The politics of reliability: a sociological examination of the State of Vermont's response to peak oil & climate change

Scott Sawyer

doi:10.7273/000005766

The problems of global peak oil and global climate change are unlike any yet faced by modern industrial societies: every ecosystem and social system on the planet will be impacted. The U.S. Federal government appears to have abdicated responsibility for dealing with climate change and peak oil. So called “sub-national” forces–states, regions, and cities–subsequently have tried to pick up the slack. State efforts to help citizens prepare for, mitigate against, and adapt to peak oil and climate change have varied greatly. This dissertation examines the State of Vermont, which consumes the least amount of fossil fuels and generates the least amount of greenhouse gases of any state in the country. The thesis that Vermont, the “greenest state in the country,” is not acting reliably to help its citizens prepare for, mitigate against, or adapt to peak oil and climate change was largely borne out over the course of interviews with high ranking government employees and nonprofit organizations. Despite being the “greenest state in the country,” Vermont creates, in the words of one interviewee, “a dull tool,” for dealing with problems. Except for domain consensus that climate change is a problem, the majority of the characteristics of “high reliability organizations”–‘big picture’ communication and coordination, domain consensus, decentralized decision-making, extensive training, aggressive information seeking, and strong leadership–are not apparent in Vermont’s response to peak oil and climate change. This dissertation explains how the environment of organizations (e.g., sunk costs), organizational characteristics (e.g., combinations of resources and schemas), and the cognitive practices of individuals within organizations (e.g., political ideologies) undermines the characteristics of high reliability organizations. Although the details of this dissertation are specific to Vermont, the problems are likely endemic in other U.S. states and other forms of government. As state governments learn, shift gears, and recalibrate their activities to address the twin challenges of peak oil and climate change, it is important to recognize that the veneer of “greenness,” “high policy,” official representations of leadership, and technological infatuations, may mask underlying unreliable structures.

The politics of reliability: a sociological examination of the State of Vermont's response to peak oil & climate change

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