Nebraskans’ views of wind energy development and wildlife ... · Nebraskans’ views of wind...
Transcript of Nebraskans’ views of wind energy development and wildlife ... · Nebraskans’ views of wind...
Nebraskans’ views of wind energy development and wildlife: Results of the 2012 and 2013 Nebraska Annual Social
Indicators Survey
Caroline Jezierski, Craig Allen, Michelle Koch, Joseph Fontaine, Rick Schneider, Tim McCoy
SURVEY INTRODUCTION
• The Nebraska Wind and Wildlife Project contributed to the Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (NASIS)
• The NASIS is an omnibus survey of quality of life in the state of Nebraska conducted by the Bureau of Sociological Research at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln.
• The purpose of the questions was to gather information about Nebraskan's views and opinions of wind energy development and wildlife.
2012 2013
Addresses Sampled 3,600 6,000
Number of Responses 954 1,067
Response Rates 29% 27%*
Wind – Wildlife Questions 8 5
SURVEY NUMBERS
QUESTION FORMAT
Likert – type Scale Strongly Disagree - Disagree - Neither Disagree nor Agree - Agree - Strongly Agree
- Do Not Know For Analysis, Do Not Know responses were not included
VARIABLES
• Male & Female
• Urban – Zip Codes for Metropolitan Areas – Grand Island – Lincoln – Omaha – Sioux City (south)
• Rural – All Other Zip Codes
ANALYSIS
• Pairwise Comparisons – Male & Female – Rural & Urban – Rural Males & Rural Females – Urban Males & Urban Females – Rural Males & Urban Males – Rural Females & Urban Females
• Mann-Whitney Rank Sum Test • Significant – p ≤ 0.05
2012 2013
Variable Frequency % Frequency %
Gender
Male 428 45.8 457 42.8
Female 506 54.2 604 56.6
Location Designation
Rural 516 56.3 560 52.5
Male 247 48.1 243 43.4
Female 266 51.9 314 56.1
Urban 400 43.7 508 47.6
Male 174 43.5 213 41.9
Female 226 56.5 290 57.1
2% 4%
10%
39%
40%
5%
Do you support or oppose wind energy development in Nebraska?
Strongly oppose
Oppose
Neither oppose nor support
Support
Strongly support
Do not know
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
MalesFemales
Rural Urban RuralMales
RuralFemales
UrbanMales
UrbanFemales
Do you support or oppose wind energy development in Nebraska?
Oppose
Support
No Significant Differences Between Any Comparisons
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Very unlikely Somewhatunlikely
Neitherunlikely nor
likely
Somewhatlikely
Very likely Would not dothese activities
anywhere
Do not know
How likely or unlikely are you to go fishing, hunting, hiking, etc.
Within 1 Mile Within SightNo Significant Differences
Between Any Comparisons
More likely to recreate within sight than within 1 mile of a turbine.
5%
20%
27%
3% 3%
42%
How much do you agree or disagree that current wind energy regulations in Nebraska adequately
protect wildlife?
Strongly agree
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Do not know
Urban Females Disagree More than Urban Males and Rural Females
5%
26%
20% 19%
24%
6%
Are you concerned or unconcerned that birds and bats are killed as a result of wind energy
development?
Very concerned
SomewhatconcernedNeither concernednor unconcernedSomewhatunconcernedVery unconcerned
Do not know
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
MalesFemales
Rural Urban RuralMales
RuralFemales
UrbanMales
UrbanFemales
Are you concerned or unconcerned that birds and bats are killed as a result of wind energy
development?
Concerned
unconcerned
Significant Differences in All Except Urban Males & Urban Females – Females and Urban more concerned.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Veryconcerned
Somewhatconcerned
Slightlyconcerned
Not at allconcerned
Don't know
Perc
ent
How concerned are you that each of the following types of wildlife listed below can be negatively
impacted or killed as a result of wind energy development and/or operation?
Eagles
Hawks
Songbirds
Cranes
Grouse
Ducks
Geese
Bats
Deer
Elk
Pronghorn Antelope
Furbearers
Endangered Species
Significant Difference Between Nearly All - Females and Urban more concerned.
5%
10%
18%
44%
17%
6%
Do you agree or disagree that wind energy facility development and operation should have to take
precautions to reduce impacts on wildlife?
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neither disagree or agree
Agree
Strongly agree
Do not know
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Males Females Rural Urban RuralMales
RuralFemales
UrbanMales
UrbanFemales
Do you agree or disagree that wind energy facility (i.e. wind farm) development and operation should
have to take precautions to reduce impacts on wildlife?
Disagree
Agree
Significant Differences in All Except Urban Males & Urban Females – Females and Urban agree more
19%
40%
30%
9%
2%
How much would you support or oppose regulations in Nebraska that require wind energy
development and operation to minimize impacts to wildlife?
Strongly support
Support
Neither support nor oppose
Oppose
Strongly oppose
Significant Difference in All But Rural Males & Rural Females – Females and Urban support more
21%
43%
20%
5%
2% 9%
How much do you agree or disagree that developers should pay for impacts of wind energy
developments to native Nebraska habitats?
Strongly agree
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Do not know
Significant Difference Between Rural & Urban - Urban Agrees More
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Very unlikely Somewhatunlikely
Neitherunlikely nor
likely
Somewhatlikely
Very likely Do not know
How likely or unlikely are you to support placement of wind turbines on the following...
Cropland
Grassland
Wetlands
River Valleys
Recreational Lands
Residential Lands
Industrial Lands
22%
43%
28%
5% 2%
How much do you support or oppose wind energy development in remote, un-fragmented landscapes
in Nebraska?
Strongly support
Support
Neither support nor oppose
Oppose
Strongly oppose
No Significant Differences Between Any Comparisons
20.6
14 12.8
25.9
17.6
9.1
20.4
10.7 12.5
24.9 23.8
7.7
Very unlikely Somewhatunlikely
Neither unlikelynor likely
Somewhat likely Very likely Do not know
How likely or unlikely are you to pay $2 more a month on your electricity bill tosupport wind energy development?
If wind energy development was planned in a manner that reduces impacts onwildlife resources, how likely or unlikely would you be to pay $2 more permonth on your electricity bill to support wind energy development?
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Males Females Rural Urban RuralMales
RuralFemales
UrbanMales
UrbanFemales
How likely or unlikely are you to pay $2 more a month on your electricity bill to support wind energy
development?
Unlikely
Likely
Significant Differences Between Males & Females, Rural & Urban, and Rural Males & Rural Females
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Males Females Rural Urban RuralMales
RuralFemales
UrbanMales
UrbanFemales
If wind energy development was planned in a manner that reduces impacts on wildlife resources, how likely or unlikely would you be to pay $2 more per month on your electricity bill to support wind
energy development?
Unlikely
Likely
Significant Differences Between Males & Females, Rural & Urban, Rural Males & Rural Females, and Rural & Urban Males
SUMMARY - 1
• The majority of participants: – Support wind energy development. – Agree that precautions should be taken to
minimize impacts to wildlife. – Agree that developers should pay for impacts to
habitat. – Would support regulations requiring wind energy
development and operation to minimize impacts to wildlife.
– Support development in unfragmented landscapes such as grasslands.
SUMMARY - 2
• There were some questions for which there were no significant differences found between the pairs.
• In general, females and urban participants are more concerned about impacts to wildlife and feel more strongly that developers should take precautions and pay for impacts.
Survey results can be found at: http://snr.unl.edu/renewableenergy/wind/research.asp#surveys Reports on survey responses for the Public Power Districts are available online & handouts at the project booth. Questions?? Contact [email protected]