Renewable Energy? I'm a Big Fan.

OVERVIEW

Triniti Goldsmith and I decided to create an infographic about the advantages of transitioning to solar energy in our local communities. I targeted my hometown of Phoenixville, PA, while Triniti targeted St. Petersburg, FL. Our infographics aimed to target individuals in our communities through social media groups on Facebook and Instagram.  In each section of our infographics, we tried to use a variety of persuasive techniques. We highlighted an environmental, economic, and overall well-being perspective on the benefits of solar energy.

TRINITI’S RESULTS

On Facebook, I only received 2 likes which was very shocking to me since the majority of my friends are environmentally friendly. My friend Alex shared it on his Facebook and received 7 likes and 1 share. Although this is not a huge increase in numbers, I conclude that he received more responses because he is an Environmental Studies Major and so are a lot of his friends. My mother shared it on her Facebook and received 2 likes and 2 comments. One individual commented that his friend just recently switched to solar panels and he is excited to do the same. Another individual commented that she was very proud of what I am doing/communicating. I found it interesting that my mom got more feedback than I did, maybe it is because her friends on Facebook are the ones who would actually be paying for the switch to solar energy.

 On my Instagram, I received 54 likes and I have 1,457 followers. Two individuals commented on how much they love the message and the artistic twist I put into my infographic, and one of my close friends actually gave me some positive criticism. She stated that she believes we should step aside from being reliant on fossil fuels because it is not good for the environment and solar energy is a good consideration. She concluded though that I have a flaw in my argument, some places in the U.S. do not produce enough sunlight to make this become a national or worldwide thing. She said she has done research too and believes that hydro and nuclear are good alternatives too. I do feel as if I did not receive as much feedback as I would like because maybe my messages were too broad. If I were to make changes, I would want to narrow it down my infographic message and be more specific within a certain framework. I do believe coming at it from a broader perspective was and would be effective when communicating with individuals closer to my age. Although, the individuals who are actually paying/implementing solar energy should be our target audience

SOPHIA’S RESULTS

            I shared my infographic to my community Facebook group as well as my personal account. In total I received 45 likes and 42 comments. I had a lot of engagement on my post and many of the comments were from people who supported the idea of transitioning to renewable energy in our community, had constructive criticism about the infographic, or had already installed solar panels on their home. I believe that because my town was the first to commit to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2030, that a lot of the community is already on board with the idea.  However, I wanted to bring climate change closer to home. Stoknes points out that climate change is a distant issue; it feels distance in space, time, location, etc. This effects one’s risk perception as related to the effects of climate change. (Stoknes 2015) By having images of local nature preserves that could be affected by climate change on my infographic as well as a section about the continuing prosperity of the community, I believe that I achieved that goal. 

LINKS THAT ARE COOL

            While we were creating our infographics, we came across some great resources that can help spread our messages about renewable energy:

·      Project Sunroof: This website helps you estimate your solar savings potential based on where in the world you live.
·      The Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy’s Homeowner’s Guide to Going Solar: This webpage gives an FAQ of what “going solar” really entails and all of the great advantages that come along with it. 

·      Home Depot Solar Panel Installation Services: Installing solar panels has become much easier with Home Depot’s installation service. This webpage checks the availability of consultation services and installation costs.