PS 378 2012Summer Final paper: An Intergenerational Game: the Less-known Dimension of Climate Change

Xiaorui Huang

PS 378 Game Theory
Final Essay
2012-Aug-24^th
Grade: A+

 An Intergenerational Game: the Less-known Dimension of Climate Change

 

Introduction

Climate change has an international (or spatial) dimension[1] and an intergenerational (or temporal) dimension. The international dimension, framed by various studies as a tragedy of the commons involving different nations, become the major perception of climate change in public and political discourses (Raihani and Aitken 47-55, Wood 153-68). In contrast, the intergenerational dimension of climate change, despite certain academic coverage, is largely overlooked, which has some interesting implications on the solution to climate change as a whole (Gardiner 408, Schuppert 303-06).

In this essay, I firstly construct an extensive model of the intergenerational game of climate change. Then, based on this model and game theory, I discuss both negative and positive influences of the neglect of the intergenerational dimension on addressing climate change as a whole.  

 

The Intergenerational Game of Climate Change.

Inspired by a thought-provoking work of Stephen Gardiner, a scholar in environmental philosophy, I construct the model of the intergenerational game of climate change based on two temporal characteristics of climate change, namely resilience and deferral (403). On one hand, climate change is resilient in the sense that it takes decades for even a radical reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission to transfer into the decrease of GHG concentration in upper atmosphere. On other hand, the deferral of climate change means that our current global warming is caused by the GHG emission produced decades ago and our current emission will only affect the degree of climate change several decades later. 

In the intergenerational game of climate change, we assume generations do not overlap and each generation is a player who wants to achieve both a good economy and a decent environment[2]. Starting from the first generation, each player is firstly imposed an offer from the previous generation (if any) and then coercively impose an offer to the next generation. Players can either make a cooperative offer or a defecting offer. If Generation A imposes a cooperative offer to Generation B, it means that Generation A restricts its own GHG emission by slowing down its own economic development. If Generation A imposes a defecting offer to Generation B, it means that Generation A maintains the economic development and does not restrict its GHG emission. To quantify, we set both initial[3] economic value (EC) and environmental value (EV) as 10. A cooperative offer adds 1 point to the EC values of the generation making the offer and adds 1 point to the EV value two generations later. A defecting offer adds 2 points to the EC values of the generation making the offer and deducts 1 point from the EV value two generation later. This two-generation deferral of the environmental impacts of offers is to simulate the resilience and deferral of climate change mentioned above. EC and EV values are cumulative and are inherited from earlier to later generations. Finally, in this game, we consider EV=0 as a point of human extinction and the game will iterate until reaching this point. Figure 1 shows the game tree of the intergenerational game for the first 5 generations with the EC and EV outcomes of each generation in each strategy-path in the tables on the left.

As Figure 1 shows, when isolating a single generation and its offer-making, the outcome that this generation gets from making a defecting offer is always better than the outcome from making a cooperative offer (e.g. for the 5^th generation, its outcome in Result #3 is better than Result #4). This is because a defecting offer gives the generation that makes the offer an immediate 1 more point on EC value. Meanwhile, both defecting offers and cooperative offers do not influence the EV value of the generation that makes the offer. The economic effects are immediate but the environmental effects are deferred. Therefore, individual rationality makes each generation always prefer making a defecting offer over a cooperate offer.

            In contrast, collectively, most generations (except the first several ones) prefer the cumulative outcome of everyone cooperating over everyone defecting because a decent environment is also a goal other than the economy. Furthermore, doomsday comes when EV=0. However, individual rationality prevents cooperation from happening. Therefore, the Nash Equilibrium for the intergenerational game of climate change is that every generation defects and mankind extincts at the 12^th generation, which is represented by the all-red path in the game tree and the Result #1 in the tables.

 

Figure 1 with Result Tables -          A Red line means a defecting offer; a blue line means a cooperate offer; -          The top numbers in the parentheses are the EC value and the bottom numbers are the EV values. -          From left to right, the five pairs of parentheses are the outcomes for from 1st generation to 5th generation.

   

      Of course, limitations exist in this model due to its simplification and the inevitable uncertainties of climate change. First, generations are not discrete and they do overlap. Second, each generation lives on the planet for a substantial amount of time before and after it takes charge (i.e. childhood and old age). Third, we do not exactly know how many generations does it take to reach doomsday if no generation restricts GHG emission. In other words, the initial EV value and the quantification of the environmental impacts of offers could be questionable. Fourth, after a certain degree of environmental degradation, economic activities will be harmed, which is not shown in the model.

 

Negative Implications of the Neglect of the Intergenerational Dimension on Addressing Climate Change as a Whole

Even though certain academic effort has been done to reveal the intergenerational dimension, it is generally neglected in public and political discourses. Such neglect, partly manifested as the exclusive focus on the international dimension, have negative implications on addressing climate change as a whole.

The first negative implication is that it directs most political and academic resources to address the international dimension whose solutions are incompatible to the intergenerational issues of climate change, which crippled the comprehensive (i.e. including both dimensions) mitigation of climate change. Many studies have been done that seek for methods to encourage multilateral cooperation to solve the international tragedy of the commons of climate change (Gardiner 399-401, Raihani and Aitken 47-55, Wood 153-54). However, these methods, which include both theoretical mechanisms like building reciprocity and practical actions such as the United Nations Climate Change Conferences, are inapplicable to the intergenerational dimension of climate change because the bare co-existence of players in this intergenerational dimension (Gardiner 405). Moreover, according to Fabian Schuppert, a scholar in environmental politics, the three major schemes developed to mitigate climate change in the international dimension, namely cap-and-trade schemes, carbon emission taxes, and personal ecological space quotas, are ineffective in the intergenerational dimension. Specifically, all three schemes are centered at equal mitigation burden among all people (both intra- and intergenerational), which, given the scientific uncertainties of climate change, conveniently provides current generation excuses to push off its responsibilities and costs of mitigation of climate change to future generations (Schuppert 308-17). Thus, with the solutions for international dimension incompatible with the intergenerational dimension, the neglect of intergenerational dimension cripples the comprehensive solution of climate change.

Besides, such neglect hides from public perception the institutional inadequacy of current political structure, which lowers the bureaucrats’ and politicians’ expected utilities for supporting GHG emission restriction and therefore impair the political support for addressing climate change. The primary goal for politicians and bureaucrats is to ensure being re-elected or promoted, which is influenced by the public perception of their performance in their terms of office. However, as discussed above, climate change is resilient, which means that it takes decades (much longer than normal terms of office) for GHG restriction to realize its effects. As a result, it is impossible for a government to make perceivable mitigation of climate change within one term of office, which is the institutional inadequacy of current political structure in addressing climate change (Gardiner 403). If the public are aware of such inadequacy, they are more likely to support a pro-GHG-restriction politician whose policy appears to be ineffective in his or her term because they know it takes more time. In contrast, if the public are not aware of such inadequacy, pro-GHG-restriction politician are likely to have his or her policy be criticized as ineffective by the public and his likelihood of being re-elected decreases. In other words, politicians’ and bureaucrats’ expected utilities for supporting GHG restriction decrease when the public awareness of the institutional inadequacy is low. Since the neglect of intergenerational dimension hides the resilience and deferral of climate change from the public perception, it also lowers the public awareness of institutional inadequacy and therefore lower politician’s expected utilities for supporting GHG restriction. Consequently, such neglect impairs the political support for GHG restriction.

 

Positive Implications of the Neglect of the Intergenerational Dimension on Addressing Climate Change

The neglect of the intergenerational dimension also has positive implications on the solution to climate change, which is derived from its influences on the public’s expected utilities on addressing and not addressing climate change.  

Firstly, such neglect may somewhat increase people’s expected utility of addressing climate change by making people unaware of the deferral and resilience of climate change, for such awareness undermines their will to address it (as shown in the Figure 1). Specifically, while in mainstream discourse people do talk about the long-term effects of addressing and not addressing climate change, the fact that current actions, either restricting GHG emission or not, will not have their impacts realized until decades later is blurred by the neglect of the intergenerational dimension. Known from the game model, if people are fully aware of the resilience and deferral of climate change, it is rational for them to choose to maintain economic development but not restrict GHG emission. However, the neglect of the intergenerational dimension make the public unaware these two characteristics of climate change and therefore increases the public expected utility of and support for restricting GHG emission and addressing climate change right now.

Moreover, such neglect, when manifested as the exclusive focus on the international dimension, helps build a public perception that if we do not address climate change right now, disasters will fall upon them very soon, which decreases the expected utilities of not addressing climate change. Specifically, when focusing on the international dimension, the current disastrous impacts of climate change are highlighted. Such highlighting on disasters make people easily builds a direct and immediate causation between what they are doing now (i.e. restricting GHG emission or not) and what is happening (disasters happening or not). For example, after Hurricane Katrina attacked America in 2005 (which is not directly caused but closely associated with climate change), media coverage on climate change suddenly rises in America (Everything’s cool). In the year after, American public support for addressing climate change reached the highest point in 2000s. If the public are well aware of the intergenerational dimension of climate change, they should know that these disasters are not caused by current GHG emission and will not be mitigated by current emission restriction. However, the neglect of the intergenerational dimension enables people to develop an immediate causation between climate change and such disasters and make them less willing to leave climate change unaddressed. In other words, such neglect changes their preference by lowering the utility of not addressing climate change, which increase the public support for addressing climate change.

 

Conclusion

            The intergenerational dimension of climate change is largely overlooked in political and public discourses. To explore this dimension, I construct a model of intergenerational game, which shows a devastating Nash Equilibrium of every generation keeping GHG emission high and mankind rushes toward extinction. However interestingly, by changing the public’s and politicians’ expected utilities of addressing and not addressing climate change, the neglect of the devastating intergenerational dimension has both negative and positive implications of the comprehensive solution to climate change.             

Work Cited

Everything's Cool. Dir. Daniel Gold. Perf. Daniel Gold. Bullfrog Films, 2007. DVD.

Gardner, Stephen. "A Perfect Moral Storm: Climate Change, Intergenerational Ethics and the Problem of Moral Corruption." Environmental Values 15.3 (2006): 397-413. Print.

Raihani, Nichola, and David Aitken. "Uncertainty, rationality and cooperation in the context of climate change." Climatic Change 108 (2011): 47-55. Print.

Schuppert, Fabian. "Climate change mitigation and intergenerational justice." Environmental Politics 20.3 (2011): 303-21. Print.

Wood, Peter. "Climate change and game theory." Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1219.1 (2011): 153-170. Print.

 

 

 

 

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[1] In this essay, I use the term “international dimension” to denote the intra-generational, spatial dimension of climate change because in a single generation, addressing/not addressing climate change is generally considered as interactions among different countries.

[2] In the intergenerational game of climate change, the term “environment” and its quantitative value EV introduced later only refers to climate change. A higher EV value represents a LOWER degree of climate change and a BETTER environment; vice versa.

[3] Historically, the initial values could refer to the status right before the first industrial revolution

INTL 407 2012Summer Research Paper: “Indispensable Coal”: Environmentally-unjust Propaganda

Xiaorui Huang

INTL 407 Environmental Justice
Research Paper
Instructor: Prof. Braun

Grade: A+

“Indispensable Coal”: Environmentally-unjust Propaganda

Introduction 

Around half of electricity in the United States is generated from coal, which counts for 23% of total national energy supply (Storm 9). Indeed, coal has been important to America. However, its severe environmental costs make it undesirable on the list of promising future energy sources. Coal’s unpopularity drives coal industry to adopt many public relation strategies to prolong its past prosperity. The propaganda of “indispensable coal” is one of such strategies. This propaganda hinders the mitigation of coal-associated environmental injustice and further worsens such injustice by casting anti-coal organizations as groups failing America, contributing to political support for pro-coal policies, and swaying people to become market price-centered consumers who favor coal over other energy sources.

            In this paper, I will do a theoretical analysis on the impacts of the “indispensable coal” propaganda on environmental injustice.  Firstly, I briefly describe the environmental injustice caused by coal production at intra-national, international, and intergenerational levels. Secondly, I explain what the “indispensable coal” propaganda is. Thirdly, I analyze the impacts of such propaganda on impeding the mitigation of coal-associated environmental injustice. Finally, I discuss how such propaganda further worsens environmental injustice.

Environmental Injustice Caused by Coal

The impacts of the “indispensable coal” propaganda on environmental injustice directly relate to the environmental injustice issues caused by coal itself at intra-national, international, and intergenerational levels. At the intra-national level, various studies have shown that the life cycle of coal, while powering the whole America, causes environmental damages and other burdens disproportionally borne by certain groups of people like Appalachian communities (Epstein 77-85; Hendryx 541-50; McSpirit & Reid 512-16). Specifically, coal mining and coal-fired power generation cause visual, water, and air pollution in mining communities and often result in serious public health hazards. At the international level, the environmental injustice caused by coal mainly manifests as the climate injustice that is exacerbated by the huge amount of carbon emission of coal usage. For example, by indirectly increasing global temperature and aggravating sea level rise, the usage of coal in some countries accelerates the submersion of an atoll where a agricultural Polynesian community resides for centuries (There once was an island = Te henua e nnoho). At the intergenerational level, the environmental injustice of coal is also derived from its carbon emission. Since it takes decades for current emission to fully realize into the increase of carbon concentration in upper atmosphere, the usage of coal somewhat boost present economy at the expense of the severer climate change for future generations (Gardiner 403-04; Epstein 87-90).

The Industrial Propaganda of “Indispensable Coal”

Among various propaganda made by coal industry, “indispensable coal” plays an important role. Coal industry has made two arguments that promote coal as indispensable for America. First, coal industry argues that the American economy and businesses depend on the cheap electricity produced by coal in order to be competitive internationally (Storm 1, 4, 10; PRI’s The World; American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity; America’s Power). Without coal, economy will fail. Second, coal industry argues that coal is the only energy source that can power Americans’ wonderful lives at an affordable cost (American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity). Without coal, life expenses of Americans will rocket.

“Indispensable Coal” Hinders the Mitigation of Environmental Injustice

Both types of “indispensable coal” propaganda undermine the will of people, politicians, and governmental agencies to address coal-associated environmental injustice at all three levels discussed above.

On one hand, by claiming that American economy and businesses depend on coal, coal industry describes itself as the defender for American interests and casts those who intend to regulate coal industry and address associated environmental injustice as failing America. In a speech in the 2008 Coal Market Strategies Conference, Richard Storm, CEO of a coal company argues that “we are on the right side of the issue [by stating that coal good for America]”, “[we need to] convince other energy groups to put America’s interest first” (Storm 7, 15). Also coal industry vilifies anti-coal environmental groups and governmental regulators as “weaken America’s economic strength, our national security and the future prosperity for our grandchildren” (Storm 20). Particularly, coal industry targets Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by arguing that EPA is failing America by regulating coal industry (American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity). Basically, coal industry uses “indispensable coal” propaganda to constructs a public perception of “America needs coal! Regulating coal industry harms America.”

On other hand, by propagating that only coal can power Americans’ lives at an affordable cost, coal industry again portrays itself as the defender of public interests and anti-coal groups as the enemies of the public who threat the lives for Americans. In the coal commercial We Can All Make a Difference, coal industry indicates that any shifts to other energy sources will increase utility costs for American families and make their lives tougher (American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity). Also, Lisa Miller, a spokeswoman for a coal industry group, comments on a renowned Harvard study on the externalities of coal that “ [this study] ignores the substantial benefits of coal in maintaining low energy prices for American families…,[which] are linked to a higher standard of living and better health” (Malone). Here coal industry tries to build a public perception of “American people need coal! Regulating coal industry harms Americans.”

            If the public perception is built that coal is indispensable to both American economy and people, anyone who wants to regulate coal industry and address associated environmental injustice will lose public support. Although no case-based study has been done on the correlation between “indispensable coal” propaganda and the deregulation of coal industry in the last two decades, it is likely that such propaganda plays a role in forcing the regulators to retreat. In this sense, “indispensable coal” propaganda hinders the mitigation of coal-associated environmental injustice.

“Indispensable Coal” Further Worsens Environmental Injustice

Not only undermining the mitigation of coal-associated environmental injustice, the “indispensable coal” propaganda may further worsen such injustice by actually encouraging a momentum of increasing coal usage[1].

            First, policies become more pro-coal industry under the influence of “indispensable coal” propaganda, which may potentially increase coal usage. A message implied in the “indispensable coal” propaganda is that it is righteous to use coal. Based on the fact that America has the largest coal reserve in the world, this message then encourages people to use coal to the largest extent (American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity). When applying to policies, such a message contributes to the political support for policies that benefit coal industry and increase coal usage. An example is the Advance Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS) in Pennsylvania. Originally named as Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), this regulation was supposed to encourage the development of renewable energy such as wind power, solar energy, and biomass. However, in Pennsylvania, waste coal is included in the promotion list (Pennsylvania AEPS Alternative Energy Credit Program). According to a study by sociologists Leland Glenna and Robert Roy Thomas, in the Pennsylvania AEPS case, the past dependence on coal together with the perception of continuous future dependence contributes to the strong political power of coal industry to turn a pro-environment policy into an opportunity for further development of coal usage (862-64, 867-68). Of course, the “indispensable coal” propaganda is not solely responsible in this case, yet, theoretically it can empower coal industry with more political support to get more pro-coal policies passed. 

Second, the “indispensable coal” propaganda causes the increase of coal usage by both treating people solely as consumers and promoting the cheap market price of coal but deliberately neglecting various externalities of coal. In anecdotes described in several “indispensable coal” commercials, characters involved are only concerned about saving money from using cheap coal-generated electricity without thinking about the huge externalities of coal (Bigelow; American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity). In doing so, audiences of the commercials are treated solely as consumers. And Coal, with a cheap market price, is promoted as the best energy source for consumers. Subconsciously, people tend to become what they are treated as (The Century of the Self). In this case, people as audiences of “indispensable coal” commercials tend to care about only the cheap market price of energy sources. As a result, coal usage is very likely to increase. Since coal usage causes severe environmental injustice as discussed in the beginning, the “indispensable coal” propaganda may worsens these environmental injustices by potentially increasing coal usage.

             

Conclusion

            Based on the theoretical analysis, the “indispensable coal” propaganda of coal industry hinders the mitigation of environmental injustice caused by coal because it casts those who intend to regulate coal industry as failing American economy and people. Moreover, such propaganda may further worsens the environmental injustice because it potentially leads to the increase of coal usage by getting more pro-coal policies passed and treating people as market price-centered consumers.

            Of course, this theoretical analysis is insufficient and does not provide concrete evidences for the negative impacts of the “indispensable coal” propaganda on environmental injustice. Specific case studies are called for to further explore how such industrial propaganda influences environmental injustice. 

Works Cited

Bigelow, Bill. "Scholastic Inc. Pushing Coal Propaganda to Kids." Common Dreams. N.p., 12 May 2011. Web. 19 Aug. 2012. <https://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/05/12-5>.

"Coal - Data - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)." U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Aug. 2012. <http://www.eia.gov/coal/data.cfm>.

Epstein, Paul, Samir Doshi, Jonathan Buonocore, Leslie Glustrom, Melissa Ahern, Nancy Reinhart, Beverly May, Richard Clapp, Richard Heinberg, Benjamin Stout, Michael Hendryx, and Kevin Eckerle. "Full cost accounting for the life cycle of coal." Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1219.1 (2011): 73-98. Print.

Gardner, Stephen. "A Perfect Moral Storm: Climate Change, Intergenerational Ethics and the Problem of Moral Corruption." Environmental Values 15.3 (2006): 397-413. Print.

Glenna, Leland, and Robert Thomas. "From Renewable to Alternative: Waste Coal, the Pennsylvania Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard, and Public Legitimacy." Society & Natural Resources: An International Journal 23.9 (2010): 856-71. Print.

Hendryx , Michael, and Melissa Ahern. "Mortality in Appalachian Coal Mining Regions: The Value of Statistical Life Lost." Public Health Reports 124.4 (2009): 541-50. Print.

Malone, Scott. " Coal's hidden costs top $345 billion in U.S.-study| Reuters." Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com. N.p., 16 Feb. 2011. Web. 19 Aug. 2012. <http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/16/usa-coal-study-idUSN1628366220110216>.

McSpirit, Stephanie, and Caroline Reid. "Residents' Perceptions of Tap Water and Decisions to Purchase Bottled Water: A Survey Analysis from the Appalachian, Big Sandy Coal Mining Region of West Virginia." Society & Natural Resources: An International Journal 24.5 (2011): 511-20. Print

"Overview." Pennsylvania AEPS Alternative Energy Credit Program. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Aug. 2012. <paaeps.com/credit/overview.do >.

PRI’s The World. "US depends on coal, too | PRI's The World." PRI's The World. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Aug. 2012. <http://www.theworld.org/2010/12/us-depends-on-coal-too/>.

Storm, Richard. "Enhancing Public Perception of Coal." 2008 Coal Market Strategies Conference. Storm Technologies, Inc.. Kingsmill Resort & Spa, Williamsburg, Va. 6 Oct. 2008. Speech.

The Century of the Self. Dir. Adam Curtis. Perf. Sigmund Freud, Edward Bernays. BBC Four, 2002. VHS.

There once was an island = Te henua e nnoho. Dir. Briar March. Perf. Teloo, Endar, Satty. On the Level Productions, 2010. DVD.

"anon." America's Power. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Aug. 2012. <www.americaspower.org/keeping-electricity-prices-low-american-business>.

"anon.." American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Aug. 2012. <www.cleancoalusa.org/>.

***Special notes: When I drafted my paper in Eugene, I have cited examples of industrial propaganda from American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity and America’s Power (the last two in the references list). However, when making references in China, somehow I cannot access these two websites (they might be blocked by Chinese government). Therefore I cannot get enough information to make complete references for these two websites. Apologies for any violation of rules of academic integrity.

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[1] According to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the annual coal consumption in America had increased since 1990s till mid-2000s. It reached the highest point in 2007 and slightly decreased in the following years. Here “encouraging a momentum of increasing coal usage” means that: in the years of decreasing coal consumption, “indispensable coal” propaganda somewhat neutralizes the decrease; in the years of increasing coal consumption, “indispensable coal” propaganda reinforces the increase. Also, since it is very hard to quantify the influence of “indispensable coal” propaganda on actual coal consumption, I will only focus on the theoretical analysis of such influence.

INTL 407 2012Summer Op-ed: Industrial propagandas about mountaintop removal worsen environmental injustice

Xiaorui Huang

INTL 407 Environmental Justice
Final essay: Op-ed
Instructor: Prof. Yvonne Braun
Grade: A+

Industrial propagandas about mountaintop removal worsen environmental injustice

Since 1990s, mountaintop removal (MTR), a large scale, highly mechanized mining practice has been gradually adopted by coal industry in Appalachian areas to replace conventional underground mining (Woods & Gordon 808). To gain public support for MTR, coal industry has made various propagandas. These propagandas worsen the environmental injustice caused by MTR in Appalachian mining communities by both hiding MTR’s impacts on local environment from the public and creating an illusion of MTR’s local economic benefits. Mislead by such propagandas, the public and politicians largely remain inactive to address the environmental injustice caused by MTR. As an effort to correct the public misunderstanding of MTR and call for more public support to address the environmental injustice it causes, I will debunk industrial propagandas about MTR in the following text.

While peddling very hard the reclaimablity of MTR sites, coal industry intentionally hides the severe environmental damage of MTR practices borne by mining communities.

First, the industrial propagandas ignore that MTR produces a huge amount of coal waste, which causes the water pollution. According to data from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in around 500 completed MTR sites in Appalachian area, more than 2,000 miles of valleys and streams are buried in coal waste (qtd. in Epstein et al. 77). While coal companies “conveniently” dump mining waste in these valleys and streams, the runoff with high heavy metal concentration often pollutes water sources of nearby communities. In Kentucky, MTR practices on 293 sites contaminate more than 2500 miles of streams (Epstein et al. 77) Also, a study shows that many residents in Appalachian mining communities tend to buy bottle water as both tap and well water is undrinkable due to mining pollution (McSpirit & Reid 511).

Besides, the potential causation between MTR and flood is hidden in industrial propagandas. By clearing forest on the mining sites and changing landform, MTR greatly impairs the ability of mountains to absorb rainwater and prevent it from flushing down to nearby communities (Burning the Future: Coal in America). Consequently, floods and debris flows are more likely to occur in mining communities due to MTR practices.

Therefore, if the general public outside Appalachian area perceives the environmental impacts of MTR through industrial propagandas, they will never know the true environmental costs that mining communities pay for the national enjoyment of cheap electricity. Such misinformation allows the environmental injustice caused by MTR to continue without much public awareness.

Other than hiding the true disastrous impacts of MTR on local environment, coal industry also propagates fictitious local economic benefits of MTR, which persuades the public to connive at the MTR-caused environmental injustice even when the environmental damage of MTR are revealed.

First, coal industry falsely claims that even though MTR is less labor intensive, it increases the productivity of mining, helps coal industry develop and then provide more jobs (Woods & Gordon 808). This propaganda not only convinces some politicians but many members of mining communities (Woods & Gordon 807). Some MTR-advocates even argues that mining communities should endure MTR’s environmental damage for its employment boost. However, along with the increasing coal production from 1980s to 2000s, the mining employment in the Appalachian area actually decreased by 56% (Epstein et al. 84).In this sense, the increased coal productivity by MTR does not help but decrease mining employment.

Coal industry also argues that MTR increases the productivity of coal industry and contributes to local and state economy, which also contradicts to the reality. For example, in 2006, while coal mining generated $528 million revenues for Kentucky, it receives nearly $650 million subsidies from state government (Konty & Bailey 1). In addition, a significant amount of state expenditure has been spent on addressing social and environmental issues associated with MTR (Epstein et al. 90). At local level, poverty rate rises as mining activities increase while the average educational level and household income decrease (Hendryx & Ahern 547-48). Thus, MTR and coal industry in general do not help state and local economy.

Obviously, coal industry lies about the local economic benefits of MTR. However, mislead general public are swayed to remain inactive on the environmental injustice issues caused by MTR.

In conclusion, industrial propagandas worsen the environmental injustice caused by MTR in Appalachian mining communities. Under the influences of such propagandas, the public is barely aware of the true environmental costs paid by Appalachian mining communities for the cheap national electricity supply. Moreover, the limited public and political support for addressing the MTR-caused environmental injustice is swayed by the fictitious local economic benefits of MTR. Therefore, to address the MTR-caused environmental injustice effectively, more efforts are called for on raising public awareness of the true environmental and economic impacts of MTR, as well as of the biases of industrial propagandas.

Works Cited

Burning the future: Coal in America. Dir. David Novack. Perf. Maria Gunnoe, Bo Webb, Ben Stout, Billy Sammons. New Video Group, 2008. DVD.

Epstein, Paul, Samir Doshi, Jonathan Buonocore, Leslie Glustrom, Melissa Ahern, Nancy Reinhart, Beverly May, Richard Clapp, Richard Heinberg, Benjamin Stout, Michael Hendryx, and Kevin Eckerle. "Full cost accounting for the life cycle of coal." Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1219.1 (2011): 73-98. Print.

Hendryx , Michael, and Melissa Ahern. "Mortality in Appalachian Coal Mining Regions: The Value of Statistical Life Lost." Public Health Reports 124.4 (2009): 541-50. Print.

Konty, Melissa, and Jason Bailey. "The Economics of Coal in Kentucky: Current Impacts and Future Prospects." MACED : Mountain Association for Community Economic Development. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Aug. 2012. <http://www.maced.org/coal/>.

McSpirit, Stephanie, and Caroline Reid. "Residents' Perceptions of Tap Water and Decisions to Purchase Bottled Water: A Survey Analysis from the Appalachian, Big Sandy Coal Mining Region of West Virginia." Society & Natural Resources: An International Journal 24.5 (2011): 511-20. Print

"Mountaintop Removal and the EPA, is Congress next? | Energy, Technology, & Policy." Energy, Technology, & Policy | Writing at the intersection of engineering, science and public policy for the world's energy challenges.. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Aug. 2012. <http://webberenergyblog.wordpress.com/2010/04/04/mountaintop-removal-and-the-epa-is-congress-next/>.

Woods, Brad, and Jason Gordon. "Mountaintop Removal and Job Creation: Exploring the Relationship Using Spatial Regression." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 101.4 (2011): 806-15. Print.

MUS 380 2012S Final Paper: The Letter Duet, Freedom, and Acousmêtre:

Xiaorui Huang

MUS 380 37662 Film Music
Final Paper
Instructor: Dr. Grasso
Score: 99/100

The Letter Duet, Freedom, and Acousmêtre:

The Expression of Freedom by the Letter Duet in the Shawshank Redemption

With seven Oscar nominations, the Shawshank Redemption is considered as one of the best movies with themes of imprisonment and freedom. In this movie, hero Andy Dufresne spends almost twenty years to tunnel through the wall of prison and eventually escapes from the imprisonment due to an erroneous judgment. With Andy’s overcoming brutalities of guards, maltreatment by homosexual rapists, friends’ suicide and being murdered, and warden’s threats, the freedom theme accumulates gradually throughout the whole movie and reaches climax when he escapes and again when he meets the other hero Red again. In this movie, the scene (as “broadcasting scene” in the following text) where the Andy defies prison rules and broadcasts the Letter Duet from Mozart’s opera Marriage of Figaro to the whole prison is one of the most memorable scene that express freedom. How does the music of the Letter Duet express the notion of freedom to prisoners[1]? Why is it so effective in doing so? In this essay, I will examine several ways that prisoners perceive freedom when hearing the Letter Duet. Specifically, the Letter Duet defamiliarizes the confined conditions of prison to prisoners and creates a new space-time dimension that transcends the prison. In addition, I will discuss the role of the music of Letter Duet as an acousmêtre in this film, which relates to its effectiveness in expressing freedom.

Musicologist Mary Hunter argues that in the broadcasting scene the Letter Duet expresses freedom to prisoners through its cultural reference. Hunter claims that the film purposely, though not overtly, refers to the historical context and contents of the Marriage of Figaro to convey the notion of freedom (93). Specifically, “the hope of a “freely loving order” that… [Countess and Susannah] imagine their letter will achieve” are connected to the freedom theme in the Shawshank Redemption (qtd. in Chua 351). Hunter explains that Andy, being a literate banker and the controller of the prison public address system (PA system) in this scene, broadcasts the notion of freedom that he receives from the aria to the prisoner body (93). According to Hunter, the reason why the prisoners who have no knowledge about this aria can perceive freedom by hearing it is that they receive Andy’s understanding (including the notion of freedom) from the PA system along with the music. In other words, these prisoners learn the interpretation of this aria from Andy through the PA system.

However, Hunter’s explanation is problematic because she misinterprets the role of Andy in broadcasting the music. Hunter considers Andy as a transmitter who sends his own interpretation about the aria to prisoners, which is rather subjective and contradicts with Red’s narration. Specifically, Andy stays muted during broadcasting and does not express to others any personal opinions about the music until his two-week solitary punishment ends. Also Red in his narration in the broadcasting scene says “I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about… [but] every last man at Shawshank felt free.” Apparently, prisoners do not receive Andy’s interpretation about this aria while listening to the music. Therefore, it is unreasonable to argue that the music express the notion of freedom to prisoners through its cultural reference because these prisoners do not understand its content or receive Andy’s understandings about it from the PA system, yet, they still feel free when hearing it. 

Without its content and cultural context being understood, how does the Letter Duet express the notion of freedom to prisoners? Slavoj Žižek, a philosopher and film theory scholar, argues that in this scene prisoners feel free because they perceive the essence of beauty and freedom in this music through pure listening (159).

In two different but interconnected ways that pure listening to the Letter Duet makes prisoners feel free. First, the music defamiliarizes the current state of non-freedom that prisoners currently experience. Music scholar Daniel Chua argues that the acoustic presence of Letter Duet as an aria from eighteenth century[2] in a 1950s prison introduces a time gap that disorients prisoners on the dimension of time and estranges them with the current point of time when they are imprisoned (348). Also, the sudden acoustic appearance of the aria introduces a huge contrast between what actually happens (broadcasting the aria) and what prisoners expect to happen in the prison. Being more or less institutionalized by Shawshank, prisoners have adapted to the prison routines that are completely regulated and harshly managed by guards. To some degree, the broadcasting of the aria does not change their expectation of the prison but psychologically obfuscates their current existence in a prison and for a moment make them doubt that whether or not they are in a prison. Therefore, both the temporal characteristic of the Letter Duet and its acoustic presence defamiliarizes the current state of being in a prison and make prisoners feel free.

 The second way that the aria expresses freedom to prisoners without its content understood is that it generates a new space-time dimension that transcends the prison in both space and time. After the confusion and defamiliarization at the first moment, prisoners start to perceive the essence of beauty from this aria, which is shown in Red narration: “I’d like to think that they were singing about something so beautiful that it can’t be expressed in words”. This essence is timeless (referring to the time gap discussed above) and the perception of it reminds prisoners that their minds cannot be confined (Chua 348). Also in this scene, all prisoners in the yard concentrate on the music and experience a motionless moment, which reflects a process that the ongoing flow of time is suspended and surrounding space of the prison is detached from them. In other words, by conveying a timeless essence of beauty to prisoners, the Letter Duet creates a space-time dimension where prisoners transcend their physical existence in the prison and therefore make them feel free. 

In addition, the effectiveness of the Letter Duet in expressing freedom also relates to its role as an acousmêtre for prisoners. According to composer Michel Chion, acousmêtre refers to a voice that “has not yet been visualized” and “[listensers] cannot yet connect to a face” (21). In the Shawshank Redemption, the music of the Letter Duet (both vocal and instrumental) as a whole is a perfect radio-acousmêtre to prisoners because it is only heard in the public-address system and remains non-visualized throughout the film. Chion identifies four characteristics of acousmêtre in movies, namely “ubiquity, panopticism, omniscience, and omnipotence” (24). In the Shawshank Redemption, ubiquity and omnipotence of the music of Letter Duet are particularly highlighted in delivering the notion of freedom.

This piece of music is ubtiquitous because firstly and literally, in the broadcasting scene, it penetrates the whole Shawshank complex where the major part of the movie narrative happens. Secondly, after being heard by prisoners, the music “awakens” them from the institutionalization and reinhabits the timeless essence of beauty and then freedom into their mind. According to Red’s narration, this process happens to everyone who hears the music. In this sense, the music inhabits into every prisoner’s mind and essentially becomes ubiquitous in Shawshank prison.

Besides, the music of the Letter Duet is omnipotence, which is reflected in Andy’s [3]description that the music stays in his mind and heart, and is indestructible by outside forces including the severe punishment of the two-week solitary. Moreover, in the following narrative, the Letter Duet and the notion of freedom that Andy gets from it help him survive both mentally and physically through severe sufferings including Tommy’s death, a two-month solitary, and Norton’s threats, and eventually support him to escape from Shawshank. Thus, to some degree, the music of the Letter Duet and the essence of freedom associated with it are invulnerable in this film.

In the Shawshank Redemption, in the broadcasting scene, the Letter Duet does not express the notion of freedom through its cultural references because the prisoners who perceive freedom by hearing it do not understand its content. Instead, the Letter Duet convey the notion of freedom by defamiliarizing the conditions of imprisonments to prisoners and creating a new space-time dimension that transcends the prison in both space and time, which are the achieved through  prisoners’ pure listening. Moreover, the effectiveness of the Letter Duet in conveying freedom in this movie is associated with its role as an acousmêtre and its characteristics of ubiquity and omnipotence.

 

Work Cited

Chion, Michel, and Claudia Gorbman. "The Acousmêtre." The voice in cinema. [Nachdr.] ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001. 17-29. Print.

Chua, Daniel. "Listening to the Self: The Shawshank Redemption and the Technology of Music." 19th-century music 34.3 (2011): 341-55. JSTOR. Web. 4 June 2012.

Hunter, Mary. “Sentiment and Wit, Feeling and Knowing: The Shawshank Redemption and Prizzi’s Honor.” Between Opera and Cinema. Ed. Jeongwon Joe and Rose Theresa. Oxford: Routledge, 2002, 93-120. Print

The Shawshank Redemption. Dir. Frank Darabont. Perf. Tim Robbins; Morgan Freeman. Warner Home Video, 1994. DVD.

Žižek, Slavoj. "The Breakout." The fragile absolute or, Why is the Christian legacy worth fighting for?. Pbk. ed. London: Verso, 2001. 143-60. Print.

 

Cuesheet

<The Shawshank Redemption> Thomas Newman (1994)

0:00:16                   When the captioning of Castle Rock Entertainment presents, a piece of jazzy and blues song (If I Didn’t Care) sung by male solo and accompanied by guitar and piano starts. It is mild and lyrical, and its tempo is moderato. At 0:00:58, when the image of film starts with Andy sitting in his car, the volume of the music decreases. When Andy takes out a gun and some bullets, a drone by string starts and continues when the image shifts to the scene in a court. Several dissonant piano chords and some dissonant low string can be heard in the court scene.

0:02:56                   When the prosecution attorney describes Andy’s wife and her lover and the image of them appears, a gentle but suspended motive by piano starts. It is in minor key and is accompanied by the string drone continues since 0:00:16. When the prosecution attorney interrogates Andy, some dissonant string enters. In addition, the male vocal (played by radio on Andy’s car) mentioned above can be heard whenever the image shifts back to Andy’s sitting in the car.

0:09:05                   When the bus takes Andy and other new prisoners to the Shawshank, a polyphonic, dissonant, and slightly lively motive in minor key by violin starts. Its tempo is moderato. When Red starts narrates, the volume of the music decreases. The music stops when Hadley speaks to the prisoner who gets off the bus first.

0:12:05                   When Red and his friends make a bet on which one of the new comers will cry, a suspended, monophonic, and dissonant motive by string starts. It becomes extremely harsh when Andy walks into a building.

0:14:21                   When new comers get washed, a drone by string starts. Then a gentle, sorrowful (and even grave), and muted piano motive enters. Later when prisoners enter their cells, string enters. The overall texture is homophonic.

0:23:30                   When Andy asks Heywood the dead fat guy’s name, a homophonic, sorrowful, slow, and dissonant motive by woodwind starts. It is in minor key. Then a motive by synthesizer starts when Andy takes shower.

0:28:30                   When Andy finishes talking with Red and Red’s narration begins, a dissonant string motive starts. It is in minor key and of andante tempo.

0:29:04                   When prisoners ship cargos from outsides, a suspended, mysterious, somewhat lively, and slightly amusing motive by synthesizer starts. It continues as varies prisoners try to send the rock hammer to Andy.

0:31:23                   When Andy gets trapped by the Sisters and fights with them, a suspended motive by synthesizer at low volume starts. Later low string and violin enter when Red narrates Andy’s routine encounter with the Sisters. The music is in minor key and of andante tempo.

0:33:15                   When Norton announces the plan to resurface roofs of buildings, a motive by violin starts. It is folk-like and slightly relaxing. It is accompanied by guitar.  

0:37:25                   When Andy gets beer for his friends through the “deal” with Captain Hadley, and when his friends enjoy the beers on the roof after working, a lyrical, consonant, and polyphonic violin motive starts. Later trumpet enters.

0:40:20                   When Andy craves a rock at night in his cell, a sorrowful, gentle, dissonant, and homophonic motive by synthesizer starts. Then muted piano enters. It is in minor key and of andante tempo.

0:41:21                   A diegetic piece of music in the movie Gilda when prisoners watch this movie.

0:44:06                   When Andy confronts the Sisters in the projection room during the movie, a drone starts. Then a suspended motive by synthesizer and muted piano starts.

0:46:16                   When Andy’s friends find rocks for him to crave, a jazzy, folk-like, and slightly relaxing motive by violin and guitar.

0:50:55                   When guards finish tossing cells, a sorrowful and homophonic motive by strings and muted piano starts. It is of moderato tempo.

0:55:39                   When Andy asks Norton for money to expand library, a drone of high pitch starts. Then a dissonant violin motive in minor key starts at low volume. When Andy writes letters, a motive by synthesizer starts. And when Andy does tax returns for guards, a slightly amusing motive by synthesizer starts.

1:00:55                   When Brooks is released, a string drone starts. Then woodwind and muted piano enter. The music is very sorrowful and grave. It is homophonic, slow, and in minor key. When The image shifts to Brooks’ life outside the prison, the drone continues and the motives repeat and vary until Brooks’ suicide.

1:07:47                   Andy plays LP of the Marriage of Figaro and broadcast it to the whole Shawshank complex. It is an aria (Letter Duet) accompanied by orchestra. Its texture is homophony and its meter is triple. It is lyrical and consonant. When Norton and guards knock on the door, Andy turns up the volume.  

1:12:19                   When Andy talks about music and hope with his friends including Red, a dissonant, homophonic and slightly grave string motive starts. It is in minor key and of andante tempo. It is at low volume.

1:15:06                   When Andy receives the poster of Marilyn Monroe at night in his cell, a suspended, mysterious, dissonant, unsettling, and homophonic motives by woodwind starts. It is of andante tempo.

1:16:23                   Red blows the harmonica for a single note and stops. Then the scene is mute.

1:17:51                   Heywood listens to and sings Hank Williams’ song in the prison library. The song is a piece of country music accompanied by guitar. It is relaxing. It continues when Norton announces the “inside-out” program.

1:24:00                   When Tommy arrives at the Shawshank, a piece of rock (or pop?) music starts. It is energetic and of quick tempo.

1:26:54                   When Andy teaches Tommy, a drone by string at high pitch starts. Then slightly motive by synthesizer and string starts. It is in minor key. And it  somewhat “splendid” when the narration of Red introduces what Andy achieves in the prison.

1:30:14                   When Tommy talks to Andy and Red about the read criminal of Andy’s murder case, a drone by string starts.

1:35:26                   When Andy is in solitary, a sorrowful, duple, polyphonic, and grave motive by string starts. It continues but becomes slower when the image shifts to Tommy’s being called by Norton to talk. It is in minor key.

1:39:29                   When Norton threatens Andy to keep helping him, a dissonant, homophonic, and harsh motive by string start. Then an harsh, ascending string motive enters. 

1:42:51                   When Andy talks with Red about Zihuatanejo, a string drone starts. Then a sorrowful and homophonic motive by muted piano starts in minor key. It is of andante tempo and at low volume. Later, string enters and take the major part. After that, woodwind enters.

1:49:00                   When Andy shines the shoes of Norton, a drone by string starts. Then a suspended and homophonic motive by woodwind starts. It is in minor key and of andante tempo. It continues until Andy returns to his cell.

1:54:11                   When Norton finds out the tunnel that Andy digs on the wall, a drone starts. When guards search for Andy, an intense, consonant, duple, quick, lively and polyphonic motive by the whole orchestra starts. 

1:55:10                   When Andy starts to dig a tunnel on the wall, a motive by muted piano starts. It is in minor key and continues during Andy’s escaping process. Low string enters when Andy crawls through the tunnel. When Andy gets out of the tunnel and arrives at the sewage, a dissonant motive by the whole orchestra starts. It is of andante tempo. And when Andy gets out of the sewage, the volume increases. When he cries into the air, the orchestra plays several loud chords.

2:00:32                   When Andy enters a bank, synthesizer plays an airy motive at high pitch.

2:02:06                   When police comes to the Shawshank for Norton and Hadley, a tense, quick, dissonant, and polyphonic motive by synthesizer starts. It is of duple meter. At the same time, string and piano play some discrete and dissonant chords. The music shifts to string motive in minor key and at low volume when Norton shoots himself.

2:04:34                   When Red receives Andy’s postcard, a slow, dissonant, and homophonic string motive at low volume starts.

2:05:20                   When Red in narration assimilates Andy to a bird with bright feathers, a sorrowful and gentle motive played by muted piano starts.

2:08:30                   When Reds gets out of the Shawshank, a drone begins. Then muted piano enter. Later, violin enters when Red narrates that he has no way to make it on the outside.

2:11:14                   When Red follows Andy’s instruction to find what Andy leaves to him, a lyrical, homophonic, consonant, and slightly sorrowful motive by woodwind starts. Then string enters and the musical texture becomes polyphonic. When Red finds the wall, harmonica enters. The music stops when Red finds the box buried by Andy for him.

2:15:45                   When Red reads Andy’s letter, a peaceful, slow, and harmonic motive by string starts at low volume. Then woodwind comes in and the music becomes brighter and more lyrical. The music continues as Red goes to find Andy. Then piano enters in major key. When Red reaches the beach in Zihuatanejo and meets Andy, violins play at higher pitches and louder volume. Finally, when captioning starts, the orchestra enters and plays a polyphonic and consonant piece of moderato tempo. Violins play the major melody in this piece.

 

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[1] If not otherwise noted, “Prisoners” in this essay refers to prisoners other than Andy Dufresne in the film the Shawshank Redemption.

[2] Although prisoners may or may not know the exact time of composition of this aria, they are supposed to know that it does not belong to 1950s. This is because that firstly, Red knows that the aria is Italian. Secondly, referring to the scene at 1:11:25, when Andy talks about Mozart, other prisoners can recognize this name. Thus, here I assume prisoners know that this aria is not from their time (1930s - 50s) but from an early period.

[3] Note that the music of Letter Duet is also an acousmêtre to Andy because he is unlikely to be able to connect the voices in this particular LP to some faces either.