The future is low-carbon energy

The greatest challenge in development of a sustainable, low-carbon energy future is no longer technological, but rather public acceptance. As scientist and engineers, we often do a poor job of communicating to the press and the public the necessity of transitioning to a low-carbon economy and the scientific and engineering developments behind lower-carbon energy options. Our failure to communicate with the public results in misunderstanding, mistrust and general confusion as to why low-carbon energy is important.The purpose of this project is to demonstrate a new type of direct engagement between scientists and the public. The topic will be the immediate need for low-carbon energy and the science behind lower-carbon energy options. This engagement is entirely online and is geared towards young adults who are typically active on the internet but much less likely to read print media. The engagement will have two parts. The first part is a series of five seminars on the topics: carbon capture, carbon storage, peak oil, fuel cells, and building a low-carbon economy. The target attendance is 50 attendees at each seminar. The seminars will be held in the virtual world Second Life and simultaneously streamed on a webpage. The second part is the development of a webpage and a network on the social networking site Facebook. The webpage will serve to advertise the event beforehand and archive podcasts of the seminars after the event takes place. The social network will be used to advertise the seminars and will also be a forum in which members of the public from anywhere in the world can discuss energy-related topics with each other. Members will also be able to post their own energy- and climate-related events. As a part of this project the social network and webpage will be maintained for a minimum of one year. After one year the social network site will be turned over to other network members to be maintained indefinitely. This will enable contact with a much larger audience over time than those who attend the original engagement.

The direct impact of this project is members of the public engaging directly with experts on controversial topics in low-carbon energy. This will enable the public to listen and ask questions to experts about their science without the press acting as intermediary. Both the public and the researchers involved will benefit from the seminars in this public engagement. Attendees will benefit from having their concerns and questions addressed directly and immediately by experts. Scientists will learn how to interact with the public by having a forum to explain their research in general terms and to find out what questions the public has about low-carbon energy. An online engagement also allows us to engage with the public without being limited to our own geographic location. Of equal importance, this event is an experiment in engaging with the public in a new way and an attempt to engage with a younger segment of the population. The social network and webpage will archive the podcasts and slides of the seminars. This will allow us to reach many more members of the public than the original engagement. After the seminars, the social network will continue to be an active discussion forum for people interested in low-carbon energy. Once established, the network formed in this event will be turned over to other members as a self-sustaining entity. There is no theoretical maximum number of people who could participate in this part of the engagement.