Paper Short Abstract:

How can anthropologists engage with new wave and tidal power machines to actively support designs for environmental justice? This paper analyses the global development of marine renewables. I then discuss co-designing social learning infrastructures between coastal communities in Asia and America.

Paper Abstract:

Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) technologies are being heavily promoted along many coasts. But the experience with solar and wind parks shows green technology design and roll-out is often beset with social and environmental justice concerns. We need to study the production of new wave and tidal power machines in a way that actively supports resilient, socially-acceptable design. This paper asks first: what kind of research and design models are powering this particular ‘blue-green’ transition, and what are the effects? For example, in western Canada, First Nations groups are actively initiating and the development of new MRE, while in the East, top-down planning and subsequent resistance from fisherfolk led to the failure of several tidal power companies. Second, how can research attuned to different Asian and American contexts help foster environmentally just versions of MRE? My research data stems from the early stages of establishing Social Ocean Energy (SOCEAN): a transdisciplinary endeavour that connects Asian and American coasts. Grounded in a collaborative ethnographic approach, the goal is to unfold design for social learning between coastal inhabitants, tech developers and policy-makers. I document the exploration of how to foster a coast-to-coast network and digital learning infrastructure. This intervention in new ocean power infrastructures asks what environmental justice means, to whom. It aims to generate both practical lessons and theoretical innovations in technology design, as well as insights into cross-continental alliance-building.