Adapting Environmental Ethics: Global Climate Change and Cultural Transformation

Until now, ethicists have mostly told us what is right, while assuming that it is our responsibility to get there. This project uses empirical methods to develop an “adaptive framework” for observing cultural value change and supporting the creation of pro-environmental social values. With support from CGII, I will complete ten months of ethnographic research in the coal region of central Pennsylvania where an interfaith coalition works with the Environmental Protection Agency to revitalize a post-coal community. This research participates in the public humanities by defining criteria for public ethics in response to global climate change.