Social aspects of energy conservation. Study module IB final report

Technical Report · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1977

OSTI ID:7257313

Olsen, M E; Goodnight, J A

If the Pacific Northwest or the United States should decide to pursue a policy of increased energy conservation in the future, a number of crucial questions and issues concerning the implementation and possible consequences of that policy would immediately arise. The purpose of this study is not to evaluate the desirability of energy conservation as a public policy, but rather to analyze various strategies for implementing an energy conservation policy if desired, as well as some potential social implications of such a policy. More specifically, the four parts of this report (a) summarize the existing social scientific knowledge about the extent to which people are now practicing energy conservation; (b) sketch nine social and psychological theories of behavior relevant to the problem of implementing energy conservation; (c) examine four basic dimensions of the implementation process and evaluate the relative effectiveness of six alternative strategies for promoting increased energy conservation; and (d) explore several possible long-term social implications of widespread energy conservation if it were adopted as a public policy. 137 references. (From Executive Summary)

• Research Organization: Battelle Human Affairs Research Center, Seattle, WA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 7257313
• Report Number(s): NP-21857
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290200 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Economics & Sociology
291000* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Conservation
BEHAVIOR
DECISION MAKING
ENERGY CONSERVATION
ENERGY POLICY
FORECASTING
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
IMPLEMENTATION
NORTH AMERICA
PUBLIC RELATIONS
SOCIAL IMPACT
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
USA