First in our 2011 spring seminar series on "Clean Energy & the Media," sponsored by the Belfer Center's Environment and Natural Resources Program and the Shorenstein Center on Press, Politics and Public Policy.
In recent years, the promise of renewable energy has been promoted across the political, environmental, and business landscape, as concerns about American reliance on fossil fuels have mounted. The media have jumped on this story, from the local to international level, covering an array of energy technologies for harnessing the power of the wind, the sun, the earth, and the atom. But the coverage often suffers from pendulum swings between breathless enthusiasm, which may hype the new technology, and conflict-driven concerns at the local level (NIMBY, Not in my Backyard, revisited). Clean energy is a complex and important story at a time when the media is stretched thin, newsrooms are cutting back, and advocacy blogs increasingly dominate the online universe. Informing the public with critical and strong reportage about energy is imperative, but is the news media up to the task?
All are welcome and invited to attend. Refreshments will be served. Admittance will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.
