1 hr 6 min
Who Owns the Wind - A Conversation with David McDermott Hughes The Radical Centrist
-
- News
David McDermott Hughes is a Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University in New Jersey. His book "Who Owns the Wind?: Climate Crisis and the Hope of Renewable Energy," is one of the most important books of the past five years addressing the existential crisis of climate change; One of the reasons that we feature our interview with David Hughes for the "Rediscovering Our Song" series - the focus of The Radical Centrist podcast for the next three months.
In 2015 Hughes found himself frustrated with the slow pace of building out a renewable infrastructure that would permit us to decarbonize our economies. His interest in wind energy led him to decide to study the problem by identifying an area where it seemed that they were making better progress than the rest of us. He choose a village in the Andalusia region of Spain and a town pseudonymously named "Serano" for the purpose of the book.
Hughes expected to find that life was all rainbows and unicorns in Serano as they retooled for a greener future. What he discovered was quite different. The local folks were not in favor of the towers; at least not at first blush. Further research led him to conclude that there was more to the story pointing to a sense that they were being victimized by the process, Being asked to sacrifice for a future that saw few or no benefits for them. It led to the conclusion that economic justice was an important part of the equation for creating a carbon-free future.
David McDermott Hughes is a Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University in New Jersey. His book "Who Owns the Wind?: Climate Crisis and the Hope of Renewable Energy," is one of the most important books of the past five years addressing the existential crisis of climate change; One of the reasons that we feature our interview with David Hughes for the "Rediscovering Our Song" series - the focus of The Radical Centrist podcast for the next three months.
In 2015 Hughes found himself frustrated with the slow pace of building out a renewable infrastructure that would permit us to decarbonize our economies. His interest in wind energy led him to decide to study the problem by identifying an area where it seemed that they were making better progress than the rest of us. He choose a village in the Andalusia region of Spain and a town pseudonymously named "Serano" for the purpose of the book.
Hughes expected to find that life was all rainbows and unicorns in Serano as they retooled for a greener future. What he discovered was quite different. The local folks were not in favor of the towers; at least not at first blush. Further research led him to conclude that there was more to the story pointing to a sense that they were being victimized by the process, Being asked to sacrifice for a future that saw few or no benefits for them. It led to the conclusion that economic justice was an important part of the equation for creating a carbon-free future.
1 hr 6 min