Precisely because wind energy has become a primary symbol in “branding” the Green New Deal it deserves close analytical scrutiny. As environmental sociologist Shaun A. Golding writes, “as symbols of environmentalism, wind turbines are part of the same green branding that many people associate with the mountains” – they have become “seductively conspicuous” (2021: 46). Indeed, it has become conspicuous not only in the USA, but globally. In what follows, this essay unpacks the important contribution of Golding’s Electric Mountains to the critical environmental social science literature on this topic, as well as Power Struggles, by anthropologist Jaume Franquesa, who also deals (mainly) with wind energy in Spain. Discussing these works, their intersecting interests, and points of departure inaugurates new discussions about wind energy and highlights the utility of ethnographic science and political economy in the Anthropocene. In our discussion, we also emphasize the need for greater consideration of race and racism in the wind turbine literature, which will usefully constitute new research dimensions.

2022    O’Neill, Brian F. and Matthew Jerome Schneider. “Demystifying the Global ‘Just Transition’ – On Power Struggles and Electric Mountains.” Forthcoming in Human Geography.