Suchergebnisse

Objective. As the price of energy swells, renewable energy sources will serve as important alternatives to fossil fuels. Identifying what influences a state to adopt a policy that promotes the construction of renewable energy sources is an important step toward understanding the nature of our future energy supplies.Methods. Using an event‐history analysis, we examine three competing diffusion explanations on the likelihood of a state adopting net metering.Results. We find that regional policy diffusion influences the likelihood of a state to adopt a net metering policy.Conclusions. The results suggest that states are learning from one another and that the EPA's regional offices help facilitate this diffusion.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many African Americans held fairly negative attitudes about effective and speedy government response to the storm. We employ framing theory to examine the role of race in shaping attitudes following Katrina. We hypothesize that a dominant media frame of Black storm victims led African Americans to develop a stronger empathy with storm victims, and thus, more negative views about government response. We test this hypothesis using a unique national poll of adults conducted in September 2005 that over sampled African Americans. Our results support the hypothesis that race strongly shaped attitudes following the storm.