nature used for capital

LOCAL VS GLOBAL IMPACTS Within this notion of the Hyperobject the local and the global scale are separated; however, the transformation of an effect visible on the micro-scale (a traffic) reconfigure the events happening at the macro-scale (a rise in greenhouse gas emissions). Within the Arctic environment, transformations as melting ice are mainly caused by greenhouse gas emissions and pollution from global activities that took place outside of the Arctic environment. So, we see that a local implication of climate change, that is configured in a specific space, time and matter can extend in size and reach global proportions.LXXII

Consequently, the phenomenon in this sense is a natural resource that allows us to shift the discussion of climate change from the local to the global scale. As explained through this paper, we understand the implication of climate change through local effects configured within a limited area. Because of the unclear border situation within the Arctic, which gave rise to international attention, this area is perfect to think about a global governing system. In this way, the Arctic can help to reconfigure our thinking about climate change, which requires a shift from the local scale to the range of the whole world.LXXIII

Today climate change is mainly explained through tangible topics. People use local manifestations of the events that lay in their ability to understand, such as weather patterns. But the structures that lay behind this local impact (FE. the weather) are complicated to grasp. Furthermore, these local impacts are affected by the past and influence the future, which implies that climate change doesn’t relate to the notion of immediacy. This is visible in for example timelines of the earth’s rising temperatures, who clearly show that weather and climate are dynamic processes. So, this temporal factor of the term climate change makes it even more challenging to understand the widespread impact of these local phenomena.LXXIV Within the Arctic, this notion of immediacy is visible. The storage of greenhouse gas emissions and heat from the past, present and near future have an impact on the temperature in the Arctic environment. As a consequence, by mid-century the winter temperature will increase 3-5 degrees and by the late century the temperatures will even rise 5-9 degrees.LXXV This interconnectedness of events in time, as well as space, implies the concept of ‘spacetimematterring’29. This concept shows that entities, space, and time only exists within, and through their specific intra-actions, they are always interconnected and appear as one. So, not only the visible local effect serves as a tool to analyze climate change, but we also need to consider all the structures that gave rise to this local effect, if we want to understand the scale of climate change.LXXVI LXXVII

To pose to the interconnectedness of entities, space and time, the oil exploration within the Arctic serves as an example. The Arctic holds the world’s largest untapped oil and gas reserves as stated in the chapter geographic location, this leaded to an increases interest of countries to exploit and export this area. But these explorations pose tremendous risks to the vulnerable Arctic ecosystems and communities, and at the same time, they also contribute to the climate crisis through increased greenhouse gas emissions. Today, there is a misconception around the race for the Arctic, namely that the race is limited to nations. As visible in this example of the oil industry, this isn’t the case, because, several companies are hunting for oil. These companies export their product on the global market of the oil industry. Consequently, we see how the entities (oil and gas) influence the space (Arctic environment) over a long period of time (oil market).LXXVIII LXXIX

Currently, companies need to take into account the regulations that exist around exploiting resource within a specific area. This is due to our geopolitical system that relies on geographical borderlines who determine the environmental rules set within an area. For the oil industry, this is a problem, because oil in this system is framed as a national resource, but the oil market is global. As a consequence, this industry asks for a global legal framework as well. Even more, currently it is impossible for companies to conduct economic activities within the Arctic region, since there is uncertainty about the point of which area belongs to who. So, this makes that it isn’t clear for companies which law they need to follow and consequentially they can’t exploit any resources yet.LXXX

29 Karan Barad constructed the concept of ‘spacetimemattering.’ It talks about the dynamics between phenomena that occur at different moments in time and space. It means; ‘a dynamic ongoing reconfiguring of a field of relationalities among ‘moments,’ ‘places,’ and ‘things,’ where scale is iteratively (re)made in intra-action.’ Intra-action explains that entities cannot exist as things-in-themselves but find meaning and expression through their co-creative relations with other entities.CXI

ENTANGLEMENTS OF STRUCTURES AT DIFFERENT SCALES In an age of ecological emergency, we need to be aware that an event is never local; it is always a combination of several other events that are occurring somewhere on our planet. So, if we want to understand the systems that lay behind climate change models, we need to reconfigure our way of thinking, going away from the idea that every action you take has a direct visual effect. Since this is a very rational thought, it makes it difficult to shift this way of thinking and take it to another level. A level in which you include a longer time frame, so it becomes possible to think about possible reactions in the future. LXXXI

Currently, in our engagement with the ecological crisis, there is no way to exclude ourselves from the events that are happening. We closely intertwine with the processes that occur on our globe. So, we are open to the environmental phenomena around us. To explain this openness, think about air, everybody in the world breaths it wherever they are. The atmosphere is spread around the whole world and is the last common property that belongs to all people collectively. So, we could ask ourselves:’ Can we think in the same way as we think about air, about our global governing system?’. To make an analogy with the reports constructed by the Arctic Council, we see that they also cover an area that isn’t limited to one specific nation’s border. But the problem is that these structures of commonality are broken down by the market, by private interests, or by national negotiation. As a result, uncertainty arose around the claiming and the laws that are specific to an area.LXXXII DENIAL OF CLIMATE CHANGE Since it is difficult to relate to climate change as an interconnected global phenomenon as explained through the notion of the Hyperobject, there is a possibility for denial of climate change.LXXXIII In this line, Paul Rodaway said: ‘The perceived environment is split into values and facts. When we combine both it can lead to the making of decisions.’ With this quote he meant that for example a graph that shows the effects of global warming (facts) isn’t enough to see the total environment, since there is still a lack of social values. So, to establish binding agreements on the topic of climate change, we need to establish a closer relationship between these social values and the physical facts, not only on the human level but also on the governmental level.LXXXIV

Today our computational systems expand and shows us more clearly what we could possibly know. This system can resolve the discrepancy between physical facts and social values since it allows us to have more knowledge, but in the end, the results of all this knowledge, makes the climate models even more difficult to comprehend and, in this way, they become unfathomably complex.LXXXV LXXXVI

This counterintuitive premise of the unknowable, is explained by James Bridle,30 and comes back in the term ‘Global warming.’ We use an enormous amount of numbers to explain Climate change; this gives the term a negative connotation in the media and leads to nonresponse.LXXXVII As described in the previous paragraph, this nonresponse isn’t due to a lack of information or concern, but a result of socially organized denial.LXXXVIII As a result, we keep it out of our everyday lives and don’t look at it as a local political issue, which makes it impossible to govern the impacts of climate change.LXXXIX

30 In his brilliant new work (New Dark Age - Technology and the End of the Future), leading artist and writer James Bridle surveys the history of art, technology, and information systems, and reveals the dark clouds that gather over our dreams of the digital sublime. Within this book he writes about the increase in technological complexity of the world around us.CXII

Another way to develop ecological awareness is a sense of intimacy to relate to the events that take place. For example, the last three years, in Belgium, there were several periods of drought during the summer. This caused a lack of water and as a result people weren’t allowed anymore to wash their cars, fill their swimming pools, etc. This drought had direct consequences on people’s daily live, which resulted in an increased ecological awareness. Within the Arctic, we can find this intimacy back into the daily lives of the indigenous communities. This is due to the fact that they just as in the previous example directly experience a transformation of their way of living.31 These transformations are mostly visible in the change in vegetation and animal population, but also in coastal erosion and rising sea levels. Both of these factors impact the lives and cultures of the indigenous people living within this region. Besides also the discovering of the resources led to rise in interest and an exteme development of the rural area. The Indigenous people have a difficult task, at one hand they want to try to maintain there livestyle, but on the other side, the developments within the area ask for a switch in their lifestyle. Finding a new balance between sustaining their society and supplying the global market is a difficult task for them. Looking at the communities in the Arctic makes it easier for us to see which extreme consequences climate change can have on our future lives.XC

31 See chapter communities and development in ‘the bank of evidence’ to get an idea of how the current developments changes the landscape of the Arctic and the way of living for the indigenous people.