Sean Nolon (U. Vermont) recently published an article related to environmental conflict resolution.  In the article, Sean describes how different forms of consensus-building can be used to site wind turbines and create wind energy policy.  A link to the article on SSRN is here.  It is entitled Negotiating the Wind: A Framework to Engage Citizens in Siting Wind Turbines, 12 Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution 327 (2011), and here is the abstract:

Abstract:      
Electricity generated from wind turbines must be a central part of any renewable energy regime. The build out of any wind energy infrastructure policy relies on facility siting decisions at the local and state level. Local opposition in some areas has created an implementation impasse that is best addressed from a systematic perspective, recognizing that citizens play a central role in making significant land use decisions. Through this article, the author explores the nature of citizen opposition to locally unwanted land uses like wind turbines and proposes a suite of collaborative mechanisms to address concerns through effective citizen engagement in policy development and during local siting decisions. The author proposes a federal structure that provides incentives to encourage collaborative governance at the state and local level. The framework leaves state siting structures in place and provides resources to improve decision-making processes and the outcomes. By involving citizens effectively at the policy and siting level, the hope is that wind turbine siting decisions will be more effective. Instead of encouraging divisions among the levels of government, this model builds on their strengths and supports their weaknesses.

Thanks, Sean, for your contribution to EDR.