Nostalgia

Abstract

AbstractNostalgia is a longing for the past and the way we remember how things used to be done, including a wish for things to stay the same. Nostalgia is a central part of understanding societal responses to change because every new technology and way of doing something is, in effect, competing with nostalgia. In this chapter, I examine how nostalgia can hamper efforts at energy innovation, particularly in terms of how it blinds us to change already under way, and how memories of certain innovations can in subtle ways encourage or hinder innovation. I explore three diverse case studies about nostalgia: memories of pioneering international smart grid experiments, scarce data about off-grid households, and big infrastructure energy solutions.