TY - THES
TI - Comparing two tourism-dependent, coastal communities and their opinions of local marine renewable energy projects
AU - DeSanti, B
AB - Increasing atmospheric levels  of  greenhouse gases,  such  as  CO2  and CH4,  have been  linked  to  ocean  acidification,  rising temperatures,  and overall  climate change.  To combat climate change a transition  to  more renewable energy  sources  such  as  solar,  wind, and hydrokinetic  has  been offered as  part of  the  solution.  However,  most  renewable energy projects  are  met with local opposition.  Environmental communication campaigns have shown to be  effective  when done  properly.  The  Integrative  Model of Behavioral Prediction  posits  there are an  infinite number  of  variables  affecting behavior,  but focusing on attitudes,  social norms, and efficacy should allow  campaign planners to determine  factors  that are  most likely to change  behavior. To that end,  an elicitation study should be  performed to determine which attitudes,  beliefs, and  norms  are  influential in  a specific  community. In order to accomplish this  goal,  in-depth interviews  were  conducted in  two  tourism-dependent,  coastal communities  in  Florida.  Twenty-five  interviews suggested that local attitudes  are  driven by knowledge  of  local  energy  generation, familiarity  with  renewable energy  sources,  economics,  NIMBY-ism,  and  politics. Perceived norms are  driven by family,  friends,  and community influencer  groups. Efficacy is  driven by both self-  and  response efficacy  beliefs  regarding residents  current environmentally friendly behaviors  and the  ability of  business  and government to support and  implement such  projects.  One final driver  of  acceptance,  place attachment,  shows that projects  should be  compatible  with how  community members  view their  community. This  research  sets  the  stage  for  further  testing  of  behavioral models  in  tourism-dependent, coastal communities  to  drive communication  efforts  focused on  renewable energy acceptance.  It  also  underscores  the need  for  considering self-  and  response efficacy separately  in  future renewable energy  acceptance research.  Additionally,  place attachment and  cultural worldviews  should be included  in  future acceptance research  to boost the  utility of  the  IMBP  in the  renewable  energy context.  Lastly,  the research highlights  the  need for targeted,  simplistic,  and transparent messaging distributed through local channels  within  the  studied  communities  further  showing  that best practices  for renewable energy  messaging varies  by  community.
DA - 2020/12//
PY - 2020
SP - 110
PB - Texas Tech University
UR - https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/handle/2346/86654
LA - English
M3 - PhD Thesis
KW - Marine Energy
KW - Human Dimensions
KW - Recreation & Tourism
KW - Social & Economic Data
ER -