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Energy's Power: Fuel, Work, and Waste in the Politics Of ENERGY’S POWER: FUEL, WORK, AND WASTE IN THE POLITICS OF THE ANTHROPOCENE by Cara Daggett A dissertation submitted to Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Baltimore, Maryland June 2016 © 2016 Cara Daggett All Rights Reserved Abstract This project curates a genealogy of energy, treating energy as a historical entity that is generated through the interplay of bodies, machines and fuels. Energy is often understood to be transhistoric, but a genealogical approach appreciates energy as a thing of the Anthropocene, emerging only through experiments with steam engines. In following the emergence of energy, this study focuses upon thermodynamics, the science that ‘discovered’ energy in the mid-19th century, and traces its early manifestations in global politics through the mid-20th century, a period I refer to as a prelude to the Anthropocene, when humans began to glimpse the frightening effects of industrialization. The first chapters analyze the ethical legacy of thermodynamics. Many early energy scientists were devout Scottish Presbyterians, and energy offered a scientific mode for reconciling Christianity to an industrializing Earth. Energy science could be applied to reinforce an already dominant Protestant work ethic, showing its continued relevance to an urban-industrial system of waged work. The remaining chapters then examine the global political effects of thermodynamics and the energy-work connection. Thermodynamics has received less attention than those of the contemporaneous sciences of evolution and ecology, even though thermodynamic assumptions girded evolutionary and ecological thinking. I therefore interrogate thermodynamics itself as an imperial science. In British new imperialism, energy functioned at the intersection of gender, race and class, contributing to the coding of people – and things – as workers and wasters to be governed by imperial powers. The last chapter then turns to the close of this period, showing how thermodynamics resonated in the early public debates over nuclear fuel, which posed the ii first, major challenge to fossil fuel systems in the modern era. Despite the radical implications of nuclear physics, nuclear power was often translated through thermodynamics, helping to frame the debate in the terms of work and waste, terms that continued to reverberate through later energy debates. Finally, the conclusion explores the contemporary relevance of a genealogy of energy. Given the imbrication of energy science and the veneration of productive work, shifting the human culture of fuel will require a corresponding shift in the (post)-industrial cultures of work. iii Defense Committee: Daniel Deudney Jane Bennett Bentley Allan Michael Degani Deborah Poole iv For Henry and Gabriel, who give me hope for our future on Earth. For Matt, love for life. v Acknowledgments Writing this dissertation took me far afield of the comfortable terrain of my discipline, challenging me both personally and intellectually. It would have been impossible to complete without the abiding support and community of teachers, family and friends. I would first like to thank my advisers, Daniel Deudney and Jane Bennett. I am deeply indebted to Dan for his help in developing the questions that inspired this project, which arose in one of our wide-ranging and always engaging conversations. At the same time, he also gave me the gift of latitude, supporting me as I crafted my own approach, even when it took me to surprising places and texts. Through his mentorship, my early (and overly broad) interests were honed into fruitful research areas. I also could not have completed this project without Jane’s generous guidance and encouragement. Jane has that rare ability to pinpoint the weakest elements of an argument, and to pair that with insightful, eminently helpful suggestions for improving it. I always left a meeting with Jane feeling newly motivated, alight with ideas both far-reaching and yet seemingly achievable. Lastly, thanks to the other members of my committee – Bentley Allan, Michael Degani, and Deborah Poole – for their time and engagement with this project. This dissertation was the culmination of the excellent education I received as a doctoral student in the Department of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University. The department is a special place, and through its faculty and graduate seminars, I was exposed to the themes that have defined me as a scholar. I would particularly like to thank William Connolly for his mentorship, as well as Jennifer Culbert, Siba Grovogui, and Renée Marlin-Bennett. In addition, I would like to thank Mary Otterbein her help and cheerful conversation over the years. Before arriving at Johns Hopkins, I also had the pleasure of studying international relations in the master’s program at the London School of Economics and Political Science. It was through the riveting courses at the LSE, and the inspiration of faculty including Barry Buzan, Christopher Coker, and Kimberly Hutchings, that I knew I wanted to continue studying global politics. In addition to faculty members, I am grateful for the community of fellow graduate students in my department, and other departments, who contributed enormously to my growth and scholarship over the years. To friends and colleagues, including Kavi Joseph Abraham, Yehonatan Abramson, Hussein Banai, Alexander Barder, Willy Blomme, Mauro Caraccioli, Derek Denman, Suzanne Gallant, Jairus Grove, Nicole Sunday Grove, Meghan Helsel, Anatoli Ignatov, Hitomi Koyama, Daniel Levine, Noora Lori, Elizabeth Mendenhall, Hannah Son, and Michael Williams. Last in this list, but first in my heart, I want to thank my family. To my parents, Larry and Diane New, who have always encouraged me, by example and word, to pursue what inspires me and to dream big, and who have loved me regardless of that pursuit. To my brother, and fellow bookworm, Ryan New. And to my extended in-law family: my father-in-law Tom Daggett, my late mother-in-law, Christine Daggett, Lauren and Árni Kroknes, and Jamie, Neely, Kai and Iona Daggett. To my children, my heart’s delight, Henry and Gabriel Daggett, both born in the midst of this dissertation. You supplemented an otherwise solitary and abstract endeavor with true happiness, keeping me rooted in the everyday pleasures of play and cuddles. vi And finally, I would like to express my gratitude and love to my partner in life, Matt Daggett, my most brilliant friend, my first reader, and my safe harbor through all the squalls and hurricanes of this journey. From bringing me meals at my desk, to helping me hone my thesis (many, many times), he made it possible for me to finish. vii Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................ vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................... ix Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One: The Energetic Earth ............................................................................... 20 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 20 Energy, From the Greeks to the Carboniferous ............................................................ 26 Energy and the 19th Century ........................................................................................ 43 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 65 Chapter Two: A Geo-Theology of Energy .................................................................... 68 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 68 Earth Time / Human Time ............................................................................................ 75 The Earth of Evolution ................................................................................................. 81 A Geo-Theology of Energy .......................................................................................... 94 Energy and Tactics of Industrialization ...................................................................... 112 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 123 Chapter Three: Energy and Organic Politics ............................................................ 127 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 127 Organisms: Cheats in the Game of Physics ................................................................ 133 Organic Ethics / Thermo-Ethics ................................................................................. 145 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 153 Chapter Four: Energetic Empire ................................................................................ 156 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 156 The Imperial
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