustainability can cause confusion rather than spur public engagement. In an information society

dominated by numbers, individuals who lack the ability to think numerically can neither make wise

decisions nor participate fully in civic life.

Energy Literacy depends on both information technology literacy and mathematical literacy.

Computer driven data analysis is the basis all scientific simulation and study of climate change. Energy

costs and consumption projections are the result of complex mathematical formulas applied to gigabytes

of energy use data. Not simply a vessel for energy information, technology is instead an active agent in

the framing and reinforcement of transformative understanding and perspectives (Berthon, Hulbert, &

Pitt, 2005).

The complexities that lead to public misconceptions of energy use are fairly significant. For

example, how much energy is there and how much do we use? This is complicated by the use of varying

units of energy measurement that are not readily convertible or easily related to a tangible context. For

example, why do we measure oil in barrels, and how many barrels of oil does an individual use? A barrel

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of oil as a standard of measurement comes from the size of English wine barrels. A barrel contains 42

gallons of oil, which when refined typically produces 19.5 gallons of gasoline (Yergin, 1991). So roughly

speaking, every time a consumer fills up their gas tank, they are using the major portion of a barrel of oil.

Other energy measures commonly used are British Thermal Units (BTUs), Mega Watts (MW), or Giga

Joules of energy (GJ).

Widely reported oil prices also have hidden complexities. The oil price most widely reported by

the media is the price for a futures contract set on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). A

standard futures contract is a barrel of a type of oil called “light, sweet crude.” Light, sweet crudes are

preferred by refiners because of their low sulfur content and relatively high yields of products such as

gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, and jet fuel (Deffeyes, 2005). NYMEX futures contracts specify a

certain number of barrels of light, sweet crude oil that will be delivered on an agreed up date to a pipeline

or storage facility in Cushing, Oklahoma (NYMEX, 2009). The NYMEX futures market price serves as a

benchmark mechanism that oil producers use to set prices for other products. Even though this price is

reported on a daily basis through news outlets, there is no one to one ratio, or even a clear relationship

between this futures price that is described by the news media as “the price of oil,” and what people pay

at the gas pump.

An additional complexity is that oil, more than most commodities, has a long history of price

volatility that has persisted for decades. At one point in the 1930s, oil was trading at around ten cents a

barrel (Yergin, 1991). While consumers have a general understanding of the economic relationship

between price, and supply and demand, the rapid price swings of oil creates distrust over how supply is

controlled when prices go up, or suspicion of how serious the discussion of limited resources really is

when prices drop (Deffeyes, 2005).

The potential of information technology to support awareness of sustainability has been neglected

(Watson, Boudreau, Chen, & Huber, 2007). There is a pressing need for „green‟ HCI, in other words data

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visualization tools that reports on energy use patterns (Lockton, Harrison, & Stanton, 2008). Currently,

the only regular concrete signal of individual energy use that most consumers encounter is watching the

spinning numbers when pumping gas. This can explain why public concern over energy use is most

prevalent when gas prices rise. In a typical day a consumer can easily use data visualization tools to

determine how many friends they have on Facebook, how many emails they have sent and received, what

their favorite song is on their iPod, or perhaps how many calories they just consumed with that bag of

potato chips. In contrast, they are no common tools for the home that communicate consumption patterns,

identify lights on in an empty room, find appliances not in use that are nonetheless drawing power, or

provide guidance as to the sustainability consequences of drinking tap water over bottled water.

This analysis outlined above suggests that culture is a strong influence over sustainability

decisions. The economic and social complexities of energy use have results in public confusion, as well as

an emotional disassociation from the urgent need to change consumption habits. One way to influence

culture is through education. While a considerable amount of sustainability curricula materials are

available for grades K-12, there is very little for the college audience. The development of these materials

for Energy Literacy is intended for higher education. The next section describes the development of these

materials, and their use in a series of course offerings.

Development of the Energy Literacy Curriculum Materials:

The Energy Literacy materials described here were developed at a private urban university in the

Northeast United States. They were designed as a module for the basic computing literacy course,

Introduction to Computing. This course is required for all undergraduates at the university. It provides an

introduction to the role of information technology within society and the economy. The course is three

credits, with two hours held in a computer classroom combined with a required online portion equivalent

to one hour of classroom instruction (commonly known as a hybrid or blended learning course). Students

get hands on instruction in a computer classroom with spreadsheets (Excel), designing web pages

(HTML), and programming (JavaScript).

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In recognition of the widespread use of technology across multiple domains, the course also

features an interdisciplinary component. These materials were developed to add Sustainability as the

interdisciplinary component of the course. Other components currently being offered at the school include

computer forensics and the social impact of computer.

The Energy Literacy materials were piloted in an abbreviated form during the Spring 2008

semester. They were then included in three sections for the Fall 2008 semester, and one section for the

Spring 2009 semester.

The Energy Literacy materials have three components. The first component is a sequence of data

analysis exercises that instruct students in the use of Excel using data obtained from the Energy

Information Administration (EIA), a division of the US Department of Energy (EIA, 2009). The EIA was

established in 1977 in response to the oil shocks of the 1970s. Their mission is to document energy

production and consumption patterns, and make forecasts as to future supply and demand. Their data is

freely available on their Web site, mostly in spreadsheet format. Their data and reports are widely used by

public and private organizations in planning and budgeting energy expenditures.

The second component of the Energy Literacy materials is a series of reading assignments and

required participation in an online discussion board. This course, as a blended course, uses online

discussion as part of the required material for the class. For example, a news article was assigned about

the connection between rising oil prices and gasoline supply (Mouawad, 2008). They also were assigned

“The Inevitable Peaking of Global Oil Production,” (Hirsch, 2005), and a chapter from an information

systems text on the role of information technology in promoting sustainability (Watson et al., 2007).

Students also watched a podcast entitled “Winning the Oil Endgame,” by Nathan Glasgow, of the Rocky

Mountain Institute (Glasgow, 2007).

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The third component of the Energy Literacy materials was a group project developing a Web site

focused on a sustainability topic, such as solar power, wind power, electric vehicles, „green‟ construction,

and how colleges can go green.

A survey was developed to capture pre- and post- course attitudes with regard to sustainability, as

well as questions regarding individual actions taken to reduce energy use, reduce consumption, and

recycle. The measures for this survey come from the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP), as described

by Cordano et al. (2003) and Dunlap et al. (2000). Measures for environmentally responsible behavior

(ERB) were adapted from studies by Vaske and Kobrin (2001), Smith-Sebasto and D‟Costa (1995) ,

Kaplan (2000) and Mobley et al. (2009). A summary of the survey questions is listed in Table 1.

Summary of Survey Results:

A pre- and post-course version of the survey was administered to three sections in Fall 2008, and

one section in Spring 2009. The pre-course survey was completed by 99 students, and the post-course

survey was completed by 64 students. Of the 99 students who participated in data collection, 57 students

completed both the pre-and post-course survey.

A summary of the demographic data for the pre-course survey is listed in Table 2, and a summary

of demographic data for the post-course survey is listed in Table 3. About 60% of the students

participating in the surveys were female, compare to roughly 40% male. The majority were first year

students, about 18 years old. Their majors were roughly divided between the Liberal Arts division of the

university, and the Business division of the university.

For each of the questions measuring attitudes or behavior, no significant differences were found

between the data from the pre- and post-course survey. No significant differences were found across the

broad population (all data collected), as well as those who completed both pre- and post-course surveys.

A summary of the attitudes measured is listed in Table 4, and a summary of measures of behavior is

presented in Table 5.

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All the attitude questions are a seven item scale, so four is the midpoint. Questions that are

positively worded with a mean above four indicate a pro-environmental attitude. This includes “When

humans interfere with nature it often produces disastrous consequences,” “We must take stronger

measures to conserve our nation‟s resources.” An example of pro-environmental behavior with very weak

support is “I would be willing to pay a fee for using disposable plastic bags.” Support for a carbon tax is

stronger, very close to the midpoint of four, and as is support for increased taxes to develop renewable

energy.

Some questions were reverse coded, so a mean below four is an indication of a pro-environmental

attitude. This includes “The so-called ecological crisis facing humankind has been greatly exaggerated,”

and “Environmental regulations have placed unfair burdens on businesses.”

When the survey measures were compared by gender, there were a number of measures with

significant differences. These results are summarized in Table 6. Males were significantly more likely to

agree with the statement “Environmental regulations have placed unfair burdens on businesses,” (p < .05),

as well report they throw recyclables in the trash, (p < .01). Females were significantly more likely to

report they “Tried to convince friends to act responsibly toward the environment,” (p < .0001).

When the survey results were compared by student major (Liberal Arts versus Business), only

one measure demonstrated significant differences. These results are summarized in Table 7. Business

students were more likely to agree with the statement “Environmental regulations have placed unfair

burdens on businesses,” (p < .01). However, the means for both Liberal Arts and Business students are

below the mid-point of four for this measure, indicated the prevailing opinion for both groups is to

disagree with this statement.

Analysis: Patterns of Responses to Sustainability Curricula

An exploratory bivariate analysis was conducted to uncover relationships between the measures

for attitudes and behaviors. A pattern emerged with a clustering of attitudes around three general groups:

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students with a high degree of anxiety about sustainability and climate change (labeled the Anxiety

cluster); students who are concerned with addressing and finding solutions to sustainability issues

(labeled the Pragmatism cluster); and students who reject or deny that climate change is a problem

(labeled the Denial cluster). These three groups are not mutually exclusive, but did appear to explain

variation in the findings of the pre- and post-course results.

These clusters were captured by results on the following measures (see Table 8):

Denial: “The so-called ecological crisis facing humankind has been greatly exaggerated”

Anxiety: “When humans interfere with nature it often produces disastrous consequences”

Pragmatism: “We must take stronger measures to conserve our nation‟s resources”

The Denial measure had a mean of 3.0505 for the pre-course survey, and a mean of 2.9524 for the

post-course survey. The trend from pre- to post-course was a decrease in agreement with this measure.

The Anxiety measure had a mean of 4.7071 for the pre-course survey, and a mean of 4.9355 for the post-

course survey measure. The trend is an increase in agreement with this measure. The Pragmatism

measure had a mean of 5.8958 for the pre-course survey, and a mean of 6.0794 for the post-course survey

measure. The level of agreement in the pre-survey is quite high, and there was an increase in the level of

agreement in the post-course survey. The pre-and post-course survey measures are summarized in Table 4

and Table 5.

The correlations between these three measures was isolated and then applied to the remaining

pre- and post-course survey results. This analysis is summarized in Table 9. The table lists the three

cluster measures (Denial, Anxiety, and Pragmatism) in the first column, and then lists the Pearson‟s R

value and the significance level for fifteen other measures from the survey. In the pre-course survey, the

Denial measure had significant, negative relationships with six measures of pro-environmental behavior.

The strongest result was a Pearson‟s R value of -0.377 and a p value less than .0001 for this statement: “I

plan to participate in events organized by environmental groups.” The Pragmatism measure had

significant, positive relationships with six measures of pro-environmental behavior. The strongest result

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was a Pearson‟s R value of 0.487 and a p value less than .0001 for this statement: “I would be willing to

pay more in taxes to support renewable energy projects.” The Anxiety measure did not have any

significant results from the pre-course survey.

In the post-course survey, none of the relationships between the Denial measure and pro-

environmental behavior are significant. The relationship is still negative, meaning the trend for those who

agree with the Denial measure report less intention to engage in pro-environmental behavior, but the

relationships are no longer strong enough to be significant. For the Anxiety measure, there are positive,

significant relationships with two measures of pro-environmental behavior. The strongest result, with a

Pearson‟s R value of 0.298 and a p value less than .05, is for reporting more frequent turning off of lights

in empty rooms. The Pragmatism measure has an increase from the pre-course survey in the number of

significant measures from six to nine. The Pragmatism measure positively correlates with paying a fee for

disposable bags, paying a carbon tax, and paying more taxes to support renewable energy projects.

More data supporting the relevance of these clusters resulted from a qualitative analysis of open

ended survey responses. As part of the pre- and post-course survey, students were asked to reflect on “the

impact of sustainability issues on your future.” Student comments that were highly emotional and

exhibited anxiety typically did not specify any plan, or individual actions to mitigate their own energy

consumption patterns. In contrast, those students who described the problem in serious but non-emotional

terms, were more likely to also suggest remedies or actions they intended to pursue.

Here is a sample of comments that reflected a high level of anxiety, but notably did not include

any solutions or suggested actions:

I fear that we as a country will not conserve our resources and the majority of them will be used

up before I die.

If we are not able to sustain our current lifestyle with new sources on energy, we will probably be

reduced back to medieval times.

If effective changes are not brought around soon enough, our earth’s resources will deplete and

force us to become bankrupt

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The planet will die.

If we use up all of the earth's natural resources, I'm not too sure what we'll be left with. I've

heard recently that the next world crisis will no longer be about oil or fuel, but about water --

and that's pretty scary.

In contrasts, student comments that discussed sustainability in more neutral terms often included

practical suggestions to improve the situation:

These issues are very important and should not be overlooked. Everyone should at least try and

recycle.

I think that everyone needs to take responsibility for their own actions. The world depends on it.

If we don't start trying to sustain what energy we have now then we are going to face a crisis

sooner than the government is planning for. We definitely need to work harder towards recycling

and developing reusable energy.

The more eco-friendly we are, the longer our offspring can remain on this planet.

We must be able to conserve resources that we have today and learn to use new ones

In presenting the Energy Literacy materials, it required a conscious effort on the part of the

instructor to steer discussion towards a rational analysis of sustainability, and away from fantastic

speculations of global collapse and destruction. Students bring with them a long exposure to the

Hollywood disaster movie genre, which has been a staple of mainstream entertainment for decades. Many

Hollywood blockbusters feature extreme computer generated special effect sequences depicting global

catastrophe, where buildings, cities, and populations are wiped out. The emotion impact of these

Hollywood spectacles has resonated with the discussion of global warming and rising temperatures.

Here is an example from first week of online discussion, when the impact of the disaster theme

appeared in student comments. The assigned reading was a newspaper article, “Amid High Oil Prices,

Danger Signs in Production,” (Mouawad, 2008). This article includes a discussion of the role of price

subsidies that encourage consumption. In the wake of higher fuel prices, both major candidates in the

2008 US presidential election endorsed subsidies for consumers. Many other countries also offer fuel

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subsidies, for example China, India and some countries in the Middle East. While easing the pain of

higher prices short term, subsidies can cause long term supply issues by encouraging wasteful use of

energy. These students were very familiar with the financial pain of higher gas prices, but also needed to

consider that subsidies increase energy consumption, aggravating climate change and global warming.

Students were asked to respond to this post after reading the assigned article:

The article mentions that a number of countries have fuel subsidies that lead to wasteful

consumption. The countries mentioned in the article are China, India, and some in the Middle

East.

State your opinion as to whether you support subsidies for the price of oil, and support your

opinion with evidence or logic. (P.S. Both presidential candidates support some form of subsidy

for US taxpayers).

Most students strongly supported price subsidies for US citizens. Student A (name omitted)

commented that “I believe that subsidies on oil (FOR U.S TAXPAYERS) are a must.” In response, the

instructor suggested that subsidies encourage consumption, and in an era of restricting supply do more

harm than good. The connection between increased energy use and global warming was also introduced

in this post:

Who thinks that subsidies are causing more harm than good? (p.s. what about global warming? A

chunk of ice the size of Manhattan just broke loose from the Arctic ice shelf –see

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/mar/26/poles.antarctica (Truscott, 2008)

The linked article above describes a large sheet of ice breaking off from the Antarctic (see Figure

1). The mention of melting icebergs triggered emotional and anxious reactions from students. Student B

commented that as far as “Global Warming; which scares the crap out of me, wow, I can't believe the size

of ice that turned to water.”

With the specter of disaster raised, the discussion turned to speculation as to where New York

City would be flooded by global warming:

From student C: “When it comes to global warming, I remember reading that in a number of

years all of New York City (Staten Island sometime before) will be completely underwater. That is a scary

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thought. This is another situation that seems to unfortunately only be getting worse and worse despite all

the hard work and energy people are putting in to it. Unless we can get the ENTIRE world on the same

page, I'm afraid we're going down.”

This led to a concerned response from student B: “And about Staten Island [and global

warming], I never heard that one, but I have heard the one with Manhattan sinking and the entire Times

Square will be under the sea . . . It took some time I mean the Arctic was said to be 4500 years old but

that with time and changing temperature the ice began melting and now the puddle is the size of

Manhattan; doesn’t that scare you?”

So what was intended to be a policy discussion about the costs and benefits of fuel subsidies in

the face of rapid price increases became a discussion over exactly which neighborhood in New York City

was going to be underwater after the Arctic finishes melting.

Between Hollywood disaster movies and alarmist coverage in the mass media, themes of fear,

anxiety, and pending disaster dominate discussions of climate change. These themes generate of lot of

attention, but trigger emotional shutdown rather than engagement and concerted action. Media critics

have argued that the “selling” of fear leads to disassociation and emotional withdrawal (Moeller, 1999).

Environmentalists have also warned that scare-mongering and fanciful predictions interfere with the

necessary considerations of structural changes (Fankhauser, 1995). With respect to how these themes

influence students in these classes, any content that touched on ecological disaster distracted them from a

rational discussion of policy, and even worse, moved their attention away from a willingness to change

energy use behavior.

Summary and Conclusion

Environmental sustainability is a growing problem, with public concern rising that it might result

in global catastrophe. A large factor in the strain on the global environment is the world‟s dependence on

fossil fuels. This dependence places stress on the environment in two distinct ways. One is that the supply

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of fossil fuels is finite, and there are diminishing expectations that the current energy infrastructure will

be able to match supply with future demand (Hirsch, 2005; Smil, 2006). Secondly, the use of fossil fuels

for energy is the biggest producer of carbon emissions and other greenhouse gases that are linked to

climate change in the form of more extreme weather events, such as extreme flooding, extreme drought,

extreme heat, or extreme cold (McMichael, Woodruff, & Hales, 2006).

The US is the world‟s largest consumer of energy and the largest producer of greenhouse gases.

Any actions by US consumers to reduce their consumption of energy and embrace sustainability will

greatly ease the strain on the world‟s environment. In the past, extreme price increases have reduced US

energy consumption. After the global oil shocks of the 1970s US oil consumption decreased over a

number of years, until the price of oil began to stabilize and decrease in the late 1980s (Yergin, 1991). But

solving this problem by raising the cost of energy creates severe economic disruptions and hardships

among many citizens. There has to be a focus on non-economic methods for reducing energy use.

Therefore, a concerted effort must begin to change the US culture away from emphasis on

consumption and to an emphasis on sustainability. This paper describes efforts to encourage this shift by

the development of curricula materials that introduced Energy Literacy as a topic for an undergraduate

course. Energy Literacy is a construct that emphasizes a baseline of conceptual fluency with the economic

and social components of energy use, along with the belief that an increase in Energy Literacy will result

in more sustainable energy practices. The primary findings presented here, based on an analysis of student

sustainability attitudes and behaviors, is that discussions of sustainability with disaster themes can trigger

anxiety that interferes with the goal of encouraging sustainability. In contrast, those materials that focused

on the pragmatic necessity and benefits derived from sustainability had a more positive impact on

promoting pro-environmental behavior.

The results reported here are exploratory and there is not enough evidence to support generalizing

these findings to other contexts. One limitation of this study is that the identification of the three clusters

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– Denial, Anxiety, and Pragmatism – is based on a single measure, rather than a fully validated scale. In

addition, the results come from one instructor at one university, and significant results relate only to that

context. In addition, there was some difficulty ensuring the full participation of all students in both the

pre-course and the post-course survey. The number of students taking the pre-course survey is more than

one third higher than those taking the post-course survey.

However, the findings of this project are promising, and provide motivation for a pursuit of

means to mitigate the negative effect that anxiety provoking discussions have on improvement in

sustainability. Future research includes the development of scales to measure the three clusters identified

– Denial, Anxiety, and Pragmatism. There are also efforts to make these materials available for use by

other instructors and test their effect at other institutions (Dwyer & Gomez, 2009). The need to change

US consumption patterns is critical, and any evidence that suggests progress must be pursued vigorously.

Sustainability has gained significant public and government attention, and many colleges and

universities have received positive notice for their greening efforts. In many respects, the academy is

expected to be a leader in efforts to improve sustainability. The finding of this project suggest that the

development of materials that support Energy Literacy, with an emphasis on pragmatic solutions and an

avoidance of disaster themes, can make a significant contribution in changing US cultural attitudes

towards sustainability.

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References

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20

Table, Captions, and Illustrations

Demographic information

Gender

Age

Class year

School

NEP-Based Scales

( seven item semantic differential, 1-strongly disagree to 7- strongly agree)

Balance

When humans interfere with nature it often produces disastrous consequences.

The so-called ecological crisis facing humankind has been greatly exaggerated.

Regulation Attitudes

We must take stronger measures to conserve our nation‟s resources.

Environmental regulations have placed unfair burdens on businesses.

Intended Proenvironmental Behavior

I plan to participate in events organized by environmental groups.

I would be willing to pay a fee for using disposable plastic bags.

I would be willing to pay more in taxes to support renewable energy projects.

I would support a tax on carbon emissions.

ERB Scales

(1- Hardly ever (10%), 2- Sometimes (30%), 3- Frequently (50%), 4- Most of the time (70%), 5-

All the time (90%)

General Behaviors

About how often have you. . . .

tried to learn what I can do to help solve environmental issues?

talked with others about environmental issues?

tried to convince friends to act responsibly toward the environment?

Specific Behaviors About how often do you…

conserve water by turning off the tap when brushing your teeth

recycle cardboard?

Throw recyclables into the trash?

switch off lights in empty rooms?

Use disposable dishes (paper plates etc.)?

Use public transportation?

Leave the air conditioner running when leaving home?

Leave the TV on in an empty room?

Table 1

21

Demographic Statistics - Pre-course Survey (N=99)

Frequency Percent

Gender Female 59 59.6%

Male 39 39.4%

No answer 1 1.0%

Age 18 (or younger) 68 68.7%

19-21 26 26.3%

22 or older 4 4.0%

No answer 1 1.0%

Class Rank Freshman 73 73.7%

Junior 4 4.0%

Senior 2 2.0%

Sophomore 19 19.2%

No answer 1 1.0%

Major Liberal arts 53 53.5%

Business 41 41.4%

Undecided 5 5.1%

Table 2

22

Demographic Statistics - Post-course Survey (N=64)

Frequency Percent

Gender Female 39 60.9%

Male 23 35.9%

No answer 2 3.1%

Age 18 (or younger)

37 57.8%

19-21 24 37.5%

22 or older 1 1.6%

No answer 2 3.1%

Class Rank

Freshman 45 70.3%

Junior 3 4.7%

Senior 2 3.1%

Sophomore 13 20.3%

No answer 1 1.6%

Major Liberal arts 29 45.3%

Business 29 45.3%

Undecided 5 7.8%

Table 3

23

Questions adapted from NEP

Survey pre (N=99)

post (N=64)

The so-called ecological crisis facing humankind has been greatly exaggerated.

3.0505 2.9524

Environmental regulations have placed unfair burdens on businesses.

3.1515 3.1111

When humans interfere with nature it often produces disastrous consequences.

4.7071 4.9355

We must take stronger measures to conserve our nation's resources.

5.8958 6.0794

I would be willing to pay a fee for using disposable plastic bags.

2.9798 3.0317

I would support a tax on carbon emissions. 3.8469 4.0000

I would be willing to pay more in taxes to support renewable energy projects.

4.4286 4.3387

I plan to participate in events organized by environmental groups.

3.6837 3.8095

range: 1 (SD) - 7 (SA)

Table 4

24

Questions adapted from ERB

Survey pre (N=99) post (N=64)

Tried to learn what you can do to help solve environmental issues?

2.5960 2.6508

Talked with others about environmental issues? 2.9192 2.9839

Tried to convince friends to act responsibly toward the environment?

2.8469 2.6774

Recycle cardboard? 3.2959 3.2698

Throw recyclables into the trash? 2.8586 2.7778

Leave the air conditioner running when leaving home? 2.3939 2.1587

Use disposable dishes (paper plates etc.)? 2.5657 2.7460

Use public transportation? 4.1414 4.1587

Conserve water by turning off the tap when brushing your teeth? 3.4040 3.2381

Leave the TV on in an empty room? 2.0202 2.2581

Switch off lights in empty rooms? 4.0404 3.8548

1- Hardly ever (10%), 2- Sometimes (30%), 3- Frequently (50%), 4- Most of the time (70%), 5- All the time (90%)

Table 5

25

Comparison of measures by gender

Scale Measure Male (N=66) Female (N=92)

Sig.

1 - 7 The so-called ecological crisis facing humankind has been greatly exaggerated.

3.274 2.867

1 - 7 I would be willing to pay a fee for using disposable plastic bags.

2.774 3.173

1 - 7 I would support a tax on carbon emissions. 3.855 3.969 1 - 7 We must take stronger measures to conserve our

nation's resources. 5.733 6.144

1 - 7 I would be willing to pay more in taxes to support renewable energy projects.

4.565 4.302

1 - 7 I plan to participate in events organized by environmental groups.

3.484 3.897

1 - 7 Environmental regulations have placed unfair burdens on businesses.

3.452 2.959 *

1 - 7 When humans interfere with nature it often produces disastrous consequences.

4.645 4.887

1 - 5 Tried to learn what you can do to help solve environmental issues?

2.484 2.684

1 - 5 Talked with others about environmental issues? 2.787 3.020 1 - 5 Tried to convince friends to act responsibly toward

the environment? 2.311 3.082 ***

1 - 5 Recycle cardboard? 3.213 3.357 1 - 5 Throw recyclables into the trash? 3.210 2.612 ** 1 - 5 Leave the air conditioner running when leaving

home? 2.210 2.357

1 - 5 Use disposable dishes (paper plates etc.)? 2.532 2.684 1 - 5 Use public transportation? 4.081 4.184 1 - 5 Conserve water by turning off the tap when brushing

your teeth? 3.097 3.500

1 - 5 Leave the TV on in an empty room? 2.210 2.052 1 - 5 Switch off lights in empty rooms? 3.742 4.113 * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001 Table 6

26

Comparison of measures by major

Scale Measure Liberal Arts (N=82)

Business (N=70)

Sig.

1 – 7 The so-called ecological crisis facing humankind has been greatly exaggerated.

2.768 3.186

1 – 7 I would be willing to pay a fee for using disposable plastic bags. 3.000 3.000

1 – 7 I would support a tax on carbon emissions. 4.025 3.800

1 – 7 We must take stronger measures to conserve our nation's resources.

6.049 5.868

1 – 7 I would be willing to pay more in taxes to support renewable energy projects.

4.333 4.478

1 – 7 I plan to participate in events organized by environmental groups.

3.720 3.841

1 – 7 Environmental regulations have placed unfair burdens on businesses.

2.854 3.486 **

1 – 7 When humans interfere with nature it often produces disastrous consequences.

4.802 4.757

1 – 5 Tried to learn what you can do to help solve environmental issues?

2.622 2.643

1 – 5 Talked with others about environmental issues? 2.938 2.986

1 – 5 Tried to convince friends to act responsibly toward the environment?

2.888 2.714

1 – 5 Recycle cardboard? 3.370 3.257

1 – 5 Throw recyclables into the trash? 2.659 3.043

1 – 5 Leave the air conditioner running when leaving home? 2.220 2.357

1 – 5 Use disposable dishes (paper plates etc.)? 2.695 2.514

1 – 5 Use public transportation? 4.232 4.071

1 – 5 Conserve water by turning off the tap when brushing your teeth?

3.524 3.271

1 – 5 Leave the TV on in an empty room? 2.284 1.943

1 – 5 Switch off lights in empty rooms? 3.975 3.929

* p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001

Table 7

27

Attitude Measure

Denial The so-called ecological crisis facing humankind has been greatly exaggerated.

Anxiety When humans interfere with nature it often produces disastrous consequences.

Pragmatism We must take stronger measures to conserve our nation’s resources.

Table 8

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Attitude Measure

I would be willing to pay a fee for using disposable plastic bags.

I would support a tax on carbon emissions.

I would be willing to pay more in taxes to support renewable energy projects.

I plan to participate in events organized by environmental groups.

Tried to learn what you can do to help solve en-viron-mental issues?

Talked with others about en-viron-mental issues?

Tried to convince friends to act res-ponsibly toward the en-viron-ment?

Recycle card-board?

Throw re-cyclables into the trash?

Leave the air cond-itioner running when leaving home?

Use dis-posable dishes (paper plates etc.)?

Use public transportation?

Con-serve water by turning off the tap when brushing your teeth?

Leave the TV on in an empty room?

Switch off lights in empty rooms?

pre (N=99)

Denial R -0.235 -0.340 -0.281 -0.377 -0.190 -0.052 -0.246 -0.067 0.091 -0.011 0.028 -0.150 -0.088 0.206 -0.036

Sig. 0.019 0.001 0.005 0.000 0.059 0.608 0.015 0.513 0.372 0.915 0.781 0.137 0.386 0.041 0.723

Anxiety R 0.078 0.155 0.097 0.125 0.165 0.103 0.102 -0.072 -0.111 -0.148 -0.144 0.190 -0.110 0.047 -0.071

Sig. 0.444 0.127 0.343 0.220 0.102 0.312 0.317 0.479 0.275 0.144 0.156 0.059 0.276 0.646 0.482

Pragmatism R 0.008 0.234 0.487 0.410 0.215 0.052 0.194 0.001 -0.038 -0.130 -0.076 0.202 0.006 -0.230 0.084

Sig. 0.935 0.023 0.000 0.000 0.035 0.615 0.059 0.994 0.712 0.208 0.464 0.048 0.956 0.024 0.416

post (N=64)

Denial R -0.022 0.130 -0.013 -0.010 0.243 0.194 0.156 -0.075 0.136 0.179 0.211 0.148 0.018 0.187 0.169

Sig. 0.862 0.312 0.921 0.938 0.054 0.130 0.226 0.558 0.289 0.161 0.098 0.246 0.891 0.145 0.189

Anxiety R 0.221 0.136 0.204 0.253 0.213 0.187 0.233 -0.021 0.174 -0.110 -0.049 0.056 0.224 -0.148 0.298

Sig. 0.085 0.291 0.115 0.047 0.097 0.149 0.070 0.871 0.175 0.396 0.704 0.668 0.080 0.256 0.019

Pragmatism R 0.326 0.395 0.432 0.417 0.083 0.255 0.309 0.124 0.037 -0.074 -0.103 0.319 0.303 -0.044 0.343

Sig. 0.009 0.001 0.000 0.001 0.517 0.045 0.014 0.334 0.774 0.563 0.424 0.011 0.016 0.734 0.006

significant correlations shaded in gray

Table 9

29

Captions:

Figure 1: Diagram documenting the disintegration of a large ice shelf in the Antarctic.

30