On 17 September 2025, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University hosted the inaugural public lecture in its Fellows’ Presentations series as part of Harvard Climate Action Week—organized by the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University—featuring Dr. Diana Hernández, 2025–2026 Radcliffe-Salata Climate Justice Fellow and associate professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, in conversation with Dr. Rachel Morello-Frosch, 2025–2026 Radcliffe-Salata Climate Justice Fellow and professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Drawing on insights from Hernández’s new book Powerless: The People’s Struggle for Energy (Russell Sage, 2025), the talk examined how energy insecurity at home mirrors and magnifies structural inequities in health, housing, and climate resilience.

Opening Acknowledgments and Context

Dr. Claudia Rizzini, executive director of the Radcliffe Fellowship Program, welcomed attendees and outlined the Q&A process via Slido and Zoom chat. She introduced Dr. Hernández as a pioneering sociologist whose scholarship reframes household energy as a social determinant of health and equity rather than a mere technical service. Rizzini placed the talk within Climate Action Week—a university-wide initiative led by the Salata Institute—underscoring Radcliffe’s commitment to centering justice in sustainability conversations.

The Invisible Force of Household Energy

Dr. Hernández began by evoking the everyday hum of refrigerators, the flick of a light switch, and the necessity of affordable air conditioning and heating. Citing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data, she noted that 2024 set new global heat records, with some regions—especially the Arctic—warming at twice the planetary average. Rather than distant polar images, Hernández emphasized the lived realities of millions who face “energy insecurity”: the inability to afford or access sufficient energy for basic needs like temperature control, cooking, and refrigeration.

From Boston Living Rooms to National Insights

Recalling her early fieldwork in Boston public housing, Dr. Hernández described discovering energy insecurity as an “incidental finding” when tenants spoke of freezing homes in winter and using ovens for heat. Motivated to quantify these experiences, she conducted over 100 interviews across ten U.S. locales—California, Montana, Arizona, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, New York, Pennsylvania, Detroit, and Puerto Rico—and administered a national survey. Combining narratives with government data, she estimated that at least one in ten U.S. households experiences energy insecurity, while another four in ten are at risk—totaling half of American homes.

Personal Stories of Hardship

Through poignant case studies, Hernández illustrated the stakes of energy insecurity:

• Alicia, a single mother of five in Memphis, faced shut-off notices and had to choose between her children’s shoes and the light bill, sometimes sleeping by an oven’s glow to stay warm.
• Betty in Alabama meticulously turned off every appliance yet still saw soaring bills in one of the nation’s hottest states.
• Edith in Detroit realized she wasn’t alone when she saw a news report of a neighbor frozen out by a utility cutoff, leading her to discover widespread housing disrepair and the threat of displacement.
• Rosalina in the Bronx avoided hosting family because her apartment was uncomfortably cold, sacrificing social connection to save on energy costs.

Unequal Burdens and Health Impacts

Dr. Hernández highlighted that energy insecurity disproportionately affects low-income households, communities of color, renters, and residents of older or rural homes. She noted that extended exposure to extreme indoor temperatures and intermittent power access exacerbates chronic health conditions, deepens poverty, and erodes social ties. Drawing on her framework of economic, physical, and coping dimensions, she described how hardship forces families into dangerous alternatives—using stoves for heat or forgoing food, medicine, and other essentials.

Toward Community-Centered Solutions

In the conversation with Dr. Morello-Frosch, the speakers explored policy and community responses. Hernández advocated for expanding the energy safety net—modernizing assistance programs to cover both arrearages and efficiency upgrades—and embedding equity into the clean-energy transition. Morello-Frosch stressed the importance of localized, human-centered interventions that draw on residents’ expertise, link public health and housing agencies, and mobilize grassroots advocacy to ensure durable change.

Call to Action

Dr. Hernández concluded with a challenge: to reconceive “power” not merely as electrons in a grid but as political agency. She urged participants to elevate energy justice in climate policy, health equity, and housing reform—starting with intimate conversations at kitchen tables and scaling to systemic reforms that guarantee every household the dignity of warmth, cooling, and light.

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The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study is a renowned interdisciplinary research center at Harvard University. Established to foster collaboration across diverse fields, it brings together scholars, artists, and professionals to tackle complex societal challenges. The Institute supports innovative research and creative work that transcends traditional academic boundaries, advancing knowledge and addressing global issues.

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