Sammendrag
The Port of Rotterdam is the core of fossil fuel industries in Europe and, therefore, an essential place and infrastructure to reconfigure if we are to mitigate climate change and achieve a proper energy transition. However, the Port is more than a logistics hub and a global supply chain, it is the next-door neighbor to the Island of Voorne-Putten, an area with a population of around 160000 people. This ethnographic research project investigates the relationship between the everyday life(worlds) of the citizens of Voorne-Putten (with a focus on the villages of Brielle and Pernis), in relation to the industrial actors and infrastructures an around the Port. The project uses theories from critical infrastructure anthropology and political ecology as it argues that the industrial actors in the Port are actively trying to create a separation between the fossil-fueled worlds of the industry, and the “greened” environment of the citizens on Voorne-Putten. Furthermore, through the lens of ethnographic participant observation and semi-structured interviews—the research illustrates some of the often invisible power ingrained in infrastructure space. The research describes different actors in the field site: local politicians, citizens, farmers, workers, and a manager from the Port. By analyzing and discussing these encounters and experiences, it tries to anchor energy struggles in local, materialized, and embodied experiences. From this focal point, the research carves out a potential for change and the creation of new energy imaginaries.