ENVS 160 has been full of readings that weave topics together and explore them from many different angles. There are many big ideas that are common among most or all of them, but I think three stood out in particular: the complexity of environmental issues, the idea of institutional action, and the governance of climate. By looking at these topics individually and exploring the readings behind them, we can see that they have applications beyond this class and require even further examination to completely understand.
One key lesson common through ENVS 160 and our books is that environmental problems are complex. These varying complex problems require a lot of complex solutions. Many of the authors of our books acknowledge that climate change will not simply be solved by everyone riding bikes or recycling. Ostrom claimed that the tragedy of the commons was flawed in that the idea of simple, ideal solutions often makes situations worse rather than better. He argued that complex and often compromising solutions are obviously much harder to create but are well worth it in the long run (Ostrom 2008). Another example of complex solutions is in Making a Modern World. Vaclav Smil uses the end of the book to discuss some of the ways to reduce material consumption and concludes that “the transformation of humanity’s material uses will be a gradual and difficult process with uncertain outcomes” (Smil 2014, 180). Both of these authors throughout their readings make sure to recognize how the complexity of climate change leads to difficult solutions.
The idea of action is apparent in some form in all of the texts we have read in this class. More specifically, a few have emphasized the importance of institutional thinking and action. Institutional action is an idea that is relatively new and aligns more with contemporary thought. While individual action is great and can be helpful, the real change is going to happen at the institutional scale. In many of our readings, the action was referring to material goods such as when Maniates says that “confronting the consumption problem demands, after all, the sort of institutional thinking that the individualization of responsibility patently undermines” (Maniates 2001, 34). Another example of material is in Making a Modern World which examines material consumption around the world and concludes by discussing possible solutions. Vaclav Smil discusses the “desire for simpler ways of life amidst material plenty is usually expressed in abandoning, largely in a symbolic way […] and such actions will have only a marginal effect on the overall material demand” (Smil 2014, 179). He also notes how dependence on voluntary reduction of consumption doesn’t work out and therefore we need to turn to higher institutions in order to make change. Who Rules the Earth is a book entirely about institutional action and why it is important and successful. The author argues that the most effective way to bring about change is to “critically examine the powerful social structures shaping our planet and our lives” (Steinberg 2015, 12) instead of thinking that small individual actions will add up to big change.
The idea of climate governance is also apparent in many of our texts. Why We Disagree About Climate Change has a chapter especially devoted to government and climate change. Hulme discusses how establishing climate governance “relies heavily on the political authority of the nation-state and on the economic efficiency of the market” (Hulme 2009, 317). The way that we govern the earth has huge effects on the environmental problems that we are trying to solve and disagreement about who should be in charge of what lead to delays in these solutions. Therefore, this issue is pertinent to every complex aspect of climate change noted in Why We Disagree About Climate Change and beyond. Governance of climate is also often discussed in Who Rules the Earth. Many examples of the different governing institutions are given in this book. The establishment of pesticide laws explores how the creating of laws governs climate. A chapter highlighting the migration of the cerulean warbler discusses how property rights play a huge role into how climate is governed. Another chapter looks at cap and trade and the effectiveness of market-based institutions (Steinberg 2015). Like the solutions to climate change, the governance of it is complex and involves many characters at different levels.
Works Cited
Hulme, Mike. 2009. Why We Disagree About Climate Change. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Maniates, Michael F. 2001. “Individualization: Plant a Tree, Buy a Bike, Save the World?” Global Environmental Politics 1, no. 3: 31–52.
Ostrom, Elinor. 2008. “The Challenge of Common-Pool Resources.” Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development 50 (4): 8–21. doi:10.3200/ENVT.50.4.8-21.
Smil, Vaclav. 2014. Making the Modern World. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Steinberg, Paul. 2015. Who Rules the Earth?. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.