Andrea Feldpausch-Parker, Ph.D. Texas A&M University

CVEEN 7920 and GEOL l 571November 10, 2010

Goal of CCS: the capture and safe, long-term storage of CO2 – climate change mitigation strategy

U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) initiatives 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 Terrestrial Geologic

Proposed mitigation strategy for climate change

New technologies mixed with proven

New risks

Large-scale infrastructure

Significant government involvement

FutureGen site in Mattoon, IL

Ties to the fossil fuel industry

Locations dependent on the geology

Difference in perceptions between CCS strategies

Regional differences in citizen values and experiences

Inform the public of: 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

Frames: 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

Examine news media’s representation of CCS risks and benefits as an emerging low-carbon energy technology by analyzing newspapers from 4 states: Massachusetts Minnesota Montana Texas

These 4 states exhibit varying degrees of: Public acceptance of CCS Progress toward CCS deployment Demographics Energy resources Electricity production Carbon storage capacities

Partnerships

MRCSP

MGSC

SECARB

SWRP

WESTCARB

Big Sky

PCOR

Oil bearing

Gas bearing

Saline aquifer

Coal seam

Terrestrial

Field Test Type

MTMN

TX

MA

Population (in millions): 1.0

Population (in millions): 5.3

Population (in millions): 24.8

Population (in millions): 6.6

This study includes identifying: 1. Frequency of CCS coverage2. Differences between newspapers based on

proximity to energy production and/or political centers

3. What social functions the coverage emphasizes4. Whether the technology is portrayed as a risk

and/or benefit5. The level of attention given to

climate change as a driver for the deployment

Selected 3 newspapers from each state 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

Frames Technical Economic Environmental Health & Safety Political/Legal Aesthetic Other

Risks/Benefits

Newspapers included in the news media analysis

Newspaper

Type

Massachusett

sMinnesota Montana Texas

Highest

circulationBoston Globe

Minneapolis

Star Tribune

Billings

Gazette

Houston

Chronicle

State capital

or different

region

Springfield

Republican

St. Paul

Pioneer PressMissoulian

Austin

American-

Statesman

Closest to

energy

technologies

Cape Cod

Times

Duluth News

Tribune

Bozeman

Daily

Chronicle

Midland

Reporter

Telegram

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Bos

ton

Glo

be

Sprin

gfie

ld R

epub

lican

Cap

e C

od T

imes

Min

neso

ta S

tar T

ribun

e

St. P

aul P

ione

er P

ress

Dul

uth

New

s T

ribun

e

Bill

ings

Gaz

ette

Mis

soul

ian

Boz

eman

Dai

ly C

hron

icle

Hou

ston

Chr

onic

le

Aus

tin A

mer

ican

-Sta

tesm

an

Mid

land

Rep

orte

r Tel

egra

m

Massachusetts Minnesota Montana Texas

Num

ber o

f Art

icle

s

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%A

esth

etic

Eco

nom

ic

Env

ironm

enta

l

Hea

lth &

Sa

fety

Oth

er

Polit

ical

&

Leg

al

Tec

hnic

al

Perc

ent C

oded

Utt

eran

ces Massachusetts

Minnesota

Montana

Texas

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Num

ber o

f Art

icle

s

Massachusetts

Minnesota

Montana

Texas

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%B

osto

n G

lobe

Min

neso

ta S

tar T

ribun

e

St. P

aul P

ione

er P

ress

Bill

ings

Gaz

ette

Mis

soul

ian

Boz

eman

Dai

ly C

hron

icle

Hou

ston

Chr

onic

le

Aus

tin A

mer

ican

-Sta

tesm

an

Mid

land

Rep

orte

r Tel

egra

m

Massachusetts Minnesota Montana Texas

Perc

ent C

oded

Utt

eran

ces

Technical

Political & Legal

Other

Health & Safety

Environmental

Economic

Aesthetic

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).

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Risks Benefits Risks Benefits Risks Benefits Risks Benefits

Massachusetts Minnesota Montana Texas

Per

cent C

oded

Utter

ance

s

TechnicalPolitical & LegalOtherHealth & SafetyEnvironmentalEconomicAesthetic

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Bos

ton

Glo

be

Min

neap

olis

Sta

r Trib

une

St. P

aul P

ione

er P

ress

Bill

ings

Gaz

ette

Boz

eman

Dai

ly C

hron

icle

Hou

ston

Chr

onic

le

Aus

tin A

mer

ican

-Sta

tesm

an

Mid

land

Rep

orte

r Tel

egra

m

Massachusetts Minnesota Montana Texas

Climate Change and Variants

Emissions

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

Newspapers closest to CCS projects published more articles than other newspapers 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

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

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