Environmental Philosophy, Lecture ten

A perfect moral Storm

A perfect storm in general is a situation in which multiple storms combine to make a radically worse storm. Gardner uses this term to describe the following three storms:

• The global storm
• The intergenerational storm
• The theoretical storm

The global storm

• The effects of climate change are spread throughout the world.
• The agents (humans) are not united due to their spacial separation.
• Institutions that unify global agents are difficult to setup.

The intergenerational storm

• The effects of climate change are spread throughout time, across many agents and generations.
• The agents (humans) are not united due to their temporal separation.
• Institutions that unify intergenerational agents are even more difficult to setup.

The theoretical problem

The complexity of the climate change problem may be used as an excuse not to act. This in-turn can lead to moral corruption.

Dispersion

Greenhouse gas emissions do not (only) cause damage here and now.

Unity

Even though we are collectively inclined to reduce emissions, we are individually (either as a individual-state or -person) inclined to keep emitting (prisoners dilemma). If we were united by an institution, we would not have this issue.

Institutions

The individual member (s)/(states) do not agree on the necessary measures that would need to be put in place.