A world totally dependent on renewable energy may seem far-fetched now, but as engineers and scientists come up with new ways to harness renewable energy, those new sources of energy may soon shape the way our societies function and how we live our daily lives.
University of Alberta associate professor and head of the Future Energy Systems energy humanities theme, Sheena Wilson, says we need to start expanding our minds to imagine what the future holds, because the world is going to stop depending on oil long before we run out of it.
According to Sheena Wilson: “Right now we live in sprawling urban communities with long commutes—we drive everywhere. If we don’t have access to such powerful energy sources, and our lives aren’t organized around auto-mobility, the shape of our cities looks very different. We need to think about communities we’re shaping through the energy systems we’re designing.”
This means that energy will no longer be centralized. Which means the control of energy supply will shift, which could potentially change distribution of wealth in societies dependent on central energy suppliers. It also means people who live in remote and off the grid areas will have the same chances at accessing energy as those in urban areas because we would all depend on wind, solar, and all forms of renewable energy that are readily available to them. If everyone has the same access to energy, it is possible that migration from rural to urban areas would reduce. People would move for reasons other than energy, but those whose primary concern is power would have less of an incentive.
“Our communities might need to be organized in entirely new ways—around social and environmental sustainability, instead of around the easy flow of traffic and consumer goods,” said Wilson. According to her, we need to examine the way we live and understand how
“We can ask ourselves all sorts of questions about why we live the way we live—and if changing the way we access energy will change everything,” she added.
Another member of staff at U of, Saint-Jean has explored the societal aspects of energy future for years. Saint-Jean, who is cultural studies and media expert at the university co-founded the Petrocultures Research Group in 2011 to explore humanity’s next step when we stop relying on oil. The group has generated a number of interdisciplinary projects and expanded its membership internationally. One of its research initiatives, After Oil: Explorations and Experiments in the Future of Energy, Culture and Society, explores “the social and cultural implications of oil and energy.”
When the Future Energy Systems research initiative launched at the end of 2016, Wilson was asked to develop the energy humanities theme, which has brought a group of interdisciplinary humanities scholars into the program to work closely with scientists, engineers and social scientists.
This approach is unique, and when the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) conference came to Edmonton earlier this month, Wilson and her group were invited to make a mainstage presentation about the energy humanities’ program and how it is now imagining possible futures based on the latest energy research.
“We’re not just hearing about the next big thing in energy third-hand—we get the chance to talk directly to Canada’s leading energy researchers, see what’s too new to have hit the headlines and provide input to IPCC reports and recommendations that will influence policy at all levels of government,” said Wilson.
Envisioning alternative energy futures
Energy humanities researchers across the arts faculty—including art and design, English and film studies, sociology, political science and history—are working with scientists, government, artists, activists and Indigenous communities to foster inclusive dialogue. Wilson said the group is trying to bring people from diverse backgrounds to expand the groups thinking towards their goal. She believes art will play a vital role in imagining this future. Following her belief, Wilson partnered with art and design historian Natalie Loveless to carry out a seven-year Future Energy Systems project called Speculative Energy Futures. The project will produce a large-scale, evidence-based exhibition and a series of publications to provide visual perspectives on the social and cultural impacts of energy transition.
This exhibition, among others that Wilson is involved in is aimed at showing how the world will transition and perhaps provoking thoughts of what our lives are now and what we would need to change to truly fit into the renewable energy world
Source: phys.org