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Alter  geoengineering     Renzo  Taddei    

“There   is   no   religious   denomination   in   which   the   misuse   of   metaphysical   expressions  has  been  responsible  for  so  much  sin  as  it  has  in  mathematics.”     Wittgenstein,  1984,  1e   1

Introduction   This   presentation   has   two   main   goals.   The   first   is   to   contrast   the   way   most   environmentalists  and  scholars  from  the  humanities   in   the   so-­‐called   West   understand   and   evaluate   geoengineering   with   how   certain   traditional,   or   non-­‐Western   collectivities   understand   the   question   of   the   “manipulation”   of   the   atmosphere.   After   a   brief   presentation   of   the   concept,   and   current   efforts   in   geoengineering,   two   cases   will   be   presented   and   discussed:   one   related   to   the   Yanomami   Indians   of   the   Amazon,   via   the   thoughts  of  one  of  their  most  important  shamans,  Davi  Kopenawa,  and  the  other  related  to   the   Afro-­‐Brazilian   tradition   of   Umbanda,   specifically   the   activities   of   the   Coral   Snake   Chief   Foundation.   The   second   goal,   more   implicit   and   transversal,   consists   in   putting   up   for   debate  one  of  the  outcomes  of  the  reconfiguration  of  the  notions  of  body  and  agency  that   came  about  with  the  “ontological  turn”  in  philosophy  and  the  social  sciences.  I  evoke  here   one  anecdote  by  Levi-­‐Strauss,  where  he  affirms  having  found  in  Brazil,  among  indigenous   groups,  individuals  who  claimed,  to  be  capable  of  seeing  a  star  during  the  day,  something   he  could  not  do.  A  few  years  later,  Levi-­‐Strauss  found  in  the  historical  records,  reference  to  

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 Paper  presented  at  the  Thousand  Names  of  Gaia  –  from  the  Anthropocene  to  the  Age  of  the  Earth  international   colloquium.  Rio  de  Janeiro,  September  16,  2014.    

 

 

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medieval  sailors  who  also  affirmed  being  able  to  see  the  same  star,  during  the  day.  Levi-­‐ Strauss   concluded   that   there   are   organic   and   cognitive   capacities   that   were   lost,   by   modern  Europeans,  with  the  advent  of  modernity  –  contradicting  the  general  perception   that  they  are  the  pinnacle  of  the  organic  and  mental  development  of  humanity.  Death  itself   is   part   of   the   equation:   it   is   recurrently   said   that   one   of   the   problems   of   modernity   is   that,   in  transforming  each  of  us  into  an  economic  resource,  capitalism  erased  our  capacity  for   (properly)   dying.   Not   knowing   how   to   die   is,   paradoxically,   at   the   root   of   the   many   genocides   of   which   we   are   the   cause:   it   is   curious   that   the   societies   founded   in   what   Eduardo   Viveiros   de   Castro   called   a   metaphysics   of   predation   kill   less   than   those   that   believe   themselves   founded   in   the   ethics   of   (Christian)   love.  The   ethnographic   cases   that   I   will   discuss   in   this   text   refer   to   peoples   who   have   other   capacities,   which   include   the   ability   to   combine   bodies   and   deaths   (or,   in   this   case,   dead   people)   in   ways   that   the   majority  of  us  don’t  believe  ourselves  capable.     The   context   and   backdrop   of   this   discussion   is   the   fact   that   the   attempt   at   overcoming   certain   modern   dichotomies   (subject/object,   organism/environment,   culture/nature,  etc.)  implies  a  transformation  in  the  ways  we  understand  organisms,  life,   the   locus   of   agency   and   sentience,   the   atmosphere,   and   death.   I   will   return   to   this   at   the   end  of  the  text.     Geoengineering   In  the  words  of  Clive  Hamilton,  geoengineering  refers  to  the  “deliberate,  large-­‐ scale   intervention   in   the   climate   system   designed   to   counter   global   warming   or   offset   some   of   its   effects”   (2013,   p.   15).   Generally   speaking,   such   schemes   are   variations   or   combinations   of   the   following:   manipulation   of   the   cloud   cover   of   the   planet,   the   changing   of   the   chemical   composition   of   the   oceans,   or   the   covering   of   the   planet   with   a   layer   of   particles  that  reflect  part  of  the  solar  radiation  back  into  space.  Regarding  the  oceans,  the   dominant  schemes  advocate  their  fertilization  with  iron,  resulting  in  a  mega-­‐expansion  of   algae   that   would   sequester   carbon   from   the   atmosphere.   Both   the   cloud   manipulation   solution   and   the   spraying   of   sulfur   particles   into   the   stratosphere   aim   to   reduce   the   amount   of   solar   rays   that   reach   the   surface   of   the   planet,   replicating   the   effect   of   large         renzo  taddei  |  alter  geoengineering  

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volcanic  eruptions  of  the  past  (2013,  p.  58).  There  are  other,  still  more  fanciful  solutions,   such  as  the  installation  of  mirrors  in  space,  which  aims  at  reducing  the  amount  of  heat  that   reaches  the  Earth.     Geoengineering   is   the   theme   of   heated   international   debates.   Techno-­‐ billionaires,   such   as   Bill   Gates,   believe   that   geoengineering   is   not   just   the   only   effective   solution   to   climate   change   –   given   the   lack   of   capacity   of   international   diplomacy   to   address  the  problem  -­‐,  but  also  a  potentially  profitable  industry  (Kintisch,  2010;  Hamilton,   2013).  Conservatives  in  the  United  States,  particularly  those  directly  linked  to  the  military-­‐ industrial  complex  from  the  time  of  the  Cold  War,  see  geoengineering  as  an  opportunity  to   bring  new  life  to  sectors  of  the  network  of  research  think  tanks  in  military  technology,  by   using   geoengineering   as   a   potential   weapon.   This   is   despite   international   regulations   in   place   since   1977,   banning   “meteorological”   warfare   (Hamilton,   2013).   Liberal   scientists   like   Paul   Crutzen,   the   recipient   of   the   Nobel   Prize   in   chemistry   who,   together   with   ecologist   Eugene   Stoermer,   popularized   the   term   Anthropocene   (referring   to   the   present   as   a   geological   epoch   in   which   the   effects   of   human   action   have   reached   the   scale   of   geological   processes),   understand   that   geoengineering   is   far   from   being   a   desirable   solution,   when   compared   with   the   alternative   of   reducing   carbon   emissions.   They   nevertheless   say   that   the   moment   will   come   when   making   use   of   some   type   of   geoengineering  solution  will  probably  become  inevitable  (Broad,  2006).   Environmentalists,  philosophers,  and  social  scientists,  on  the  other  hand,  refer   to   the   topic   with   a   mix   of   indignation   and   horror.   The   improvement   in   knowledge   of   climate   systems   during   the   last   decades,   has   made   evident   a   greater   degree   of   uncertainty   and   variability   than   previously   imagined,   rather   than   increasing   the   power   of   human   action   over   nature.   Complex  systems  theory,   on   the   one   hand,   and   the   concept   of   trophic   cascade,  originated  in  ecology  (Pace  at  all,  1999),  on  the  other,  show  that  changes  in  any   ecosystem  generate  multiple  and  interconnected  reactions,  many  of  which  we  cannot  (and   may  never  be  able  to)  predict  (e.g.  Scheffer  et  al,  2005).  It  is  no  surprise  that  there  is  no   previous  instance  of  atmospheric  engineering  which   is  considered  fully  successful,  at  least   when  considered  in  relation  to  its  original  goals.        

 

 

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In   addition   to   this,   global   environmental   change   makes   the   historical   databases  on  the  atmosphere  less  reliable  in  our  attempts  to  forecast  the  future,  especially   for  forecasting  techniques  based  on  statistical  methods:  we  may  not  know  what  the  future   will  be  like,  but  it  seems  clear  that  we  should  not  expect  the  future  to  replicate  the  past.  Of   the   two   approaches   to   forecasting   the   future   of   the   atmosphere   (and   of   many   other   dimensions   of   ecosystems),   one   relies   on   our   understanding   of   the   past   (the   so-­‐called   stochastic  methods),   and   the   other   on   the   physical   and   chemical   systems   in   question   (in   meteorology   these   are   often   referred   to   as   physical   methods),   systems   that   are   mathematically  modeled  and  simulated  by  computers  (Edwards,  2010;  Taddei,  2013).  Yet,   as  mentioned,  the  more  scientists  know  about  natural  systems,  the  more  they  understand   that  our  grasp  of  them  is  only  a  little  more  than  minimal.  In  summary,  there  is  no  way  we   can   put   geoengineering   schemes   in   practice   knowing,   with   an   acceptable   level   of   certainty   or  precision,  what  is  being  done  and  what  it  can  lead  to.       There   is   a   growing   body   of   critical   literature   on   geoengineering   in   the   humanities   (Fleming,   2009,   2010;   Galarraga   e   Szerszynski,   2012;   Hamilton,   2013;   Macnaghten   e   Szerszynski,   2013;   Szerszynski   et   al,   2013;   Szerszynski,   2014).   Many   authors   are   incapable   of   discussing   geoengineering   without   becoming   exasperated   (besides   Hamilton   2013,   see   2014   for   a   good   example).   In   Hamilton’s   account,   in   particular,  Western  societies  are  locked  inside  a  complex  web  of  factors  that  combines  the   fetishization   of   economic   growth   (2013,   p.   173),   individualistic   and   materialistic   hedonism,   and   psychological   mechanisms   of   cynicism   and   self-­‐deception   (“wishful   thinking”;   2013,   p.   141),   in   such   a   way   that,   despite   the   growing   scientific   consensus   on   what  is  going  on  in  the  atmosphere,  the  main  capitalist  societies,  and  the  United  States  in   particular,   seem   to   have   decided   to   walk   towards   the   precipice,   hoping   that   a   technofix   will  save  everyone  at  the  last  minute.     Such   exasperation   reflects   a   sense   of   a   lack   of   alternatives,   and   one   of   the   many   possible   reasons   for   that   may   come   from   the   fact   that   the   discursive   genre   (or   language  game  [Wittgenstein,  1953;  Fischer,  2014],  or  metapragmatics  [Fairclough,  2006;   Silverstein,  1998,  Taddei  &  Gamboggi,  2009])  through  which  popularization  of  science  and   scientific   journalism   takes   place   –   defining,   as   a   result,   how   environmental   debates   take         renzo  taddei  |  alter  geoengineering  

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place   in   Western   public   spheres   -­‐   is   structured   around   the   same   bourgeoise   capitalistic,   ontological   and   epistemological   presuppositions,   that   generated   the   climate   crisis   in   the   first  place.  In  the  U.S.  (and  in  Australia  [Latour,  2014],  Norway  [Norgaard,  2011]  and  many   other   places),   logical   arguments   and   clear   facts   seem   to   hold   little   political   sway.   Donna   Haraway  recently  mentioned  that  the  oil  companies  and  the  military  have  great  interest  in   the   disappearance   of   the   ice   in   the   arctic,   where   around   a   third   of   Earth’s   natural   gas   deposits  are  located  (2014;  also  Hamilton,  2013,  p.  25).  Hamilton  points  to  the  apparent   irrationality   of   oil   companies   that   deny   the   anthropogenic   dimension   of   climate   change,   but   at   the   same   time   fund   geoengineering   research   (2013,   p.   108);   he   also   affirms   that   the   American   military   complex   banks   on   climatic   crises,   so   geoengineering   schemes   can   be   put  into  effect  without  needing  to  pass  through  democratic  debate,  as  typically  occurs  in   emergency   situations   (2013,   p.   171).   Yet,   none   of   these   –   arguments,   evidence,   facts,   logical  reasoning  -­‐  seem  to  be  politically  effective.  Therefore  the  exasperation:  what,  then   has  political  efficacy?   One   productive   way   of   approaching   geoengineering   is   to   think   about   the   cosmopolitics  of  desires  associated  with  it,  and  its  constitutive  powers.  This  is  a  question   that,   in   a   way,   transcends   Foucault’s   concepts   of   biopower   (1998)   and   governmentality   2

(2009) :  it  is  not  possible  to  think  about  the  existential  crisis  humanity  faces  by  focusing   on  factors  that  are  strictly,  naturalistically  “human”  or  “social”,  in  the  Durkheimian  sense.   The   political   economy   of   the   factors   in   question   effectively   includes   the   elements   themselves,   so   to   speak.   As   has   often   been   repeated,   capitalism   may   not   care   about   the   atmosphere,   but,   it   is   much   more   critical   that   the   atmosphere   isn’t   preoccupied   with   capitalism.     More   specifically,   the   ways   in   which   capitalism   depends   on   the   idea   of   externality   and   on   open   systems   (from   which   undesired   costs   can   be   exported)   is   coupled   with  certain  forms  of  subjectivity,  with  their  specific  emotional  grammars  and  patterns  of  

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 Although  it  does  not  reduce  their  importance;  it  may  very  well  increase  it,  if  we  expand  both  biopower  and   governmentality  to  post-­‐human  realms.  Povinelli’s  concept  of  geontologies  aptly  does  that  (Povinelli,  2014).        

 

 

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perception.   I   don’t   have   time,   space,   or   expertise   to   satisfactorily   develop   the   historical   connections   between   European   science,   capitalism,   secularization   and   the   ideologies   of   modernity   here   (for   that   see,   Arendt,   1958;   Hacking,   1990;   Sennet,   1992;   Stengers,   2000).   It   is   enough   to   mention   that,   after   at   least   three   centuries   of   “disconnection”   between   scientific-­‐cum-­‐capitalistic  ontological  schemas  and  the  materiality  of  local  contexts  (I  am   using  “disconnection”  here  not  in  a  physical  sense,  but  in  a  way  that  links  Marx’s  alienation   [Marx   &   Engels,   1968]   and   Latour’s   purification   [1993]),   we   now   live   in   a   situation   that   could  be  characterized  by  the  idea  of  the  “banality  of  environmental  evil”  (Arendt,  2006;   Haraway,  2014).  The  environmental  crisis  makes  evident  that  there  is  something  wicked   about  our  perceptive  and  emotional  patterns,  and  that  they  are  intrinsically  linked  to  our   material  and  institutional  configurations.  Deep  environmentalism,  where  fences  and  laws   separate   “humans”   from   “nature”,   is   no   more   than   a   manifestation   of   this.   For   many   progressive  Westerners,  the  horror  with  which  they  contemplate  geoengineering  springs   from  the  idea  that  “nature  should  be  left  alone”.     It   is   at   this   point   that   I   think   traditional   forms   of   thinking   about   and   living   with   the   environment   present   themselves   as   interesting   analytical   tools   to   say   the   least   (Danowski   e   Viveiros   de   Castro,   2014).   The   point   of   interest   of   such   forms   of   life   is   that   3

they   tend   to   understand   their   worlds   as   enclosed   systems .   This   fact   manifests   itself   in   many   distinct   forms,   the   common   denominator   being   the   relational   approach   to   the   environment,  that  is,  the  idea  that  the  interaction  with  the  environment  is  understood  as   connecting   subjects,   and   is   therefore   regulated   by   moral   codes.   What   is   even   more   interesting  here  is  the  fact  that,  exactly  because  nature  is  thought  of,  at  one  and  the  same   moment,  as  both  the  agent  and  outcome  of  transactions  and  actions  of  subjects  (humans   and   non-­‐humans),   it   is   naturally   understood   as   something   “constructed”.   The   idea   of   constructing  the  atmosphere  does  not  cause  consternation  for  most  traditional  peoples,  as   long   as   it   is   done   properly.   It   is   the   animistic   ontological   base,   in   contraposition   to   Western  naturalism  (Descola,  2013,  2014;  Sahlins,  2014),  which  provides  some  degree  of   balance  between  the  construction  and  the  plenitude  of  becoming  of  the  involved  beings.        

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 It  is  probably  unnecessary  to  point  out  that  open  and  closed  systems  are  used  here  as  heuristic  concepts.         renzo  taddei  |  alter  geoengineering  

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In   the   remaining   sections   of   this   text,   I   will   discuss   two   cases   in   which   the   construction   of   the   atmosphere   has   taken   place   in   Brazil:   one   particular   case   of   Amerindian  thought,  in  Davi  Kopenawa  Yanomaki  and  Bruce  Albert’s  recent  book  (2013);   and   a   research   project   that   I   started   recently,   on   the   activities   of   the   Coral   Snake   Chief   Foundation,   an   institution   associated   with   the   Afro-­‐Brazilian   Umbanda   religious   tradition,   whose  members  claim  to  be  able  to  control  the  atmosphere  via  religious  rituals.     The  Yanomami  and  the  building  of  Amazonian  skies   I  have  stated  elsewhere  (Taddei,  2012)  that     “the   oldest   and   most   deeply   rooted   meteorological   theory   in   human   history   is   that   ‘it   didn’t   rain   (or   rained   too   much)   because   of   the   actions   (or   sins)   of   someone  (us,  or  the  enemy,  inside  or  outside).’”  (2012,  p.  256).    

This   formulation   is   a   variation   of   what   Mary   Douglas   called   the   “forensic   theory   of   danger”   (Douglas,   1992).   It   can   be   found   in   the   sacred   texts   of   the   Christian,   Muslim,   and   Jewish   traditions,   for   instance.   For   most   animistic   collectivities,   a   more   appropriate   (and   complementary)   variation   of   this   would   be:   “‘there   was   beneficial   rainfall  because  of  the  actions  (rituals)  of  someone  (a  shaman,  or  priest)”.  What  I  want  to   discuss   here   is   the   idea,   present   in   many   cultural   traditions,   that   the   environment   is   not   4

guided  by  some  form  of  impersonal  mechanism,  as  in  the  Newtonian  universe ,  nor  by  a   detached  deity,  but  by  the  group  itself  or  by  a  special  individual  in  the  group.  Sahlins,  for   example,  recently  mentioned  Marcel  Granet’s  description  of  Chinese  cosmopolitical  rituals   in  the  Zhou  dynasty  when  discussing  Descola’s  ontological  schema:     “For   the   year   to   turn   along   with   the   symbolic   cross,   it   was   necessary   and   sufficient   that   the   king,   by   his   clothes,   his   food,   and   so   on,   dazzlingly   manifest   his   being   in   confor-­‐  mity  with  the  system  of  the  universe.   Winter   was   brought   about   when   dressed   in   black,   with   black   stones   at   his   belt,   using   black   horses,   a   dark  

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 Although,  as  mentioned  by  Viveiros  de  Castro  [apud  Sahlins,  2014,  p.  282]  there  is  a  trace  of  animism  in  using   the   idea   of   law   in   referring   to   it,   as   something   that   etymologically   and   philosophically   has   the   nature   of   a   contract.    

 

 

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carriage,  a  black  standard,  the  king  took  up  position  at  the  NW  corner  of  the  Ming   T’ang  and  ate  millet  and  pork.  Did  he  eat  mutton  and  wheat?  Did  he  wear  green   with   green   stones?   Was   his   flag   green?   Did   he   give   pride   of   place   to   sour   taste,   rank   smell,   the   spleen   of   victims,   the   number   8,   the   note   chio?   Did   he   put   himself   in  the  NE  corner  of  the  Ming  T’ang?  Spring  was  coming.  ...  The  sovereign   action   which   ...   radiated   from   the   capital   to   the   nine   provinces   of   the   Chinese   Confederation,   was   performed   by   the   king   as   a   colleague   of   Heaven,   in   whose   name  he  promulgated  the  Calendar”  (Granet,  1975,  apud  Sahlins,  2014,  p.  288).    

The  case  I  want  to  discuss  here  is  related  to  the  Yanomami  people  who  inhabit   (what  we  call)  the  frontier  between  Brazil  and  Venezuela.  One  of  the  their  shamans,  Davi   Kopenawa,  recently  published  with  French  anthropologist  Bruce  Albert  a  book  that  is  the   most  detailed  account  of  the  Yanomami  cosmology  (Kopenawa  &  Albert,  2013).  The  book   is   an   extremely   rich   illustration   of   the   different   dimensions   of   the   Yanomami   universe.   Here  I  want  to  call  attention  to  just  two  things:  the  first  is  the  idea  that  the  “skies”  are  held   in  place  by  the  constant  maintenance  carried  out  by  shamans  and  their  associate  spiritual   beings;  and  the  second  is  that  some  of  these  spiritual  beings  incorporate,  in  their  actions   but   also   in   their   constitution,   elements   of   the   universe   of   the   “white”   people   -­‐   including   how  they  maintain  the  skies  in  place.           According   to   Kopenawa,   Omama   is   the   creator   of   everything,   and   the   xapiri   are   spirits   associated   with   what   we   call   the   “natural   world”   -­‐   animals,   plants,   geographical   accidents,  astronomical  bodies  or  events,  seasons,  states  of  the  atmosphere,  and  so  forth.   According  to  the  book  and  other  works  on  Amerindian  perspectivism  (Viveiros  de  Castro,   2002),  given  that  these  entities  have  a  human  essence,  and  although  they  are  associated,   for  instance,  with  an  animal,  they  will  not  necessarily  have  the  appearance  of  that  animal.         The   process   through   which   someone   becomes   a   shaman   consists   in   an   arduous  bodily,  emotional,  psychochemical,  and  spiritual  training.  Regarding  the  spiritual   dimension,   to   become   a   shaman   one   needs   to   construct   a   network   of   relations   with   the   xapiri   spirits   so   as   to   be   able   to   work   with   them   in   specific   situations.   I   mention   two   passages  of  the  book  in  which  this  is  exemplified  in  situations  directly  connected  with  the   “maintenance”  of  the  sky.  In  the  first  one,  we  read:  

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“But  one  day,  a  long  time  from  now  …  [the  sky]  will  come  apart  and  crush  us  all.   But   this   will   not   happen   so   long   as   the   shamans   are   alive   to   hold   it   up.   It   will   lurch   and   roar   but   will   not   break   (…)   As   soon   as   the   sky   starts   to   shake   and   threatens   to   crack,   [the   shamans]   instantly   send   their   xapiri   to   reinforce   it.   Without  that,  it  would  have  already  collapsed  long  ago!”  (p.  130-­‐131)    

In  the  second  passage,  the  meaning  of  “maintenance”  is  a  bit  different:   “When   the   rain   falls   without   interruption   for   days   on   end   and   the   sky   remains   full   of   dark   low   clouds,   we   start   to   tire   of   it.   (…)   Eventually   we   turn   to   our   shaman   elders   for   help,   for   they   know   the   rain   being   Maari   well   and   can   ask   him   to  stop.  So  they  drink  the  yãkoana  and  start  working.  Their  spirits  wash  the  sky’s   chest  and  call  the  sun  being  Mothokari  and  the  being  of  the  dry  season  Omoari.   Then  they  turn  the  key  that  holds  back  the  rain  and  bring  light  back  to  the  sky.”   (p.  133)    

And,   finally,   another   passage   introduces   an   interesting   element   to   the   composition  of  beings  and  strategies  that  deal  with  the  atmosphere:   Some  xapiri  such  as  the  sloth  spirit  possess  a  rifle  acquired  from  the  spirits  of  the   white   people’s   ancestors.   He   uses   it   to   intimidate   the   thunders   into   becoming   quiet  and  to  fire  at  the  evil  beings  and  their  hunting  dogs.  (p.  73)  

Here  I  will  break  academic  protocol  and  not  offer  an  analysis  of  the  material   just   presented.   Due   to   the   text’s   rhetorical   strategy   being   grounded   in   the   contrast   between  different  cases,  I  will  proceed  to  the  next  ethnographic  example  –  requesting  the   reader’s  patience.   The  Coral  Snake  Chief  Foundation  and  building  of  Rio’s  skies   The   Coral   Snake   Chief   Foundation   (FCCC   is   its   acronym   in   Portuguese)   is   an   5

institution   associated   with   the   Afro-­‐Brazilian   religious   tradition   of   the   Umbanda ,   which  

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 Adelaide   Scritori,   the   medium   through   which   the   spirit   of   the   Chief   interacts   with   the   material   world,   is   a   white   woman,   probably   in   her   50s,   who   does   not   present   herself   as   a   member   of   an   Afro-­‐Brazilian   terreiro   (as   the  ritual  centers  are  called  in  Brazil).  Yet  she  has  a  son  who  runs  a  famous  terreiro  in  São  Paulo.  There  are           www.osmilnomesdegaia.eco.br  |  rio  de  janeiro,  09.2014  

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operates   in   the   business   of   producing   or   preventing   rains,   in   Brazil   and   elsewhere,   6

through  the  spiritual  actions  of  the  spirit  of  the  Coral  Snake  Chief .  In  the  last  20  years,  the   FCCC  has  provided  services  to  highly  visible  clients,  such  as  the  governments  of  the  cities   of  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  São  Paulo,  and  the  entertainment  company  Artplan,  producer  of  the   Rock   in   Rio   festival   since   1985,   perhaps   the   most   notable   of   all.   Among   other   services,   the   Foundation  makes  sure  there  is  no  rain  over  Copacabana  beach  on  New  Year’s  Eve,  when   one   of   the   most   remarkable   fireworks   spectacles   in   the   world   takes   place.   They   have   been   working  with  the  municipal  government  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  since  2001.   Afro-­‐Brazilian   religious   groups   tend   to   be   very   discrete   in   their   activities,   especially  when  outside  places  considered  centers  of  Afro-­‐Brazilian  culture,  like  Salvador   in  the  state  of  Bahia,  or  the  city  of  Rio  de  Janeiro.  Even  in  these  places  however,  they  are   subject  to  growing  levels  of  hostility  from  Neo-­‐Pentecostal  Protestant  churches,  adding  to   centuries   of   discrimination   from   white   elites.   In   such   a   context,   one   of   the   most   remarkable   facts   about   the   group   of   individuals   gathered   at   the   FCCC   is   that   they   seek   constant   media   exposure.   Paulo   Coelho,   the   best-­‐selling   Brazilian   writer,   was   vice-­‐ president   of   the   foundation   between   2004   and   2006.   Adelaide   Scritori,   the   woman   who   channels  the  spirit  of  the  Coral  Snake  Chief,  and  her  husband,  Osmar  Santos,  who  acts  in   the  role  of    public  relations  for  the  FCCC,  make  themselves  present  at  the  most  important   public  events  in  Brazil  and  overseas.  According  to  Maria  Paola  de  Salvo,  journalist  of  Veja  -­‐   the   weekly   news   magazine   with   the   highest   circulation   in   Brazil   and   second   highest   in   the   Portuguese  language  in  the  world  -­‐,  pope  Benedict  XVI  arrived  in  São  Paulo,  in  May  2009,   on   what   the   meteorological   forecast   predicted   would   be   a   rainy   afternoon.   It   indeed   rained,   but   stopped   the   moment   the   pope   left   the   airplane.   According   to   Salvo,   Ronaldo   Camargo,   adjunct   secretary   of   the   municipal   government   of   the   city   of   São   Paulo,   had  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    numerous   religious   traditions   in   Brazil   where   spirits   communicate   through   mediums   (Umbanda   and   Candomblé,  both  associated  with  African  populations  in  the  colonial  past;  Kardecist  Spiritism,  imported  from   France  in  the  19th  century  and  popular  among  urban  white  middle  classes;  and  Pagelança,  a  generic  name  for   the   presence   of   Amerindian   shamanism,   with   its   innumerous   traditions   and   variations,   mainly   in   the   urban   centers  of  Northern  Brazil),  so  reference  to  communication  with  spirits  is  not  in  itself  a  clear  religious  identity   claim.     6

 Who,   besides   the   North   American   Indian   chief   from   whom   he   takes   his   public   identity,   claims   to   have   previously  incarnated  Galileo  Galilei  and  Abraham  Lincoln.         renzo  taddei  |  alter  geoengineering  

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called   the   foundation   for   logistical   help   in   weather   making.   From   January   to   September,   2009,   the   São   Paulo   city   government   requested   the   services   of   the   foundation   six   times   (Salvo,  2009).   Marcelo  Tas,  an  award-­‐winning  journalist  in  Brazil,  did  a  telephone  interview   with  Osmar  Santos  the  day  after  the  opening  ceremony  of  the  London  Olympic  Games,  in   2012.  Santos  told  Tas  that   During   the   …   opening   ceremony,   Adelaide   was   in   Dublin,   Ireland,   where   she   diverted   the   pressure   waves   coming   from   the   North   of   the   British   Islands   to   Spain,   with   the   intention   of   alleviating   the   drought   occurring   in   that   country.   Meanwhile,   from   inside   the   stadium,   Osmar   sent   her   real   time   information   about   the  weather  in  London  (Tas,  2012;  my  translation).    

The   journalist   ends   his   text   with   the   phrase   “I   don’t   believe   in   witches,   but   they   indeed   exist”   (originally   in   Spanish”   “No   creo   en   brujas,   pero   que   las   hay,   las   hay”).   During   a   video   interview   with   the   History   Channel,   Cesar   Maia,   the   former   mayor   of   Rio   during   whose   term   of   office   the   contract   with   the   FCCC   was   signed,   and   who   is   currently   a   candidate  for  the  Brazilian  senate,  used  exactly  the  same  phrase.  The  journalist,  who  did   not   question   this   apparent   irrationality,   instead   confronted   Maia   regarding   his   presentation   of   himself   as   Catholic,   to   which   the   former   mayor   replied   that   he   is   7

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“Brazilian,  carioca ,  and  botafoguense ,  and  therefore  superstitious”.         The   FCCC   is   also   a   long   time   associate   of   Roberto   Medina   and   his   company,   Artplan,   through   which   Medina   organizes,   since   1985,   the   Rock   in   Rio   musical   festival.   Rock   in   Rio   is   now   an   international   event   with   festivals   in   Rio,   Lisbon,   Madrid   and   Las   Vegas.   Medina   talks   openly   about   his   connections   with   the   FCCC   (Cruz,   2008).     In   July   2008,  on  the  occasion  of  a  Rock  in  Rio  Madrid  festival,  Adelaide  affirmed  that  “[they  had]   diverted  rains  to  the  region  of  Catalonia,  which  was  going  through  a  drought  then”  (ibid.).    

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 Inhabitant  of  Rio  de  Janeiro.  

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 Fan  of  the  Botafogo  soccer  team.  

 

 

 

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According   to   the   foundation,   it   does   not   charge   for   services   provided   to   governmental  entities,  yet  it  demands  that  the  recipient  of  the  service  reciprocate  in  kind,   usually  through  some  form  of  environmental  program.  In  January  2013,  for  instance,  the   FCCC  announced  the  canceling  of  its  association  with  the  municipal  government  of  Rio  de   Janeiro,   given   that   the   latter   had   not   delivered   a   report   of   activities   carried   out   in   2012,   in   response  to  past  activities  of  the  foundation.  The  announcement  was  made  during  heavy,   flood   rains   in   the   city   of   Rio   de   Janeiro,   and   the   municipal   government   quickly   provided   the   requested   report   and   renewed   the   agreement   with   the   foundation   (Meinicke,   2013).   When  the  service  is  provided  to  private  companies,  like  Artplan,  they  are  charged.     The   activities   of   the   FCCC   in   Brazil   are   surrounded   by   controversy.   Journalists   who   publish   articles   about   the   work   of   the   foundation,   as   Marcelo   Tas   did,   are   often   subject   to   hostile   online   comments   from   readers.   In   2009,   after   en   electric   blackout   that   left   18   states   without   power   in   Brazil,   Arthur   Virgílio,   the   leader   of   the   opposition   party   (PSDB)  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  in  the  National  Congress,  in  Brasilia,  formally  invited   the   FCCC   to   come   to   the   house   to   explain   what   had   happened   (Bresciani,   2009).   Virgílio   justified  the  invitation  saying  that  “[Those  in  the  government]  say  it  was  a  lighting  bolt,  a   storm.   No   one   knows.   So,   if   no   one   knows,   let’s   call   the   Coral   Snake   Chief   Foundation   to   give   a   divinatory   opinion,   given   that   science   and   public   administration   cannot   answer   our   questions”  (ibid.)  Despite  the  clear  intention  of  the  act  as  a  provocation  to  the  ruling  party,   the  invitation  was  officially  made,  generating  irritation  in  the  government.  The  invitation   was  formally  canceled  a  week  later  (Jerônimo,  2009).   All   that   is,   in   a   way,   just   a   prologue   to   what   is   perhaps   the   most   interesting   dimension   of   the   activities   of   the   foundation:   its   relations   with   science.   In   1987,   the   Brazilian   Meteorological   Society   (SBMet)   denounced   the   FCCC   to   the   Regional   Council   of   Engineering   and   Architecture   (CREA)   of   the   state   of   São   Paulo,   alleging   the   illegal   exercise   of  meteorological  activity.  CREA  is  the  equivalent  for  engineering  and  related  activities  in   Brazil   to   what   the   American   Bar   Association   is  for   the   exercise   of   the   legal   profession   in   the   US.   No   engineer,   agronomist   or   meteorologist   can   work   as   such   without   the   proper   permit   issued   by   CREA.   The   institution   is   acknowledged   as   conservative   in   technical   matters;   in   the   last   decades,   innovative,   non-­‐traditional   engineering   courses   recently         renzo  taddei  |  alter  geoengineering  

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created  in  Brazil  (such  as  environmental  engineering,  for  instance),  have  been  facing  great   difficulties  in  getting  CREA    accreditation.  In  such  circumstances,  it  was  truly  remarkable   that   CREA’s   verdict   was   in   favor   of   the   FCCC.   Engineer   Anthero   da   Costa   Santiago,   responsible   for   evaluating   and   judging   the   process,   in   his   report   refers   to   the   spiritual   entities   and   their   activities   as   facts   of   reality,   even   if   outside   the   scope   of   science,   and   therefore   of   meteorology.   He   then   suggested   that   the   case   be   shelved,   as   subsequently   occurred.     The  FCCC,  nevertheless,  charges  for  their  services  to  private  clients.  In  1991,   CREA   demanded   that   the   FCCC   request   a   permit   for   the   exercise   of   meteorology.   It   also   demanded  that  the  FCCC  have  a  meteorologist  in  charge  for  the  services  provided.  At  that   moment,   the   foundation   formalized   the   relation   they   had   had   with   a   professor   from   the   Department   of   Meteorology   of   the   University   of   São   Paulo,   from   whom   it   had   been   getting   technical   consultancy   for   the   work   of   weather   manipulation.   This   professor,   here   designated   by   the   fictitious   name   of   Ronaldo,   began   acting   as   the   foundation's   technical   director.   More   recently,   a   younger,   but   similarly   high   profile   meteorologist,   from   the   Center   for   Weather   and   Climate   Forecasting   of   the   Brazilian   National   Institute   for   Space   Research  (CPTEC-­‐INPE),  started  providing  similar  consultancy  services  to  the  foundation.     Ronaldo,  one  of  my  main  informants  in  this  research,  described  how  his  first   contact   with   Osmar   and   Adelaide   took   place   in   the   mid   1980s,   when   he   was   a   part-­‐time   professor  and  also  produced  weather  forecasts  for  the  newspaper  O  Estado  de  São  Paulo.   One  morning  the  telephone  at  the  newsroom  rang;  it  was  Osmar,  introducing  himself  as  a   members  of  the  FCCC  and  asking  for  very  unusual  information:  what  needed  to  be  done  to   stop  a  cold  front  coming  from  the  South  from  advancing  over  the  state  of  Rio  Grande  do   Sul  in  the  following  days.  The  local  meteorological  service  did  not  attend  to  his  request  for   information,   and   he   therefore   decided   to   call   the   newspaper   weatherman.   Ronaldo   answered   that   meteorology   does   not   work   by   acting   on   weather   phenomena,   but   only   describes  them.  Osmar  insisted  on  the  question:  “if  you  could  change  the  conditions  of  the   atmosphere  in  order  to  do  that,  what  would  you  change?”  Ronaldo  consulted  the  weather   monitoring   apparatus,   did   a   few   calculations,   and   informed   Osmar   that,   if   the   atmospheric    

 

 

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pressure   over   the   state   increased   and   reached   a   certain   level,   it   would  probably   weaken   the   cold   front.   In   the   following   day,   the   atmospheric   pressure   increased   and   the   cold   front   dissolved.   “I   was   astonished   by   this;   there   was   no   rational   explanation   for   what   had   happened”,  Ronaldo,  who  was  an  accomplished  meteorologist,  and  had  studied  in  the  U.S.   and  participated  in  over  a  dozen  scientific  expeditions  to  the  Antarctic  continent,  told  me.   From   that   moment   Osmar   called   Ronaldo   often,   asking   for   meteorological   advice   for   changing   weather   conditions.   “We   undertake   spiritual   operations   that   interfere   with   the   weather,  and  we  need  information  from  a  professional  of  the  area”,  Osmar  told  him.     Ronaldo   affirms   he   has   witnessed   incredible   atmospheric   transformations   associated   to   the   activities   of   the   Foundation;   he   nevertheless   says   that   he   is   not   completely   convinced   in   regard   to   how   they   explain   what   they   do.   During   an   interview,   he   described  one  “spiritual  operation”:   Ronaldo:   I   have   seen   that…   they   hold   the   cold   front   at   the   entrance   to   Rio   de   Janeiro  (…).  It’s  just  like  in  Rock  in  Rio,  it  was  incredible  –  an  enormous  cold  front   reaching  the  area,  and  they  held  it.  They  asked  me:  what  should  I  do  to  block  this   cold   front?   Then   I   said:   firstly,   you   need   to   strengthen   the   Northeast   winds,   to   hold   the   front;   then   you   also   have   to   change   the   western   high   trough   ,   slowing   down  its  movement...   RT:  Does  the  Chief  understand  this  jargon?   Ronaldo:  Yes.  Adelaide  often  does  not,  and  she  asks  for  further  explanations.  All  I   know   is   that   you   looked   at   the   radar   image   and   could   see   a   small   island   of   dry   weather.  

When  asked  whether  meteorological  equipment  can  detect  and  document  the   effects  of  the  actions  of  the  foundation,  he  said  that  it  depends  on  the  scale  being  analyzed.   At   larger   scales,   the   effects   are   not   “spectacular”,   in   his   words;   sometimes   they   are   very   subtle.  Total  precipitation  over  large  areas  doesn’t  change,  for  instance.  The  same  applies   for   average   temperature   over   long   periods.   It   seems   that   the   FCCC   operates   at   a   “blind   corner”  of  meteorology.  Yet,  as  mentioned  above,  in  the  weather  scale,  the  actions  seem  to   be   detectable   in   equipment   such   as   meteorological   radars.   In   any   case,   the   concept   of   natural  atmospheric  variability  has  been  evoked  by  his  peers,  throughout  the  last  decades,         renzo  taddei  |  alter  geoengineering  

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to   delegitimize   any   attempt   in   the   scientific   documentation   of   the   activities   of   the   9

foundation .   Tentative  concluding  remarks   It  is  likely  that  what  I  have  just  presented  has  provoked  strong  reactions  in  the   auditorium.  Many  of  you  must  be  avidly  waiting  for  me  to  dissolve  the  indigestible  force  of   the  presented  material  with  a  post-­‐colonial  theoretical  solvent,  or  with  a  hermeneutic  one,   or   performatic,   or   a   biopolitical   one,   whatever   the   case   may   be.   All   these   dimensions   certainly   exist   here,   but   I   am   not   convinced   of   the   convenience   of   reducing   everything   to   a   minimal  common  theoretical  denominator  at  this  moment.  I  will  leave  that  for  future  texts.   As   mentioned   at   the   beginning   of   this   presentation,   the   goal   here   is   to   contrast,   even   if   very   roughly,   different   attitudes   towards   intentional   transformations   of   the   atmosphere,   and  to  reflect  on  the  contrast  itself.     The  first  and  perhaps  most  obvious  point  here  is  that  the  discussion  seems  to   highlight  how  it  is  not  lack  of  knowledge  or  certainty  that  makes  geoengineering  risky,  but   the   absence   of   a   moral   debate(s)   regarding   the   relations   between   living   organisms   on   this   planet.   Contrary   to   the   traditional   approaches,   the   cosmopolitics   of   the   desires   of   the   universe  of  Western  technical  knowledge  and  action  is  hypostasized  around  desensitizing   institutional   apparatuses   and   desensitized   subjectivities.   In   the   Yanomami’s   view,   and   also,   albeit   differently,   in   the   Umbanda   tradition,   the   actions   of   the   “white   man”   (in   Kopenawa’s   terms)   are   detrimental   to   the   environment   because   they   are   a-­‐social   in   a   context  in  which  everything  is  inside  patterns  of  sociability.  So  the  question  all  this  raises   is:  how  to  re-­‐socialize  the  de-­‐enchanted  world  of  naturalistic  materialism?  I  see  advances   on   many   fronts   in   recent   years:   legislative   reforms   that   give   juridical   rights   to   the   environment   (Ecuador   and   Bolivia)   and   to   non-­‐human   animals   (cetaceans   recognized   as   non-­‐human   persons   in   India,   the   coordinated   international   wave   of   habeas   corpus  

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 Alongside   other,   less   “technical”   forms   of   delegitimizing,   such   as   when   they   say   that   they   are   too   busy   working,   underpaid,   in   understaffed   institutions   and   agencies,   pressed   by   overly   inflated   standards   of   academic  publishing,  and  have  no  time  for  such  “nonsense”.    

 

 

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requests  for  chimpanzees,  including  in  Brazil  and  Argentina),  the  intensification  of  debates   around  the  production  and  consumption  of  meat,  the  popularization  of  social  theories  that   approach   sociotechnical   apparatuses   via   new   analytical   frameworks,   such   as   Actor-­‐ Network   Theory   or   the   cyborg   feminism   of   Donna   Haraway,   among   many   others.   It   seems   to  me  that  the  weapons  for  revolution  (even  if  perhaps  not  a  cathartic,  apotheotic  one,  as   mentioned   by   Haraway   [2014b])   are   already   available,   or   at   least   are   in   advanced   development.   The   second   point,   more   complex   and   perhaps   scarier,   is   the   following:   when   physics   becomes   metaphysics   (i.e.,   when   there   is   a   decentering   of   materialistic   uninaturalism),   how   does   one   think   paraphysics?   In   a   way,   the   ontological   turn   “turned”   the  theoretical  reflection  toward  us,  to  places  like  Brazil,  where  not  only  have  “we  never   been   modern”   but,   in   certain   ways,   we   never   abandoned   animism.   It   also   turned   the   reflection   to   places   like   Latin   America   where,   more   than   science   fiction,   magic   realism   is   a   key  element  in  the  collective  imaginary.  Is  it  possible  to  work  with  ideas  such  as  “another   world   is   possible”,   multinaturalism,   and   ontological   anarchy,   and   still   remain   associated   with   the   gross   Newtonian   conception   of   the   world   that   grounds   modern   anthropological   thinking?   What   I   am   affirming   here   is   that   the   “physical”   conceptions   (i.e.,   about   material  reality)  of  most  anthropologists  are  as  poor  as  the  anthropological  conceptions  of   most  engineers.  That  explain  why  it  is  so  easy  to  reduce  any  bizarre  manifestations  of  the   material   world   to   relations   of   power   and/or   psychological   illusions.   The   principle   of   symmetry   suggests,   in   my   understanding,   that   a   symmetrical   equivalent   of   the   social   studies  of  science  and  technology  would  be  serious  physical  research  into  other  realities.     It   is   in   these   circumstances   that   the   Coral   Snake   Chief   Foundation   case   is   interesting.   What   we   see   there   could   be   called   a   breach   in   ontic   etiquette:   there   is   no   negation  of  the  Western,  naturalistic  ontology  –  as  is  the  case  in  the  evolutionism  versus   creationism   debate   in   the   U.S.,   or   when   cataclysmic   weather   is   interpreted   as   divine   punishment,  instances  in  which  there  is  no  possible  point  of  contact  between  science  and   religion.   Here   what   we   have   is   a   not-­‐so-­‐subtle   public   declaration   that   the   Western   ontology   is   just   a   subset   of   the   Chiefs’   ontology   –   who   swallows   the   science   and   turns   it         renzo  taddei  |  alter  geoengineering  

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into   something   else   (physically,   media   wise,   politically).   Even   if   the   interviewed   meteorologists  are  reticent  about  it,  reference  is  made,  in  their  very  narratives,  regarding   the  possibility  of  verifying  the  reality  of  the  meteo-­‐spiritual  actions  of  the  foundation  via   scientific   equipment.   Rather   than   ontological   war,   what   we   have   here   is   something   that   resembles  a  metaphysical  phagocytosis.  The  question  then  becomes:  how  to  take  this  into   consideration  in  the  anthropological  reflection?    

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