BUILDING AMBITIOUS US SUBNATIONAL CLIMATE INITIATIVES: EMBRACING DIGNITY AND THE TRADITION OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of The School of Continuing Studies and of The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Liberal Studies By Cyd Slayton, M.F.A Georgetown University Washington, D.C. April 2018 Copyright 2018 by Cyd Slayton All Rights Reserved ii BUILDING AMBITIOUS US SUBNATIONAL CLIMATE INITIATIVES: EMBRACING DIGNITY AND THE TRADITION OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT Cyd Slayton, M.F.A. DLS Chair: Thomas Kerch, Ph.D. ABSTRACT The human activity of emitting greenhouse gasses (GHGs) is contributing to the intensification of extreme weather, according to nearly all climate scientists. Already, atmospheric concentrations of the three most heat-trapping greenhouse gasses (GHGs)— carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—are “unprecedented for at least 800,000 years.”1 As a result, heat waves, droughts, floods, cyclones, wildfires, and rising seas are more frequent and powerful. While the planet will survive the climate catastrophes, a destabilized atmosphere threatens all species, including our own. Over the past 25 years, total GHG emissions have continued to rise, despite international and bilateral climate treaties. Generally, the US has refused to ratify treaties that appear to impinge on national sovereignty, including the Kyoto Protocol with its “top 1 IPCC Working Groups I, II and III, Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report , Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, eds. R.K. Pachauri and L.A. Meyer (Geneva: IPCC, 2014), 4, accessed March 2, 2018, https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment- report/ar5/syr/AR5_SYR_FINAL_SPM.pdf. iii down” emissions targets for developed nations. In 2017, Trump threatened to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, which requires only “bottom up” voluntary mitigation pledges. Yet, despite federal inaction, climate initiatives are continuing to emerge from subnational levels of government (state/local/regional), associations and private enterprise, which the Paris Agreement recognizes as critical non-Party activity. Citizens and their associations are tapping into America’s rich tradition of cyclical civic engagement observed by Alexis de Tocqueville in the early 19 th century and detected, once again, by Robert D. Putnam from the late 20 th century until the mid-21 st century. Currently, the US appears to be entering a new cycle of heightened civic participation, given the rise of numerous social movements. The climate campaign is among the most energetic, particularly among younger generations and liberals who accept the authority of climate scientists and want action. Philosophers since the ancient Stoics have invoked our moral duties to right conduct. In particular, Kant argued that those duties are based on the foundational value of human dignity that requires treating all others as ends, not means, to create the “kingdom of ends.” This work argues that Kantian duty requires Americans to build mitigation and adaptation initiatives that are ambitious in order to demonstrate their respect for all others, including the most vulnerable populations. As our moral duty, citizen engagement is required, even if the federal government does not show support for mitigation and subnational efforts do not guarantee climate stability. iv Ambitious climate action requires that Americans place more emphasis on communal responsibilities, not just individual rights. Also, Americans must revisit the English tradition of the commons, before laws of enclosure and privatization, and imagine the atmosphere as a commons that is clean and stable, not a sink for GHG polluters. As a matter of dignity, we have a duty to protect the atmospheric commons for current and future generations. To do otherwise is to disrespect the millions at risk from extreme weather intensified by human activity, as well as disrespect ourselves. v DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my academic community at Georgetown University, particularly my chair, Professor Thomas Kerch, and readers Associate Professor Joanna Lewis and Dr. Michael Wall; to Professor Roger Revelle, who in 1970 first taught undergraduates about the finite nature of carbon sinks, and his student, Albert Gore, who saw the urgency of transitioning away from fossil fuel and has never stopped trying to engage citizens to build sustainable communities; to Georgetown University Law Professor Edith Brown Weiss, who has spent much of her career raising awareness about the customary principle of intergenerational equity to protect current and future generations from environmental harms; to citizens who have remained engaged in civic, work and religious associations, even during the decades of decline noted by Putnam; to my mother, I offer a special note of appreciation for her community work of more than 60 years, and to my father, who worked to make Independence, Missouri a model city; and to my spouse, Madeleine McDonough, who is at home with interdisciplinary study and philosophy, and has also been part of my community of scholars throughout this process. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION. AMBITIOUS CLIMATE INITIATIVES: CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AS A MATTER OF DIGNITY ...........................................................................1 CHAPTER 1. THE DISCREDITING OF CLIMATE THEORY BY POLITICAL CONSERVATIVES ........................................................................................... 11 The Rise of Scientific Authority in the US ...................................................... 13 Western History of Atmospheric Science and Scientific Method ..................... 16 The Pivotal Role of Scientists at UC San Diego................................................ 22 American Philosophers of Science Reconsider Scientific Method and Certainty ....................................................................................................... 24 Political Influence on Public Understanding of Climate Science and Research ....................................................................................................... 26 The Impact of “Climategate” on Transparency of Scientific Method and Uncertainty ................................................................................................... 43 Opportunities Among Communities for Climate Understanding and Action ... 50 CHAPTER 2. CLIMATE AGREEMENTS AND US SUBNATIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS ....................................................................................................... 53 The Rise and Fall of US Political Leadership in Climate Agreements .............. 55 US Non-Ratification of Kyoto Protocol ............................................................ 58 vii The First Wave of US Subnational Climate Initiatives: Regional Coalitions ... 63 Congressional Defeat of Climate Legislation .................................................... 66 A First Step in State Transitions Away from Fossil Fuel: The Clean Power Plan .............................................................................................................. 70 California Climate Initiatives Supporting Subnational and International Climate Agreements ................................................................................................. 72 The UN Boosts Subnational Initiatives: Cities, Civic Associations, and Private Sector ........................................................................................................... 75 A Climate Agreement with Stronger “Bottom-Up” Attributes.......................... 79 The Paris Agreement Retains Universal Substantive Principles ....................... 86 Post-Paris Recognition of Non-Party Activity ................................................... 90 The Growing Urgency for US Subnational Initiatives ...................................... 94 CHAPTER 3. TAPPING THE AMERICAN TRADITION OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT ...............................................................................................100 The US Tradition of Cyclical Civic Engagement .............................................101 The Decline of 20 th Century Civic Engagement ...............................................115 The Rise and Stall of the Environmental Movement ........................................119 Renewal of Civic Engagement Energizing a 21 st Century Climate Movement ...................................................................................................123 Grassroots Climate Activity Against the Fossil Fuel Industry .........................130 Private Sector Response to Climate Change and Divestiture Activism ...........141 viii Barriers to Community Environmental Activity: Globalization, Government, Technology, Media, and Poverty ................................................................145 Bridging Civic Associations and Informal Networks to Build Coalitions and Momentum ........................................................................................................ 158 The Future of Citizen Action and the Climate Movement ............................... 162 CHAPTER 4. THE DUTY TO BUILD AMBITIOUS CLIMATE INITIATIVES AS A MATTER OF DIGNITY .............................................................................................