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CATEGORIES:Colloquium
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Diana Hernández\, associate professor of sociolmedical
  sciences at Columbia University.\n\n \n\nPowerless: The Hidden Hardship of
  Energy Insecurity in America\n\n \n\nDescription:\n\nEnergy serves as the 
 lifeblood of our daily experiences. It permeates virtually every aspect of 
 our existence\, facilitating nourishment\, safety\, and productivity. When 
 affordability threatens energy’s availability\, a family’s living situation
  can become untenable—too cold\, too hot\, too dark\, and too often\, unhea
 lthy and unsafe. In Powerless\, sociologists Diana Hernández and Jennifer L
 aird reveal the hidden hardship of “energy insecurity” – the inability to a
 dequately meet household energy needs.\n\nApproximately one in ten househol
 ds in the U.S. are energy insecure and four in ten are at risk for energy i
 nsecurity. These statistics alone do not convey the acute pain of utility s
 hutoffs\, or the relentless toll of chronic energy hardships marked by diff
 icult choices and harsh living conditions. Drawing on survey data and inter
 views with one hundred energy-insecure individuals and families\, Hernández
  and Laird detail the experience of energy insecurity. Individuals and fami
 lies suffering from energy insecurity endure economic hardships\, such as d
 ifficulty paying utility bills\, utility debt\, and disconnection from util
 ity services. They also struggle with physical challenges\, such as poor ho
 using conditions and poor or dysfunctional heating and cooling systems. The
 y are often forced to make difficult choices about what bills to pay. These
  decisions are sometimes referred to as “heat or eat?” choices\, as familie
 s cannot afford to pay for heating and food at the same time. Energy insecu
 re individuals and families employ a variety of strategies to keep energy c
 osts down to avoid having to make these hard choices. This includes deliber
 ate underconsumption of energy\, enduring physical discomfort\, and using d
 angerous alternatives such as open flames\, ovens\, or space heaters to try
  to maintain a comfortable temperature in their home. To be energy insecure
  is to suffer. Despite the heavy toll of energy insecurity\, most people co
 nfront these difficulties behind closed doors\, believing it is a private m
 atter. Thus\, the enormous social crisis of energy insecurity goes unnotice
 d.\n\nBio:\n\nDiana Hernández\, Climate Justice Fellow '26 at Harvard's Rad
 cliffe-Salata Institutes and associate professor of Sociomedical Sciences a
 t Columbia University\, is a pioneering sociologist who has advanced the co
 ncept of energy insecurity through innovative mixed-methods research\, comm
 unity partnerships\, and policy interventions. She is the lead author of Po
 werless: The People’s Struggle for Energy (Russell Sage\, 2025)\, the first
  and most prominent book on energy insecurity in the US. Current projects i
 nclude the Cities Uniting to Reduce Energy Insecurity (CUREi) initiative\, 
 statewide measurement of energy inequities in New York\, and clinical colla
 borations linking energy insecurity screening with various health outcomes.
DTEND:20260206T211500Z
DTSTAMP:20260421T103231Z
DTSTART:20260206T200000Z
GEO:42.449741;-76.481209
LOCATION:Clark Hall\, 291
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SUMMARY:Diana Hernandez
UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_51374069478062
URL:https://events.cornell.edu/event/diana-hernandez
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