Dartmouth Events

Dylan Harris, Assistant Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
"Challenges and Lessons from the 'Transit' of Colorado's Just Transition"

In 2020, the State of Colorado launched its Just Transition Action Plan, which identifies different communities across the state that need, and are currently undergoing, transitions away from fossil fuel towards more sustainable industries (renewable energy being one of several). Additionally, the State has released two Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmaps, and the Governor released a Roadmap to Colorado's Future, each one articulating policy priorities through 2026. These plans and roadmaps outline an ambitious undertaking and present an opportunity to study the 'transit' of Colorado's Just Transition, which is to say the process, both discursive and material, by which society will (ideally) be more equitable, as it is unfolding. 

Utilizing an experimental political ecology approach, one that aims to engage directly in the process of transition, Professor Harris will discuss the experiences of three transition communities, each one dealing with the closure a coal-fired power plant. These plants are in various stages of termination, disrepair, innovation, and restoration. They represent a vision of 'transit' in which the future is being actively assembled, and each site contains the material (metal, fiberglass, and dust) and discursive (anxiety, desire, and optimism) components of transition. Taking cues from the successes of a "Tier One" community, a community on the frontlines of transition as defined by the state's action plan, Professor Harris will conclude with some lessons about how a transition away from fossil fuels may truly be just.

Register for this online event.