Increasing Energy Outreach: Twitter as an educational platform

by Thomas Harris

For my comp final project I decided to write a series of twitter posts about some of the problems that clean energy still faces. I wrote threads about the variable energy supply of renewable energy, the need for more transmission, and the infrastructure gap between fossil fuel plants and renewable energy. My last post serves as a reminder that despite all of these challenges, getting renewable energy to a financially beneficial place is an incredible achievement. It now makes more sense for environmentally ambivalent investors to put money into renewables than it does for them to put money into the fossil fuel industry. 

Getting HUCEG involved in the twitter space is a great opportunity for educational outreach. Twitter is the best social media platform for educational outreach. Twenty three percent of Americans are on twitter, and seventy percent of twitter users use the site (to some capacity) for news. Twitter is dedicated to sharing thoughts and ideas; the website would feed on bite-sized bits of clean energy information that can help inform the general public. The algorithm is also designed with creator discovery in mind, meaning that HUCEGs twitter account does not need to obtain a critical mass to start accumulating followers. The twitter account just needs consistent, high quality content. 

I wanted to talk about the challenges that lie ahead in green energy because I wanted to get people thinking about how to move forward in our battle against climate change. Most people already know that climate change is bad, and on a macro level, they know that we need to increase our renewable energy resources. But, beyond that, people do not know how to implement these changes. By breaking down the different aspects of our grid that need to be modified, I hope to get more people involved in the advancement of renewable energy as a business.

Read the tweets below!