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Cornell University Mann Library, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Everything in and Under Its Place: Digging Into Why Place Matters for Risk Communication and Renewable Energy Development
Cat Lambert, Lecturer, Cornell University
1pm in 102 Mann
In this talk, Dr. Cat Lambert presents her research on the concept of “place” and its critical role in understanding human responses to risk. Her work examines how bonds between people and their environments influence their responses to risk, technological change, and disruption in the world around them. Place as a sociological and geographical concept reflects both the physical landscape and the cultural meanings, identities, experiences, and histories that are embedded there. Despite a robust body of literature on interactions between place attachment and public attitudes, previous work on place has taken a relatively shallow approach in defining what is considered to be a meaningful "place" rather than an empty and meaningless "space." As this research shows, emotional attachment to the natural environment extends into the subsurface, with critical implications for public attitudes towards technological solutions to climate change that increasingly look to tap into deep layers of the Earth. Differing relationships with place, from surface to subsurface, influence both how people perceive risks and how they perceive risk mitigation efforts as appropriate for their place and context. While a strong sense of place can act as a source of resilience and motivation for protective action against threats, it also can lead to opposition to technologies like deep geothermal systems when they are viewed as disruptive to place. Risk communication practices that account for the full depth and nuance of place meanings and values are necessary for effectively addressing public concerns and integrating them in renewable energy development processes.
Cat Lambert is a lecturer and recent PhD graduate (’23) in the Department of Communication at Cornell University. Her research in the areas of risk and environmental communication examines the relationships between people, landscapes, and hazards in order to understand how these relationships shape the way that people interpret and respond to risk.
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