THE ENVIRONMENTAL REPUBLIC

A hopeful blend of science and political philosophy in the service of battling climate change.

Science doesn’t have much to say about religion. In the same vein, writes Boccaletti, scientific director of the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, “science does not ask the question that ­matters most: what do we want our future to be?” The operative word in that sentence is not really “want,” but instead “we,” for Boccaletti holds that what he calls the environmental republic, made up of “free people authoring their life together in a place,” is the sole political structure that can help us overcome oligarchical and authoritarian obstacles. And, Boccaletti adds, “there is something fundamentally wrong about our failure to overcome the obstacles we face”: Activist citizens are few, enemies of change many. Science may not have all the answers, but a society that trusts science to help it preserve and protect the natural environment is essential. The author’s definition of a republic has a few idealistic edges, but in the end, it’s fairly classic: It’s a form of government that is in fact “an expression of self-government, of not being ruled by another.” Against this, however, is the need to balance the good of the collectivity, and climate change and its deleterious effects, to be sure, “demand collective action.” Boccaletti offers a few specific case studies from his portfolio, including a program to get multiple constituencies in a large New Mexico watershed to buy into a conservation program “by mobilizing those who own a piece into caring about the whole.” Given both the isolationist retrenchment of Trumpian America and a forward-looking but authoritarian China, Boccaletti closes by suggesting that it may be up to Europe to commit to the formation of this republic and to “being a universal advocate for human self-determination.”

A book for environmental activists, political scientists, and policymakers alike to ponder.