Energy Project Gets Second Wind
Dr. Cathy Hartman and Dr. Edwin Stafford, who teach marketing for the Business Administration Department, have secured for the second consecutive year a $500,000 federal grant from the Department of Energy to study how to promote consumer adoption of renewable energy sources in the United States. They first became interested in wind power several years ago when they began working with the Natural Resources Environmental Policy Program on Utah State’s campus. Hartman and Stafford later served as the co–chairs of an education and outreach campaign sponsored by the Utah Wind Working Group, an organization that was established by the Utah Energy Office to promote the development of wind energy at the state level.
Their wind energy campaign occurred at precisely the same time that rising energy costs and national security concerns were beginning to focus the world’s attention on alternative options. The promotion captured the interest of federal legislators who are working to reduce the nation’s dependence on nonrenewable energy sources. In states such as California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Washington wind power is already being used to reduce dependence on nonrenewable energy and to hedge against fluctuating natural gas prices. The federal grant will allow Hartman and Stafford to put their combined talents to work studying how Utah can create economic opportunity and improve air quality by making maximum use of its natural resources.