DISRUPTIVE IDEASPublic Intellectuals and their Arguments for Action on Climate Change

@MCNisbet

Science and Technology Studies Program

University of British Columbia 3.27.14

Matthew C. NisbetAssociate ProfessorSchool of CommunicationAmerican University Washington D.C.

Analyzing the Nature and Impact of Public Intellectuals

@MCNisbet

o Describe how public intellectuals:

1) Contribute uniquely to public discourse.

2) Gain and maintain their authority.

3) Spread ideas and arguments through traditional and

online media.

4) Reflect/reinforce specific ―communities of assumptions‖

relative to complex problems.

o Analyze three distinct groups of public intellectuals:

1) Frame the social implications of climate change.

2) Define barriers to societal action.

3) Vision of ―good‖ society and favored policy actions.

4) Outlook on nature and technology.

5) Model of politics and social change.

Distinctive Traits of a Public Intellectual?

@MCNisbet

oMix of academics, journalists, writers and essayists,

entrepreneurs and political leaders, often best known for their

books and writing.

oView world deductively, specific events or trends can be

explained by theory or grand narrative.

oRather than straight description or punditry, they translate

complex subjects, specialize in immersion and synthesis,

often championing specific policy positions or causes.

oMore than a translator of expert knowledge, but a ―social critic

rather than merely a social observer….they are at once

engaged and detached.” – Richard Posner

Personalities, Celebrities and Global Commodities

@MCNisbet

o Merge public and private selves by relating

complex ideas or problems to personal

anecdotes, “journeys,” “realizations.”

o Appearance, headshot, image, and dress are

likely to be consistent with the subject matter

they write about.

o Establish authenticity, commitment to a topic,

―walks the walk,” “practices what they preach”

or has acquired unique knowledge through

exceptional experiences.

o Most are commodities, in that their books,

writing, and speeches are bound up with a dense

web of promotion, selling, marketing, and

millions of dollars in transactions.

Public Intellectuals Online & Spirals of Attention

@MCNisbet

o Motivated “issue publics” deep dive into subject

content across outlets, creating a global following,

and making the writing of public intellectuals online

participatory and social.

o Articles become most popular, read, or emailed at

news sites…flagged, highlighted, contextualized,

and spread by way of comments, Facebook ―like‖

buttons, and indicators of how often a story has been

re-tweeted.

o Meta-commentary and reactions from bloggers and

journalists at other news sites turns article or book

into “pseudo-event.”

Discourses and Communities of Assumptions

@MCNisbet

o Public intellectuals help create discourses and ―communities of

assumptions‖ that define problems and policy options.

o By calling attention to specific disciplines and networks of experts,

they define which experts or views might be mainstream

versus what might be contrarian or out of bounds.

o Once assumptions and legitimate authorities are established, it

becomes ―costly in terms of human mental labor to re-examine

what has finally come to be taken for granted.‖

o Other public intellectuals are needed to “disturb the canonical

peace” and “defamiliarize the obvious” by identifying the

flaws in conventional wisdom and by offering alternative

renderings of a problem.

Telling Stories about Wicked Problems

@MCNisbet

o The more complex a problem like

climate change, the more equally

plausible discourses and

narratives exist about what should

be done.

o Climate change serves as an

opportunity for different groups to

mobilize on behalf of their values,

goals and vision for society.

o By analyzing discourses “we can at

least recognize that the sources of

our enduring disagreements…lie

within us, in our values and in our

sense of identity and purpose.‖–

Mike Hulme

Deep Ecologists:

Defining the Problem

@MCNisbet

o Apply metaphor of “overshoot and collapse,‖ in

which computer models predict that human population

growth, rising consumerism, technological

development, and resource depletion exceed the

carrying capacity of the planet.

o Question target of 450 ppm CO2 and a 2-degree

Celsius temperature rise, believe “safe” level to avoid

catastrophic climate change is 350 ppm.

o The goal therefore is to return the planet to an

earlier in “balance” state, even as they implicitly

accept that this goal may be impossible

Deep Ecologists:

View of Nature

@MCNisbet

o Nature has transcendental, spiritual essence frequently

―likened to Eden itself.‖– William Cronon

o What we call ―human progress‖ has corrupted pristine

nature, thereby putting the very idea of progress at risk.

o Nature viewed as sacred place, a place to turn to for

redemption, cleansing, and salvation, the one place

we can turn for escape from our “own too-muchness.‖

o Climate change means ―the end of Nature…‖ At risk of

disappearing, is a ―certain way of thinking about

God…We can no longer imagine that we are part of

something larger than ourselves…‖—Bill McKibben

Deep Ecologists:

Alternative Vision for Society

@MCNisbet

o Deprioritize economic growth, and instead focus on

quality of life indicators. Less work, more time for

family, community, nature.

o Idealize a Jeffersonian society comprised of self-reliant

communities; localized economies and currencies, food

systems and egalitarian decision-making.

o ―Real climate solutions…devolve power and control to

the community level, whether through community-

controlled renewable energy, local organic agriculture or

transit systems genuinely accountable to their users.‖–

Naomi Klein

o In the future, people would not travel and instead use the

Internet; grow much of their own food; share jobs and

resources, give wealth to developing countries.

Deep Ecologists:

View of Technology

@MCNisbet

o Prioritize technologies they view as having been

created through natural processes, that are in

harmony with nature, and that are local, smaller in

scale.

o Prefer “locally appropriate” soft technologies like

solar, wind, and geothermal sources of energy and

organic farming practices.

o Deeply suspicious of genetic-engineering, nuclear

power, natural gas, carbon capture and storage, and

geo-engineering which they view as too risky, too

costly, and/or too off in the future.

o Genetic engineering and ―hard‖ technologies allow our

moral failing and “addiction” to fossil fuels,

economic growth and consumerism to continue.

Deep Ecologists:

View of Social Change

@MCNisbet

o Societal transformation will require widespread

activism that challenges status quo assumptions

and practices, leads to fundamental political reforms.

o Climate change supercharges the ―case for virtually

every progressive demand on the books, binding them

into a coherent agenda based on a clear scientific

imperative…”– Naomi Klein

o ―The scientific reality of climate change must, for

progressives, occupy a central place in a coherent

narrative about the perils of unrestrained greed and

the need for real alternatives‖ – Naomi Klein

Smart Growth Reformers

Defining the Problem

@MCNisbet

Tom Friedman: The world is a “growth machine” that “no one

can turn off‖. The world is ―getting hot (global warming,) flat

(the rise of high-consuming middle classes), and crowded

(roughly a billion people every thirteen years.)‖

Al Gore: “Carbon dioxide….is largely invisible to market

calculation. And when something’s not recognized in the

marketplace, it’s much easier for government, business, and

all the rest of us to pretend that it doesn’t exist.‖

Jeffrey Sachs: Climate change tied to slowing world

population growth, reducing income inequality, and

alleviating extreme poverty. In balancing these goals, the

―main problem…is not the absence of reasonable and low-cost

solutions, but the difficulty of implementing global

cooperation to put those solutions in place.‖

Alternative Vision for Society

Creating the Next Industrial Revolution?

@MCNisbet

o Limits to growth can be stretched if the right market-based

policies & reforms are adopted. Combines a focus on a “soft

path” approach with a pricing mechanism on carbon.

o Climate change can be solved “not at a cost but at a profit.”

The ―menu of climate-protecting opportunities‖ is ―so large that

over time, they can overtake and even surpass the pace of

economic growth‖ – Hawkins, Lovins & Lovins

o U.S. needs a “Code Green” plan that would create “abundant,

cheap, clean, reliable electrons…America will have its

identity back…because it will again be leading the world…‖ –

Tom Friedman

o Once the power of the market is set in motion, ―We have at

our fingertips all of the tools we need to solve three or four

climate crises—and we only need to solve one‖ – Al Gore

Smarth Growth Reformers:

View of Technology

@MCNisbet

o Strong emphasis on “soft” renewables and

skepticism of nuclear energy, natural gas, and

carbon capture.

o Gore, for example, argues that in solar, wind, and

efficiency we have all the technologies we need to

solve the climate crisis.

o But Sachs emphasizes needed for carbon capture: ―If

we are forced to scale back sharply on our use of

fossil fuels, the economic consequences could be very

high...we have no choice but to try to live

effectively with advanced technologies…and try to

ensure that they serve broad human purposes‖

The Design to Win Strategy

A Technocratic Approach to Social Change

@MCNisbet

o ―A cap on carbon output—and an accompanying

market for emissions permits—will prompt a sea

change that washes over the entire global economy.‖ –

Design to Win report

o ―The good news is that we already have the technology

and know-how to achieve these carbon reductions—

often at a cost savings.‖ – Design to Win report

o ―Climate change, unlike a lot of large-scale problems, is

actually one that is solvable. It is also one where we

know what we need to do. We have the best data in the

world on how to prevent climate change. Everything

was ranked by magnitude, location and sector. It’s a

systematic approach to problem solving.‖ – Hal Harvey,

NY Times interview

A Technocratic View of Social Change

Design to Win Foundations, 2008 to 2010

@MCNisbetNisbet, 2011

Shifting View of Social Change:

More Similar to Deep Ecologists

@MCNisbet

o ―Grassroots activism is essential to building a base of

support strong enough to overcome well-funded

opposition...‖ – Al Gore

o Need a ―radical center‖ third party that would replace

―begrudging compromise between the two hostile

ideologies with a creative synthesis‖ – Tom Friedman

o ―We will need…to achieve a new mindfulness regarding

our needs as individuals and as a society, to find a more

solid path to well-being…‖ – Jeffrey Sachs

o Political change will require a third party movement to

remove money from politics and to break up a right-of-

center two party system.

The Climate Pragmatists

Defining the problem

@MCNisbet

o Climate change misdiagnosed as pollution problem akin to

acid rain that requires regulation & price on emissions to

solve.

o Environmentalists have isolated themselves politically by

focusing on “politics of limits,” rather than emphasizing

“politics of possibility.‖

o Environmentalists discount problem of global development

and energy poverty. Criticize ―abundant, cheap energy‖ and

emphasize low consumption, ―appropriate technologies.‖

o But this strategy runs up against Pielke’s “Iron Law of

Climate Policy,” political leaders and publics say they favor

change, but unwilling to bear actual costs.

The Climate Pragmatists

Alternative Vision for the Anthropocene

@MCNisbet

o "Nature no longer runs the Earth. We do. It is our choice

what happens here.‖ – Mark Lynas

o Focus is on human possibility in a world of cheap,

abundant, cleaner energy.

o “9 Billion People + 1 Planet = ?” Climate change

subset of larger sustainability challenge. ――If I had to

choose one of two bumper stickers for our car —

CLIMATE CRISIS or ENERGY QUEST — I’d choose the

latter.‖– Andrew Revkin

o Conservation is not about walling off a fragile nature from

man; but integrating a resilient nature into man-made

landscapes and cities.

The Climate Pragmatists

Technology, Disagreement and Social Change

@MCNisbet

o Need portfolio of clumsy solutions across sectors

including focus on adaptation and resilience and stronger

emphasis on role of government in technological

innovation.

o Diversifying policy and technology options increases

opportunity for political action.

o Asserting scientific or expert consensus in the service

of a specific policy approach risks trust in scientific

advice; leads to ―groupthink,‖ and to attacks on legitimate

alternative perspectives.

o Instead need forums and opportunities to critically reflect,

debate, assess assumptions, arguments and options.

The Dot Earth Blog

Revkin as Explainer, Informed Critic and Convenor

@MCNisbet

The Dot Earth Blog

Revkin as Explainer, Informed Critic and Convenor

@MCNisbet

www.ClimateShiftProject.org

@MCNisbet