Transcript Spreading the News on CSS

Andrea Feldpausch-Parker, Ph.D.
Texas A&M University
CVEEN 7920 and GEOL l 571
November 10, 2010
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Goal of CCS: the capture and safe, long-term
storage of CO2 – climate change mitigation strategy
U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) initiatives
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Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships
The Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum
FutureGen Project
Carbon Sequestration Core Program
Interagency Task Force on Carbon Capture and
Storage
Types of CCS
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Terrestrial
Geologic
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Proposed mitigation strategy for climate change
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New technologies mixed with proven
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New risks
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Large-scale infrastructure
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Significant government involvement
FutureGen site in Mattoon, IL
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Ties to the fossil fuel industry
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Locations dependent on the geology
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Difference in perceptions between CCS
strategies
Regional differences in citizen values and
experiences
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Inform the public of:
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Scientific and technological findings
Advances and uncertainties associated with climate
change and its mitigation
Conduit for sharing scientific knowledge
Intermediaries between the public and political
and scientific elites
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Frames:
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How problems are discovered
How the public interprets problems
Public acceptance or rejection of technologies
developed to remediate problems
Determines whether technologies will be a
benefit or risk to society
Controls the flow of information and influences
political agendas by determining focus and
framing of information presented
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Examine news media’s representation of CCS
risks and benefits as an emerging low-carbon
energy technology by analyzing newspapers
from 4 states:
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Massachusetts
Minnesota
Montana
Texas
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These 4 states exhibit varying degrees of:
Public acceptance of CCS
 Progress toward CCS deployment
 Demographics
 Energy resources
 Electricity production
 Carbon storage capacities
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Field Test Type
Oil bearing
Gas bearing
Sali ne aquifer
Coal se am
Partne rships
MRCSP
MGSC
SECARB
SWRP
WESTCARB
Big Sky
PCOR
Terrestrial
MT
MN
Population (in millions): 5.3
Population (in millions): 1.0
MA
Population (in millions): 6.6
TX
Population (in millions): 24.8
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This study includes identifying:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Frequency of CCS coverage
Differences between newspapers based on proximity
to energy production and/or political centers
What social functions the coverage emphasizes
Whether the technology is portrayed as a risk and/or
benefit
The level of attention given to
climate change as a driver for the
deployment
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Selected 3 newspapers from each state
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Highest circulated newspaper
Newspaper from the state capital or a different
geographic region
Newspaper covering area closest to major energy
technology activities
Search terms: CCS and variants, carbon capture
and variants, carbon storage and variants
and/or clean coal
Found in: title and/or lead paragraph of an
article
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Frames
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Technical
Economic
Environmental
Health & Safety
Political/Legal
Aesthetic
Other
Risks/Benefits
Newspapers included in the news media analysis
Newspaper
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Montana
Texas
Type
Highest
Boston Globe
circulation
State capital or
different region
Minneapolis
Star Tribune
Springfield
St. Paul Pioneer
Republican
Press
Billings Gazette
technologies
Cape Cod Times
Chronicle
Austin
Missoulian
AmericanStatesman
Closest to
energy
Houston
Duluth News
Bozeman Daily
Tribune
Chronicle
Midland
Reporter
Telegram
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Montana
Texas
Midland Reporter Telegram
Austin American-Statesman
Houston Chronicle
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Missoulian
Billings Gazette
Duluth News Tribune
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Minnesota Star Tribune
Cape Cod Times
Springfield Republican
Boston Globe
Number of Articles
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Technical
Political &
Legal
Other
Health &
Safety
Environmental
40%
Economic
50%
Aesthetic
Percent Coded Utterances
60%
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Montana
Texas
30%
20%
10%
0%
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
35
1992
40
1991
1990
Number of Articles
45
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Montana
Texas
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Montana
Texas
Midland Reporter Telegram
Austin American-Statesman
Houston Chronicle
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Missoulian
Billings Gazette
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Minnesota Star Tribune
Boston Globe
Percent Coded Utterances
100%
90%
80%
70%
Technical
60%
Political & Legal
Other
50%
Health & Safety
Environmental
40%
Economic
Aesthetic
30%
20%
10%
0%
The success of FutureGen in the Permian Basin
will not only help meet strict environmental
standards through the use of clean coal
technology, reducing greenhouse gas emissions,
but the applied technology will capture CO2 that
can be used to produce more Permian Basin oil
("green oil"). It will produce more jobs, generate
more State and local revenue and reduce our
country's dependence on foreign oil. I like to think
of it as the "Greening of the Oil Patch" (Midland
Reporter Telegram Staff 2006).
90%
80%
Percent Coded Utterances
70%
60%
Technical
Political & Legal
Other
Health & Safety
Environmental
Economic
Aesthetic
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Risks
Benefits
Massachusetts
Risks
Benefits
Minnesota
Risks
Benefits
Montana
Risks
Benefits
Texas
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Montana
Texas
Midland Reporter Telegram
Austin American-Statesman
Houston Chronicle
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Billings Gazette
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Minneapolis Star Tribune
90%
Boston Globe
100%
Climate Change and Variants
80%
Emissions
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
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Media in all states emphasized political/legal,
economic and technical social functions
Media gave moderate attention to
environmental science and to human health
and safety, and minimal attention to aesthetics
Media emphasized benefits, rather than risks
associated with CCS, indicating a positive
perception toward CCS and its future
implementation
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Newspapers closest to CCS projects published
more articles than other newspapers
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Emphasized benefits more strongly than other
newspapers
The connection between climate change and
CCS was not uniformly emphasized in news
coverage
Stories often mentioned climate change, but
tended to emphasize more temporally and
spatially immediate benefits
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Science and technology has become part of the
public conversation when they encroach on
other social functions such as politics and
economics
Unlike wind and other renewable energy
sources, CCS only makes sense in a world with
deep constraints on CO2 emission
While CCS takes advantage of existing
infrastructure, regulations, social norms and
legal experience with the fossil fuel industry,
integration challenges remain
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With more projects coming on-line, however, it
is reasonable to assume that media coverage of
CCS activities will continue to increase
The rich resonance between function systems
in news coverage highlights the potential for
using CCS as a productive social response to
climate change