INTERNATIONAL SOCIETYFOR ENVIRONMENTAL … · environmental values of Catholics and (c) ... as the...

1 ISEE Newsletter Fall 2015

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR

ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS NEWSLETTER

VOLUME 25, NUMBER 3FALL 2015ISSN 82248250

ADVANCING THE FIELD OFENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS AND

PHILOSOPHY SINCE 1990

PRESIDENTPHIL CAFARO

VICE-PRESIDENTBENJAMIN HALE

SECRETARYWILLIAM GROVE-FANNING

TREASURERALLEN THOMPSON

NEWSLETTER EDITORMATT FERKANY

WEBSITE MANAGERALINE RAMOS

2ISEE Newsletter Fall 2015

IN THIS ISSUE

General announcements 3

Article: What will Catholics do now about 6climate change?

New publications: Books 10

New publications: Non-philosophy 13journals

ISEE business 18

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS



REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT ON THE 12THANNUAL CONFERENCE IN KIEL, GERMANY

The 12th annual conference of theInternational Society for Environmental Ethicswas held July 22nd to July 25th in Kiel,Germany, at the ChristianAlbrechtsUniversitat. Hosted by Konrad Ott and a crackteam of organizers from CAU, this year’sconference was titled “Environmental Ethicsbetween Action and Reflection.” 160 scholarsparticipated, from six continents and as faraway as South Africa and New Zealand,making this the largest ISEE conference yet.

Papers given covered a full range of issueswithin environmental ethics, from differentiatedresponsibilities to mitigate global climatechange to the ethics of deextinction.Compared to previous years, participantsseemed more critical of mainstream economicapproaches to environmental problems.Keynote speakers included Clare Palmer(Texas A&M University) on “Staying in PlaceWhile the Climate Changes: FacilitatedAdaptation and the Wildness of Wild Animals,”Thomas Potthast (Tübingen University) with anecological talk titled “Biocoenosis or LivingCommunity,” Darrel Moellendorf (GoetheUniversity Frankfurt) on “Poverty andDangerous Climate Change,” and Alan Warde(University of Manchester) on “SustainableConsumption: Practices, Habits and Politics.”The full program can be found here.

In addition to the scholarly talks and paneldiscussions, conference participants enjoyedhalfday excursions to nearby Geltinger Birkand the Dosenmoor, one of the last healthybogs left in the area, and a full day trip toWadden See National Park on the North Seacoast. There was also a lovely conferencedinner at the Forstbaumschule, a biergarten inan urban forest. All in all, the conference was agreat success, thanks to all the good work putin by Konrad, Lieske, Christian, Gunda and the

gang in organizing it. Next year’s will be atPace University in New York City, June 29th toJuly 2nd. Hope to see you there!

Phil Cafaro, outgoing ISEE President



ARTICLE

What will Catholics do now aboutclimate change? A discussion of thesignificance and probable impact ofLaudato Se with Gretel Van Wieren

Gretel Van Wieren is Assistant Professor ofReligious Studies at Michigan State University.Her work focuses on religion, ethics, and theenvironment and she is author of the book,Restored to Earth: Christianity, EnvironmentalEthics, and Ecological Restoration(Georgetown University Press, 2013). I spokewith Gretel in September about whether PopeFrancis' recent encyclical (a) really marks asea change in Catholic thinking and whether(b) it is likely to have much impact on theenvironmental values of Catholics and (c) otherChristians. The short answer is “yes and no,”“maybe but not clearly” and “more likely.” Findout why below.

Ferkany: So we have this new, big event in theworld of faith and environmental ethics, thisencyclical. I'm wondering what's new here. As Ilooked at the document, I saw a lot of noddingto previous statements by previous popes onthe importance of relationship to the naturalenvironment and having a stewardlyrelationship. What's going on here that'sinteresting and new? What's consistent?What's come before? So far as you know,what's quite different?

Van Wieren: Encyclicals have to do this to acertain extent in terms of listing the continuitywith the tradition. Pope Francis does mentionvarious popes that have promoted a sense ofreligious ecology. Pope Paul VI, Pope JohnPaul II who, of course, called Francis thepatron saint for those who promote ecology,sounding similar to Lynn White, Jr. in hisfamous 1967 essay in Science. But thenFrancis also cites the leader of the EasternOrthodox Church, Patriarch Bartholomew, whohas called ecological destruction a sin.

I'm not sure what's entirely new if anythingabout the encyclical, although I do think someaspects are distinctive. Francis advance a

very harsh critique of industrial capitalism andglobal socioeconomic inequity, for example. Ithink the wedding of this critique with climatechange is distinctive. Also, he calls forconcrete political actions, noting theimportance of global conventions aroundtransitioning to renewables, such as the ViennaConvention and the Montreal Protocol.

The term he uses to refer to the sort ofcosmology that he’s interested in promoting,“integral ecology,” is somewhat novel for theChurch. Additionally, he states in the encyclicalthat it is important that indigenous peoples areprinciple dialogue partners, and so the integralecology that he talks about is this vision of realhuman interdependence with the natural world,even though in traditional Christianity humansare considered to be the only ones with divineimage. Nevertheless, this integral ecology as acosmology does significantly decenter humansin the broader scheme of things. There mightbe something significant there in terms of justhow integral his view of humans and nature is.

I think probably the most significant thing aboutthe encyclical is that Francis has chosenclimate change as the most significant globalissue of the day. Then these other issues, hesees as intrinsic to that—global, socialinequality and global industrial capitalism, andso forth—he sees as part of all of this. Stillmany Catholics don't choose climate changeas the principal significant moral issue of today.They choose instead issues such as abortionor the economy.

Ferkany: Okay, so it's a combination of acritique of global industrial capitalism, adifferent kind of cosmology in which the humanis displaced a little bit in the hierarchy ofsignificance, and then the choice of climatechange as the focal issue or problem. Onething that I seem to pick up a lot from the presswas also this feeling that the view orperspective the pope had taken on climatechange, either the science of it or theimperative to mitigate the problem, was



NEW PUBLICATIONS:ENVIRONMENTAL BOOKS

Global Ethics and Climate Change. Paul G.Harris, Edinburgh University Press, 2016.

This book combines the science of climatechange with ethical critique to expose itsimpact, the increasing intensity of dangeroustrends – particularly growing global affluence,material consumption and pollution – and theintensifying moral dimensions of changes tothe environment. It shows you that globaljustice is vital to mitigating climate change.New for this edition:

Includes recent climate diplomacy andinternational agreements Presents current data and information onclimate science Updated statistics; e.g. in chapters andsections that look at poverty and wealth Expanded learning guide for students andlecturers

The Battle for Yellowstone: Morality and theSacred Roots of Environmental Conflict.Justin Farrell, Princeton University Press,2015.

Yellowstone holds a special place in America’sheart. As the world’s first national park, it isglobally recognized as the crown jewel ofmodern environmental preservation. But thepark and its surrounding regions have recentlybecome a lightning rod for environmentalconflict, plagued by intense and intractablepolitical struggles among the federalgovernment, National Park Service,environmentalists, industry, local residents, andelected officials. The Battle forYellowstone asks why it is that, with the flood ofexpert scientific, economic, and legal efforts toresolve disagreements over Yellowstone, thereis no improvement? Why do even seeminglyminor issues erupt into impassioned disputes?What can Yellowstone teach us about theworsening environmental conflicts worldwide?Justin Farrell argues that the battle forYellowstone has deep moral, cultural, andspiritual roots that until now have beenobscured by the supposedly rational and

technical nature of the conflict. Tracing inunprecedented detail the moral causes andconsequences of largescale social change inthe American West, he describes how a “newwest” social order has emerged that hasdevalued traditional American beliefs aboutmanifest destiny and rugged individualism, andhow morality and spirituality have influencedthe most polarizing and technocentric conflictsin Yellowstone’s history. This groundbreakingbook shows how the unprecedented conflictover Yellowstone is not all about science, law,or economic interests, but more surprisingly, isabout cultural upheaval and the construction ofnew moral and spiritual boundaries in theAmerican West.

What We Think About When We Try Not toThink About Global Warming: Toward A NewPsychology of Climate Action. Per EspenStoknes, Chelsea Green Publishing, 2015.

The more facts that pile up about globalwarming, the greater the resistance to themgrows, making it harder to enact measures toreduce greenhouse gas emissions and preparecommunities for the inevitable change ahead. Itis a catch22 that starts, says psychologist andeconomist Per Espen Stoknes, from aninadequate understanding of the way mosthumans think, act, and live in the world aroundthem. With dozens of examples—from theprivate sector to governmentagencies—Stoknes shows how to retell thestory of climate change and, at the same time,create positive, meaningful actions that can besupported even by deniers. In What We ThinkAbout When We Try Not To Think About GlobalWarming, Stoknes not only masterfullyidentifies the five main psychological barriers toclimate action, but addresses them with fivestrategies for how to talk about global warmingin a way that creates action and solutions, notfurther inaction and despair. These strategieswork with, rather than against, human nature.They are social, positive, and simple—makingclimatefriendly behaviors easy andconvenient. They are also storybased, to help



“Laudato Si': On Care for Our CommonHome,”Pope Francis, 24 May 2015. [1]

In this Encyclical, Francis urgently appeals“for a new dialogue about how we areshaping the future of our planet. We need aconversation that includes everyone, sincethe environment challenge we areundergoing, and its human roots, concernand affect us all.” “The ecological crisis,”he argues, “is also a summons to profoundinterior conversion. It must be said thatsome committed and prayerful Christians,with the excuse of realism and pragmatism,tend to ridicule expressions of concern forthe environment. Others are passive; theychoose not to change their habits and thusbecome inconsistent. So what they all needis an ‘ecological conversion’, whereby theeffects of their encounter with Jesus Christbecome evident in their relationship withthe world around them. Living our vocationto be protectors of God’s handiwork isessential to a life of virtue; it is not anoptional or a secondary aspect of ourChristian experience.”

“U.S.Brazil Joint Statement on ClimateChange,” The White House, Office of thePress Secretary. June 30, 2015.

Presidents Barack Obama and Dilma Rousseffcommit to intensify collaboration betweenthe United States and Brazil, both bilaterallyand under the United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), asour countries work to address the challengesposed by climate change. The globalscientific community has made clear thathuman activity is already changing theworld’s climate system, causing seriousimpacts, putting ever larger numbers ofpeople at risk, posing challenges tosustainable development, affecting

particularly the poor and most vulnerable,and harming economies and societies aroundthe world, including in the United Statesand Brazil. [2]

“Faith and Science Can Find CommonGround,”David M. Lodge, Nature, VOL 523,July 2015.

David M. Lodge, Protestant biologist, isdirector of the University of Notre DameEnvironmental Change Initiative, Indiana,and editor (with historian ChristopherHamlin) of Religion and the New Ecology(2006). He argues that faith and science,especially when it comes to saving creationand biology, mix quite well.

“The Ethics of Adaptation to ClimateChange,” Kathleen Dean Moore, Center forHumans and Nature, N.d. [3].

In this essay Moore wants “to call attentionto the danger that the same moral failingsthat characterize climate change itself arebeing replicated and amplified in many ofthe plans to adapt to it—as if storm andextinction had taught us nothing aboutjustice or reverence for life.” She arguesthat “we can armor shorelines, modify thegenetics of trout, build giant dams, and incountless ways change the Earth, buteffective and honorable adaptation will beginto take place only when we changeourselves.”

NEW PUBLICATIONS:NON-PHILOSOPHY ARTICLES



ISEE OFFICERS

President: Philip CafaroAddress: Department of Philosophy, ColoradoState University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1781 USATel: 970-491-2061Fax: 970-491-4900Email: [email protected]: Organizing ISEE at theAnnual Joint ISEE-IAEP Meeting onEnvironmental Philosophy

Vice-President: Ben HaleAddress: Philosophy and EnvironmentalStudies, 1333 Grandview, UCB 0488,University of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder,CO, 80309Tel: 303-735-3624Fax: 303-735-1576Email: [email protected]: Organizing ISEE sessions atthe Eastern APA

Secretary: William Grove-FanningAddress: Department of Philosophy,University of Portland, 5000 N. WillametteBlvd., Portland, OR, 97203, USAEmail: [email protected]: Organizing ISEE sessions atPacific APA

Treasurer: Allen ThompsonAddress: Department of Philosophy, OregonState University, 102C Hovland Hall,Corvallis, OR, 97331-3902, USATel: 541-737-5654Fax: 541-737-2571Email: [email protected]: Organizing ISEE sessions atthe Central APA

Newsletter Editor: Matt FerkanyAddress: Department of Philosophy,Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI,48824, USATel: 517-353-6470Email: [email protected]: Assemble and circulate thenewsletter 3 times annually

Website and listserve manager: Aline RamosAddress: CRC en Théorie de la Connaissance,Université du Québec à Montréal, PavillionThérèse-Casgrain (W), 455, Boulevard René-Lévesque Est, 5e. Étage, Local W-5245,Montréal, QC, CANADA H2L 4Y2Email: [email protected]

Editor of Environmental Ethics: EugeneHargroveAddress: Department of Philosophy andReligious Studies, University of North Texas,P.O. Box 310980, Denton, TX 76203-0980,USATel: 940-565-2266 Fax: 940-565-4448Email [email protected]

NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONSPlease send any announcements, membernews, bibliographic information or othernews items via email (preferred) or snailmail to Matt Ferkany at his address listedabove.

WEBSITE/LISTSERVE SUBMISSIONSPlease send any calls for papers, jobpostings, or related news items via email(preferred) or snail mail to Aline Ramos ather address above.


We continue to update and expand ourregional representation. Here is the currentlist. If you are a member of ISEE in acountry not on this list, please contactPhilip Cafaro at [email protected] you are interested in representing ISEE.

Africa:SOUTH AFRICA: Johan P. Hattingh,Department of Philosophy, University ofStellenbosch, 7600 Stellenbosch, SouthAfrica. Hattingh heads the Unit forEnvironmental Ethics at Stellenbosch. OfficePhone: 27 (country code) 21 (city code) 808-2058. Secretary Phone: 808-2418. HomePhone: 887-9025. Fax: 886-4343. Email:[email protected].

Australia:William Grey, Room E338, Department ofPhilosophy, University of Queensland, 4067,Queensland 4072 Australia. Email:[email protected].

Asia:CHINA: Yang Tongjing, Institute ofPhilosophy, Chinese Academy of SocialSciences, Beijing, 100732, China. Email:[email protected].

PAKISTAN AND SOUTH ASIA: Nasir AzamSahibzada, Founder Member, IndependentTrust for Education (ITE), T-28 SahibzadaHouse, Zeryab Colony, Peshawar City(NWFP), Pakistan. Postal Code. 25000.Phone: (92) (91) 2040877). Cell Phone:0334-9081801. Email:<[email protected]> [email protected].

TAIWAN: King Hen-Biau, President, Society ofSubtropical Ecology, 4th Fl. #3, Lane 269,Roosevelt Road, Section 3, 106 Taipei,Taiwan. Phone: 886-2-2369-9825. CellPhone: 886-9-3984-1403. Fax: 886-2-2368-9885. Email: [email protected].

Europe:EASTERN EUROPE: Jan Wawrzyniak, Prof. UAMdr hab., Institute of Linguistics UAM, Al.Niepodleglosci 4, 61-874 Poznan, POLAND.Phone: +48 / 61 / 8293691 and +48 / 61 /8293663. Mobile: +48 / 66 / 3787032. Fax:+48 / 61 / 8293662. Email:[email protected].

FINLAND: Markku Oksanen, Department ofSocial Policy and Social Psychology,University of Kuopio, P.O. Box 1627, 70211,Finland. Email: [email protected] [email protected].

THE NETHERLANDS: Martin Drenthen, ISIS,Faculty of Science, Radboud University ofNijmegen, Postbox 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen,the Netherlands. Office Phone: 31 (countrycode) 24 (city code) 3612751. Fax: 31-24-3615564. Home Address: Zebrastraat 5,6531TW Nijmegen, the Netherlands. HomePhone: (31) – (24) –3238397. Email:[email protected].

UNITED KINGDOM: Isis Brook, Centre forProfessional Ethics, University of CentralLancashire, Preston, Lancashire, UnitedKingdom PR1 2HE. Phone: +44(0)1772892542. Email: [email protected].

GREECE: Stavros Karageorgakis, Theofilou 26,54633, Thessaloniki, Greece. Email:[email protected].

South America:Ricardo Rozzi, Department of Philosophyand Religion Studies, P.O. Box 310920,University of North Texas, Denton, TX76203-0920. Phone: 940-565-2266. Fax: 940-565-4448. Email: [email protected].

REGIONALREPRESENTATIVES


Mexico and Central America:Teresa Kwiatkowska, Universidad AutonomaMetropolitana-Iztapalapa, Departamento deFilosofia, Av. Michoacan y Purissima s/n,09340 Mexico D.F., Mexico. Office Phone: (5)724 47 77. Home Phone: (5) 637 14 24. Fax:(5) 724 47 78. Email:[email protected].

North America:CANADA:Thomas Heyd, Department of Philosophy,University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3045,Victoria, British Columbia V8W 3P4, Canada.Office Phone: 250-721-7512. Fax: 250-721-7511. Email: [email protected].

Nathan Kowalsky, Philosophy, St. Joseph'sCollege, University of Alberta, Edmonton, ABT6G 2J5, Canada. Office phone: 780-492-7681 ext. 257. Email: [email protected]

UNITED STATES:Ned Hettinger, Philosophy Department,College of Charleston, Charleston, SouthCarolina 29424, USA. Office Phone: 843-953-5786. Home Phone: 843-953-5786. Fax: 843-953-6388. Email: [email protected].

Holmes Rolston III, Department ofPhilosophy, Colorado State University, FortCollins, Colorado 80523, USA. Office Phone:970-491-6315. Fax: 970-491-4900. Email:[email protected].

Jack Weir, Department of Philosophy,Morehead State University, UPO 662,Morehead, Kentucky 40351-1689, USA. OfficePhone: 606-783-2785. Home Phone: 606-784-0046. Fax: 606-783-5346 (include Weir’sname on Fax). Email: [email protected].


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