Frequent and unpredictable extreme weather events in Siberia and Alaska destroy infrastructure and threaten the livelihoods of circumpolar peoples. Local responses are inventive and flexible. However, the distinct politics of post-Soviet... more
Frequent and unpredictable extreme weather events in Siberia and Alaska destroy infrastructure and threaten the livelihoods of circumpolar peoples. Local responses are inventive and flexible. However, the distinct politics of post-Soviet Siberia and Alaska play a key role in the pragmatics of strategic planning. The Arctic is a planetary climate driver, but also holds the promise of massive resources in an ice-free future, producing tensions between ‘environmental’ and ‘development’ goals. Drawing on material from Siberia and Alaska we argue: (i) that extreme events in the Arctic are becoming normal; material demands are in a state of flux making it difficult to assess future material needs. We must consider material substitutions as much as material reduction; (ii) local-level responsive strategies should be taken into account. Core/periphery thinking tends to assume that answers come from ‘the centre’; this is, in our view, limited; (iii) we suggest that ‘flexibility’ may become a core survival value that is as important for city planners and public health officials as it is for Siberian reindeer herders. In this, we see not only the simultaneous need for mitigation and adaptation policies, but also for a concerted effort in promoting such capacities in young people.
This article explores practices of witnessing global warming developed in recent years by climate movements in Poland. Timothy Morton's concept of the "hyperobject" acts as a starting point for a discussion of the ontological assumptions... more
This article explores practices of witnessing global warming developed in recent years by climate movements in Poland. Timothy Morton's concept of the "hyperobject" acts as a starting point for a discussion of the ontological assumptions that underlie theories and practices of witnessing, and for the development of an expanded concept of witnessing that includes the future, collectivity, and nonhumans. These considerations are followed by a description of three practices that are interpreted as practices of witnessing global warming: climate demonstrations organized in Warsaw, a blockade of an open-pit coal mine in central Poland, and the Mszak ritual performed by the Interspecies Community religious group in the Botanical Garden in Warsaw. The descriptions of these cases allow a further deepening and nuancing of the concept of witnessing.
Frequent and unpredictable extreme weather events in Siberia and Alaska destroy infrastructure and threaten the livelihoods of circumpolar peoples. Local responses are inventive and flexible. However, the distinct politics of post-Soviet... more
Frequent and unpredictable extreme weather events in Siberia and Alaska destroy infrastructure and threaten the livelihoods of circumpolar peoples. Local responses are inventive and flexible. However, the distinct politics of post-Soviet Siberia and Alaska play a key role in the pragmatics of strategic planning. The Arctic is a planetary climate driver, but also holds the promise of massive resources in an ice-free future, producing tensions between 'environmental' and 'development' goals. Drawing on material from Siberia and Alaska we argue: (i) that extreme events in the Arctic are becoming normal; material demands are in a state of flux making it difficult to assess future material needs. We must consider material substitutions as much as material reduction; (ii) local-level responsive strategies should be taken into account. Core/periphery thinking tends to assume that answers come from 'the centre'; this is, in our view, limited; (iii) we suggest that &#...
