Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • D Onis Intro 2021

    Uploaded by

    Nicolás Ramos Flores
    37 views57 pages

    Original Title

    d onis intro 2021

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf
    37 views57 pages

    D Onis Intro 2021

    Uploaded by

    Nicolás Ramos Flores

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf
    of 57
    Aguada Rincon, Fajardoe aguas PUERTO RICO Utuado Jayuya Adjuntas Mayaguez Humacao cayeye * Cabo Rojo ; i i Introduction IN POWER STRUGGLES STANDING AT FIVE FEET TALL, Ruth “Tata” Santiago is accustomed to people underestimating her. One bree Rico, [interviewed this lawyer and community activist about her exper encesin different advocacy contexts. Ou conversation in her home spanned time and space, punctuated by neighborhood dogs backing and a few cars passing, Santiago reflected on growing up in che Bronx in the 1960s, before May 2015 eveningia Salinas, Puerto tmoving to Bethlehem, ennsyrania, and then to Puerto Rio at age ewelve ‘wher her father drove a sugarcane truck slong what many local ald “a ruta del hambre” [he hunger roe bea ofthe extreme poverty pervad ing the area Inher unfair surroundings she experienced cually new world” learning Spanish in school and the history of her paren home in Puerto Rico, where she ultimately decided vole, ar completing her stud iesonthe US East Cos. Since the 1sfos Santiago has defied expectations and confronted inter sectional oppression. This community lawyer continues to agitate for ato geién[entonomousonganizing] and apoyo atu fonutual suppor] by faxing her grassroots onganizing with her lal knowledges? To recognize her unwavering invoemene with the Inciativa de Ecodearollo de Bahia de Jobos{IDEBAJO) [Ecodevelopment Initiative of Jobos Bay) in Salinas and other grassroots group, Santiago received the Siesa Cub’ 2018 Robert Ballad Environmental justice Award, IDEBAJO is organized by res dencs in Salinas and nearby Guayama and is considered a nonprofe under Poerto Rican law. The organiaton’s necwork supports several grassroots iniatves, inching projets coordinated by the Comité Didlogo Ambiental {favironmentl Dialogue Comme) THUR 1. Roth “Ta” Sano layyeand longtime comma a ding a pb esng opine by AES Corpora eprensine Geaea ens in, Desembe sz, Photo by Vicor Alvarado Gore During one of our many conversations, Santiago discussed her motiva: ‘tions to continue straggling for her community CATALINA DE ONIs: What gies you energy? TATA SANTIAGO: Ah! You do! People do! Right! Weall dot Tmean, I tel you, sometimes Fm here wockingslne, and Tin writing something ‘or looking for some information, and mike, "Oh, ay God. have to lo chit” Andie interesting because, ofcourse, 'm learning, ind Tin the ermal seen, nd ove o learn, but when we get together in a group, itsso wondesfl because everyone brings differen values tothe ble ME ferent contebutions eo che group, and people jus surprise wall the ten you know. Sometimes youl think you know somebody and sometimes you maybe ciclo peopl or someone may be not fllowing up with Something, and sometimes they'l surprise you with cis wonder piece of information... sce of morivaced by combatvencts tow 1 mex el char there’ so much injustice, so much environmental soca oy ‘omic injustice that, you know, we relly have to combat i, Andes core coffin. Right laughter.’ ike, this may be Goliach, nd we may lose ‘his thing. Bur we're gonna give’em a good ight, and everyone knows what the ruth sand, they may gee away with it but theyre gonna get Aiscreized in the proces, oo. es not gonna be easy laugh] ‘ovis: So, when you talk about combativenes, there astory you ‘a share that epitomizes aime wien you flr energized by that confrontation? SANTIAGO: Well usually when you stat esas exéminingpeople they bringbigime experts fom wherever, Mostly from che Stats, of course. And they'llsay, "Ob, Me.Soand So, Mr Smith, he the prime suthorcy on this and cha and then you sear talking cros-eamining, especially and impeaching them and finding the big lies, and people seeing that and being sore of spprised because chis was supposed to be toprcredeniled person here elling ushow to do this, and et he looks bad sometimes, That..that fan! [layghter).. Theres this bigtime law yerin San Joan who has ineodaced me. another bigtime attorney, someone who isnot what she seems tobe “Ella no es lo que parece set" ‘She ook ike alee Black gel fom che south kind of thing... but she’s scwally lel bie tougher than thas, Inchisfigh for justice, Sanciago’s work reveals Puerto Rico's deeply faved eletrc system, and she alongside many other community members, is work ingto dismancle currently operating and proposed fossil Fuel planes chat dis proportionately harm rural southern commanitis. Puerto Rico’ centralized electric power system requires an urgent trans- formation, Seventy percent of electricity generation comes fom the south to meet che more populous north’s 70 percent of total power demand. The grid almost exclusively depends on coastal facies fled by imported animal and plan fossils that are burned primarily in four places.* According tothe 'US Energy Information Administration, in zoo, the archipelago’ electric energy mix consisted of less than 3 percene renewables? Meanwhile, many fossil uel industry and political alles are pushing to shift the archipelago's historical and ongoingheavyeeliance on imported petoleum (Bunker C oil and diese) and coal vo methane gas Energy lands: Metaphors of Power, Extraciviom, and Justice in Puerto ‘Rio documents, assembles, and evaluates various discourses, narratives, ming practices, and metaphors constituting master and marginalized exis. tenees, These tetorical materials take many forms, inluding testimonials at Public gatherings, rap iyvcs, news repors, blog poss, and embodied acts of rotest, among many other artifacts and performances. Studied in specific sieuted concerts these expresive energies enable and constrain possibilities fora more livable presen and future In particular, research how, when, and for whom the overarching metaphor and heurisie of energy, with its Aid Figurative-matetil-lteral relationships to power, islands, and archipelagos, matters in historical and contemporary controversies in che archipelago and beyond, [argue that demonstrating ther inseparably i vial for rethinking these terms for energy justice praxis, which requires an intersectional deep diveinco powerful structures and everyday expressions of energy that avends to the embodied emotional, mental, and physical labor of colonized racial ized peoples. Ukimazely, this book seeks to convey apacious understandings oF energy beyond a narrow focus on poweringindividaal dwellings and work- place, by addressing and amplifying the human energies required to create and challenge energy infrastructures and technologies. This focus centers che physical labor required of workers involved inthe fossil fel industry includ ing job losses and individual and familial migrations, as wells the exertions of people organizing for energy justice within and across coalitions and com: smuniey groups. {roSotomayor'scau- “To approach this archipelagic site of struggle, each chapter engages an «energy metaphor of exigence. These concepts—in addition to islands, archi- pelagoes, energy, and power—function as theoretical constructs that provide an energetic powerhouse of critical perspectives and practices for making. and breaking oppressive meanings, understandings, assumptions, and meth ‘ods, In many cases, engaging these metaphors by contemplating critiquing, and communicating their figurative, material, and literal shapes and effects enables melding of theory and practice to attend to and intervene in actions that stymie of suppore just, equitable, and sustainable energy transforma tions, in what ways, and for whom, Unmaking oppressive relations For major x shifs in all forms tequires historicizing and illuminating the tena- povwe Gus presence and communicative enactment ofempite colonialism, white supremacy. and other encvined lethal patecns and seuetares arid struggles fora goed life. This book contends that one means fr approaching this cra cial task sn mecaphoric terms?” In his Bist chapter, I emphasize amplifying to listen to and raise the vo ‘ame of Puerco Rican voices that resist and refuse deadhend relationalites footed in master logics that normalize extraccivism and expendabilcy. This larcention to everyday expressions of energy seeks to amplify place-based lib- ‘ratory alternatives shaping Puerto Rico's crises before and afer hucticanes and earthquakes. Together, Santiago and her fellow collaborators create a founternatrative that deviates from popolar depictions constituting this “Isla del encanto” (sland of Enchant COMPOUNDING CRISES ‘The disastrous 2017 hurricane season and the earthquakes and aftershocks in December 2019 and throughout 2020 substantially worsened longtime nergy and other prolonged crises in Puerto Rico.” Mainstream US media reports tended ro decontextualize and dehistoricize Hurricanes Irma and ‘Maria andthe seismic disruptions that followed afew years late. This feam- ing simplifes and ignores needed discussions about the intersection of empire, disaster and racial capitalism, illegal debe and anscerty, experimen tation, and corrupt energy companies and politicians, as wel as grassroots resistance and inventive ways to experience good lives." For now, however, I limicthis complex milieu co discussing impacts on electricity access and mass displacements during recent extreme climate-elated and seismic events and. zecurn ro longer histories in subsequent chapters. Climate science confirms that tropical storms are increasing in seve gy ad frequency, ied to uneven anchropogenic climate disruption and a Iydrocarbon-baed economic system, which aggravates these hazards Epiromizing these impacts, Hurzicanes rma and Marie barreled through ‘Amsigua, Barbuda, che US Viegin Islands, the Dominican Republic, and ‘other Ansillean islands in September 2017" In Puerto Rico, Hurricane ‘Maria made landfall asa category four storm and caused looding, more than fone hundred thousand landslides, and weakened already poorly maintained roads, bridges, schools, and other structures. On the tailwinds of Hurricane Irma just ewo weeks before, Marfa downed 757 transmission ine towers and damaged 1,247 transmission Line segments." Millions of individuals were ‘without power for months, and many rural households stil lacked grid access almost a year later." The customer hours of lost elecercity service neared three billion, matking the longest blackout ever recorded in the United States and the second longest globally" The power disruption also led to sewage water treatment facility discharges, job loses, bankruptcies, and gen- eralized anxiety and uncertainty. Additionally, the sytem’ Failure threat ened the survival of oxygen therapy and dialysis patients and those requiring seftigerated medicine, while pushing already overburdened medical services to the beink. The obsolete grid fell with grave consequences, as about theee thousand people died indirectly from this awed design, built by unsustan- able material and politcal power structures.” Aggravating thes existing vulnerabilities and realities, the earthquakes and aftershocks that rattled residents with aretraumatizing force in late 2019 and throughout winter and spring 2020 damaged several power stations.” Although no esunamis resulted, che Costa Sur plant was located in the seis mic impact zone and became temporarily inoperable." The damaged fscilty, which generates a large percentage of Puerto Rico's power, led again to out ages and exacerbated the existing problems preceding and following Maria In May 2020, electric lity officals claimed the Costa Sur plant would be ‘operational by late summer 2020, requiring more than $25 million dollasin repairs However, equivocating messages and secretive deals continued the uncertain. The controversies involving Costa Sue and many other power: _gencration sites in Puerco Rico are featured throughout thisbook, given their connections to ongoing injustices. “The humanitatian crisis and unlivable conditions, inchiding inadequate access to electricity for necessities, accelerated the out-migration of many Puerto Ricans to the United States" Although Puerto Rico’ population count is close o three million, 2019 US Census Bureau survey and a 2019 ‘American Community survey revealed that between 163,000 and 100,000 people let the archipelago from 2018 to 2019. These numbers represent Aispossession accelerated by the hurricanes and other compounded crises” Of those who remained in the archipelago afer the 2017 hurricane season, the Janusty 2020 earthquakes displaced at least twenty thousand people, tn ‘with about even thousand individuals seeking shelter in makeshift carps.” While te local government’ response to the COVTD-19 pandemic warned people co stay at home, gender-based violence, austerity measures, job losses, and hunger exacerbated displacements and other forms of suffering, as many residents struggled to survive, Worsening these brueal realiies, summer 1ot0 blew in the strong winds and rains of Tropical Storm Isafas, which caused excensive flooding, landslides, and multiday electricity losses. Given the entanglements of elimate disruption, empire, colonialism, and disaster and racial capitalism, human movements in search of motelivablecondivions between che United States and Puerto Rico are far from new, as migration has been a consistent impact of modernization and colonialism in Puerto 'US-owned AES Corporation is sponsible for the privately owned 454 smegawaer carbonera {coal plant] in the rural municipality of Guayama. Towenty-yeat-old Mabette Colén Péter, who lives in the Miramar neighbor- hood beside the facility, and who created this book's cover image, expressed cdaringa spring 2020 interview, “Quieren detener la propagacion del corona virus, pero nadie mira la plaga mayor que seguirs matindonos dis a dia por les siguientes aos. Hay una pandemia mayor que el COVID-19 y sélo tiene tresletsas: AES” [They (Puerto Rico government officials) want co stop the spread of the coronavirus, bat no one looks a che bigger plague that will con ‘nae killing us day by day for che following years. There isa bigger pandemic than COVID-19 and i only has three letters: AES)" Investigative journalist Omar Alfonso published several reports on this company in 2018 and 2019, documenting AES’: illegal activities.“ Inaugurated in 2002, the plant generates atleast 300,000 tons of coal ash ‘very year. This combustion byproduct has led toa massive disposal prob: lem; a five-story ash pile thae menacingly oceupies the property’s grounds.” AES promoted coal combustion residual use to create Agremax, a blend of | fy and botcom ash, as fill material in a least 40 construction projects as eatly a8 2005, According to anthropologist Hilda Lloréns, who has eon- ducted ethnographic research on this controversy for yeas, AES deposited coal ash in landfills in Pemuclas, Salinas, and Humacso, in addition to bury- ing this substance in more than a dozen municipalities throughout Puerto Rico, especially in Guayama, Salinas, Arroyo, and Santa Isabel, which are predominantly Afeo-Puerto Rican communities In all chis corporation has disposed of millions of tons of ashes throughout the archipelago, which contain radioactive isotopes, heavy metals, and arsenic. AES employees also have dstibued this material above the south coast agus, which provides the only source of drinking wate fr thousands of people." Members of the Resistencia contra la quema de Carbén y sus Cenizasticas (ROC) have proceted these injustices, confronting AES represenatives, police, and government offal in acts of civil disobedience, encampment, ad legis lative activces, among other rates." In response, the Puerto Rican gov emnment and local police have mobilized what Marisol LeBrén documents 2s “extreme fore" against those opposed co che toxic assault of thei com- rmonites, eviden in elevated rates of respiratory and cardiovascular diss «= Additional corporate official ave targeted the Dominican Republic and Floridaas damp stes~materilizing what Lonés and Santiago call the “Coal Death Route. This cous originates in Colombia, home tothe arg «stopen-pit coal mining operation inthe world Backin Puerto Rico ths decadesongstruggle continacs, Ara December 2019 gathering with AES oficial, room fall of residents assembled to pro teste plant. Santiago shared that cach speaker was allowed five minutes to make thei comments. When my time wasup, people came up and donated thee ticket numbers and time 50 that I could continae, Vitor [Alrrade Guzm, community member and local egilacive advisor] started collecting the tickets which he later wed {ive Dr. Osvaldo [Rosaro, an environmental chemistry professor and seien- {ificexpert for several community and environmental groups in Puerto Ric] ‘more te. I was wonderful teamosin dhe midst of such a vile station, Tr seems 50 incredible thar all the abuse and injustice i hard to overcome, At one point, Jimmy Bozsero from Peels ssid that he'd risk his le iF |ABS ever red eo take the ath to thee town agin, The AES peopl looked spooked. Certainly, chy ida takeilighly. ‘These experiences and testimony illuminate the formidable energy realities that residents confront and work to combat collaboratively. Santiago's fa ency in English and Spanish positions her as a community spokeswoman, Many pablie meetings with US governmental and corporate officials are con- ducted in English alehough che majority of Puerto Ricans most impacted by fossil fuel energy projects only speak Spanish or are not comfortable speak ing English publicly.” All ofthese inceractions require tremendous energy, DEFINING ENERGIES an einen rene, an expen energy ine maid {hope Whcbesamsns det mtn clr Se on nc tring ar coed end ote Fn ee cenprt ine the i ofp dees ey Pe ioak arte diltyw nreen dps opin oomeng 1 ee ano cntines sewed enya primary eno) eee nl eg Pale doconses of eye Fe ne indie eras sven ae prs re nay an neg te pode a ocala fo the challenges er nhac en ie en eee Ons jena eve omen may be deseo ates ax ncge on aking eng. Hom every eal policy i ee coteendepadgeomyr coe aa rey catalan ingen and ics. se, ach kaput und Paren Roca peopeivos oti aes egy mos cgi wl So when mene tne ues der des art chos toca oe at eae cep ae Se eden Por Rise da ini [hat a i secedy chs chape ination For Senne Fe hm comimeakt poss of eal xing comb ae pera fan Orier incised egy a8 cae ear ch cemny andthe acon hat ce pone an acelsode inthe fx of ely, th peerace cetera tce acre wed wllor mera ome sr retort ted snd ase and eying Petey tanredand recente forms eae abl ttn co wo d> ewok waacantog of eee at ace ene forms an come Aco Tides Goo te epey ob nd mance ep me cicero fone I the wc” With he eon in seer Bt lcntng yc pre hrs Haw do arin india aaeseaer ec iidcariaton cational pi nd lee Se ian Pua en US digo oy 0 ‘ngage this research offers a response to requests by some Puerto Rican col- laborators to challenge a narrow victimhood and trauma-centered master story by writinga counternarraive bout local community struggles and so ‘dates, amid competing interests and often lethal systems of domination,** AMPLIFYING RHETORICAL ENERGIES nef primey calengescofontingsacl movement and ac is ish to iene agin that el pret fo irene sence by smplifingpardclaperpestves problems and pss Aplifenng isinsparable frm energy in srs of bth pss and communeaton In thefts ese, this flee esa plier to segs igual ov we which ness pow. Inthe ted second ese anpifon ives srengheing theworal ney to chleve eer impac asics he acy and pratones incre the vole a hel terre, Anplifenton Isene meus or achieving pee, what Phaeda C. Perl dese e nding] when we fel fsocone ome ples or omething ners whether oF not they pystaly present wh Teele and gros mobile aoa oy) eat in elg Suchen ‘ange from projecting dient symbolson lings ocommneatngce ingle ofa problem by making the desripion and iene eg ln he weigh adore of me mel js siting ees sndnev prs ono radio lal amply ngs ptf vow ‘experiences, and counternarratives.* - In alton vo making pcs, peopl, problems, and posable fel present amplftion alo can inna an enactmene oe Eo King ‘Wass highligh the icpiningand sencingof owen vos ato ship cols, waselnds degen, decry and soues Hit work ences sp rnkng paling allo ned con nan expresonsof coquee. Vokes Tom he oping theron noc befall cls rom the opin sign per fete bese imagnaris om he cick in tery" Thence ny be apps ing or appaling, When evoked to advance jac nd moe nae ed sons anc and poe ky eachanges work ods sol hich hes on capital white and hcopatsahaldomnann From he petal eatsfomational per and unsling close sed bythe ruptures red and cach rom whch vole happening emerges, “muted” voices exist in “communities choking on the dust of coal nd [other fossil Fuels] made to stand up forthe polluter or else™* Warts’ theorizing resonates with mounting calls to associat the widespread racial scice mobilizations of 1o20—to topple the powerful interlocking systems, ‘eologies, and shetorical energies consticuting anti-Black racism, militarized policing, white supremacy, capitalism, colonality, and transphobia—with favironmental racism." Extractive industries and thee political accomplices Aisproportionately harm and kill che same communities that are rargeced by police brutality and criminalize by the state, t00 often denyingthe physical ability to breathe in both instances. People who are Black, Indigenous, Latina—including Afro-Latinx and Indigenous Latinx—and Asian and Pacific Islander, among many other racialized groups, and low-income and low-wealth communities are devalued and sickened by corporate polluters and thei politcal cronies" These com- munities contribute least to greenhouse gas emissions and yet experience dis proportionately large effects eerie Sart ces ‘se economy, cofonizing powers, and expfottation of resources elucidates the continued oppression rendered by logics of domination.* Many climate jus for the importance of ethinking and renaming climate change in terms of climate colonialisin, Martinez writes that che climate is “being colonized and forced to alter, modify, and—as catastrophes indicate—itis rebelling and resisting the assault upon it. Mother earth is responding and calling out through floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earchquakes, and droughts." ‘Confronting the violences of enviconmental racism and climate and energy injustices, marginalized communities often are the most materially deprived of financial and infrastructural well-being, although these groups fen have other forms of wealth that are incaleulable in capitalism's value system." These alternative resources can include rhetorical materials that are «essential for imagining and enacting more livable environments and sustain: able, sel-determined energy relationships. [A thetorial focus examines energy-telated exigencies and how they are powered by oppressive ideologies and communicative acts—as well as chal lenged—amid and in response to everyday stressors and (the increasingly not-so) exceptional emergencies. To study these rhecorical energies. this book ince ‘energy rhetorical studies, uervo Rican rhetorical studies, Puerto Rican environmental and energy studies” and island and aschipe lage tudes. Following calls by Michelle Holling and Bernadetce Calaell for increased inquiry on "Latina/o vernacular discourse” to decent priv leged shetorc, approach frontline/coastline enactments of voice as impor ‘ant sites for meaning and community making and insist this embodied, ‘experiential knowledge is essential for uprooting structural injustices" AN ENERGY ETHNOGRAPHY IN ARCHIPELAGOES OF POWER ‘This volume contributes to a burgeoning body of what I understand to be nergy ethnographies. This research gene examines power and energy strug. Blesin different situated contexes by drawing on feldwork and personal expe. ences, partially or fully, for archive creation and crtique,* Power has many different definitions and isa contested, heavily discussed term in both tec nical and everyday circ anges) consructing «hierarchy of domination: and ()encapmating wan ibe dual and collective agencies in the form of poder, Spanish word for both power andthe ability to act. Martinez writes, “History isthe fal of power, but power itselfis neversotransparene that is analysis becomes superfluous, ‘The wkimate mark of power maybe is ivisibility the ulimate challenge, ‘he exposition fie roots.**In response to thiscriicl work, this energy eth ‘ography engages power dynamics in an enewined thetorieal-matrial field ‘hae diverges from mainland continental ground Energy Inland: approaches islands and archipelagoesas vital symbolic and material sites for navigacng the enegy- and power elated tensions of crisis and care sagnation an struggle, harm and hope, los and lve, and ica, sion and interconnection in atime of overwhelming and mounting socio. ecological calamities Such a geographical orientation inspires this books stiding concept: archipelagoes of power.” This heuristic deeeneers main !and and continental ways of being, Knowing, and communicating co center islands asa material mecaphor. This concep attends to relatonalities of eo sxaphie forms (eg, land, water, islands and archpelagoes), individuals, and organizations that generate formations that contaminate clash, construct coalitions and community, and challenge, among many other power fled aeons in diferent congrats poins and time periods defn sch ages of powers network of nstie/sands a varius and hie reser notes acs an wthie sacar snd interns heen and contain agency adv ator. Tho laonshied Spey ded da nooons nd movemens at abl rane poston, rscolonal raonal, eer alsa oe le cas aeenanldikeseveed thes than linn stot SachconSipons fod ull governmental ean ipl operates ond mi tries Contre edna indg sacl momen sor, tod eongovenmenal organize anced by and opened thee trhipagi orator indvihalsand gous nave work ode In Pero Ris, ep-down poll dcats fromthe US government wokinconcer with nase he ertoria Puco Rien greet in iene amen shroghos Kory The achplges of ome concep examine the wysin whith he Spanth and US empire and miata export ofcils ave inp th wlln ci oy helo cles ofen hava, and sometime challenged cee ners Aol thedvseloe plea prey sytem, enpaized byte emt per ‘piven raponeto Pro Rico ans aio cones oh ls, Thee pres atthe Pra Noe Popesia pe stachod), the Palo Indcpendentisa Perorsiquto (pindepeniene andthe Pardo FepaarDemocio (pocommenveah,orcaret xa} A devon fom che entenched pain pooping difwent movement ik he Movin Vrs Civadana and community slain connie 0 nual spor and laner—ak shape within Puce Ric with he US shugo anwith other ad an achilles ong many oer congo, Uline achipelgese! poet map poeta ans frm above bbw an everywhere in bere, nacho and poplar pos tex — tens tobe reece ry without sustained ana of the conned theimporenc of materiales and uknds beyond ht iy areal metaphor Ace wer ofthe phrase way mention Michel Fescl eer archipelago bjt and valine deiling and ponshmenc thas a dipenedand expanse sing the age of suerte and” Dison aaa scepagl of power a ince the undegoand group Anonymows the metzed fe anarchist even the vay ops informed ty hic =pt.” Importantly these uss illuminate the disassociation of this meta. phor from emplaced and embodied understanding of sland and archipe lagic gcographies,culeues, and politics. Such removal and erasure may be generative conceprualy, bur eis tendency also rsks further marginalizing ‘sland and archipelagic peoples, amid the material shrinking, eroding, and Polluting of many of che geographic bodies they call home. Accordingly, his energy ethnography joins efforts co resis the erasure and marginalization of oncontinencal Forms by delving deeply inc archipelages of power as they ‘late ro energy politics and everyday energetic expressions in Puerco Rico, Islands cover about ewo percent ofthe, lobe and are home to about 1 pee cent of Earth’s aman population 2" These complex matine and coastal env ronments hold paradoxically uid yer fnive boundaries that inkabit various formations, including archipelagos, isles, isles, efi, atolls, cays, an key Mirroring the completes and diversicy ofthese paces, the inerdisiplinary field ofisland studies covers awide range of topics, Contributors to the lland ‘Studies Journal and the International Small Island States Association criti- cally engage tourism, renewable electricity, climate disruption, rural youth sslucation, the Anthropocene, textiles and clothing, migrations and dis ora, biodiversity, place names, Small Island Developing States initiatives, colonial legacies, esearch methods, and much more.” Islands and the spatial imaginaries they configure exist ll around phys ically and Siguratively. According to Alison Mouncz, chese formations are “highly unique, idiosyncratic, disparate and yet revealing, form. patter, and logics that are everywhere reproduced” In colloquial and popular culture exchanges, lands hold numerous meanings and associ tions. Many dominant presentations feaure sunny vista with palm tees, sand, and tropical fruit drinks to characterize places of what Julie Sze calls sco-desire shat contain magical, green allare, epitomized by the fl Sout Pace. wich strong inks to imperialism and militarization." The so17 failed Frye Festival inthe Bahamas, which promised luxury accommodations and ‘ musical festival for those wealthy enough to afford event and airline eile «capitalized on popular island imaginings. The Pacific Remote Islands ‘Marine National Monument, trash islands in diferene oceanic bodies, and artificial islands for diverse purposes, ranging from renewable energy gen- «zation to conspicuous consumption, point to how these spaces ate de/con structed and de/valued. Carceralarchipelagoes, and macerial islands, offering spatial quarantiningon metaphoric military bases for chemical weapons testing and stor ‘age, a midway poine shaped by the paradox of encouncers and isolation, an tercap in she cener fom chen nd Kash (Kellogg) several other ways to conceptualize and con- island” 0 Island Vanilla organic cereal ae setae these marine-coatal forms Suhelunlconpone phon cove as tows teal nd mephoel cons sefpopnhssn bb onigandon "Adal in ics eminnmencl andlimati terms mitogei powered by lar dane, inds also symbolize these forma- 1a nny alana ua hea land ao aan Syembodied and emplaced perspectives, islands can ie Depedingon once cen a a ge and i nd ami semi shocs Spartina, sas cs noncctinetal pe tend eek te pt itty i elon ani eps esr sd in Hino cary and pnwers hogan tite boneantundenning sand vores May of jraphic formations include the frontlines/coastlines of turbulent 7 Sewrpeble peta, thinking shoei, fond a ney int sacra ad arden displaces Those wet pr en aysofbeingand desoying that celbrte varies WN Cn, whle demig and eying ae, digi, an sn i onda an comm hing” The Pas Mind vn of ia ad Tal pose pom rea teers shaban pond and many rie che downing o tare and material existences Important for considering these struggles onda ‘ional entanglements are atchipelagic formations. +l hippy are neg isha egal fae fo 9 introduces archipelagic thecoric iiferen ators an ide vaiety ofemotions, more than lems result from steal mnt Ta pan he cane dec eromonbe nce sees Seine gr Cans ene n ata Gon ea Cin clnizin aero, Naps argues forte dele Seer psig enemies 90 a eeaendd inion nd gph of Peete nea anon yma yk seiner bpd ae anon tderening operat Song nd and colonial representations." To do so, Naiputi takes “a holistic perspective that reconfigures Oceania as ‘a sea of islands, neither tiny nor deficient but rather a vast network of power This reorientation rejects master order. ings and meanings constituting limits and bordets to feature limnal spaces shaped by pluralities and hybridities* These sites are contested places that Position occans as large interconnected regions that are not constrained by thee of undp Olmring rd eonngte ther rine Sevier ster empernen apf oily Theses oped gee scp nuts mosey th Ee ene Pea Nghlphedeimprattcteremiagreacechpe aceacgae ee sion dilzcn pura andeapunlpetoe Ante igpa am toutnnes anno and ghee oeke hae Bl ne on sos egg and coc eer al an xp i st tt and cous ners and nage doeronnig oc OS pone sndinleed plo somniac anders ele ee -Americanization seraregies, including sto «dynamics, I diverge from most energy studies scholarship that examines con tinental US and Western European contexts and from most sland and archi pelagic studies by focusing specifically on energy struggles.” Joining urgent pleas that refuse the swallowing up of islands and their inhsbitaaes by cor: ruption, venture and green capitalists rsingseas, the increasingincensity and Frequency of huericanes, typhoons, and tsunamis, and many other ehreats, this energy ethnography carries a deep archipelagic concetn.” I cal for addressing scala imitations (and possbiities) to ress the language of com pew" research terrain, biased by a “mainland” context, to instead ing “new” research biased by ply and ereatvely with constrainsby engaging in perspective raking ec enere wsumpions” Accordingly, [center achiplagl southern relations.* oad see ha tos ape yaar, bean and “Going South’ with Delcoloniality sino provider one means for thinking hroghand enacting the ae hone and metnlgia commitment Erg Hans ela Shome “going Seah” engi hatdoposeson akc hemipher bund Cain hs and communities tht ae a etary nrh tp of th lbal Se, jt prions ae een bemiphrcan expr lob Nowh conditions” For sna f Tana and Toko cout pope ciate sie sar at mathe Global Noth ying sl emisions pb fee soaring + mona Clb Soh In Peo Ride oe Sonat shape ee io neal pleged inal rope sr rosin ek, wie che exit without bas sen Poverty reno exceed ope ofthe poplation”" Both CeeAeS afer heme and eaiquake dase sme rein id le eters ced and con 0 ck 2." heavily on electricity, ‘arate colabel the archipelago as wholly part ofthe’ South “Going South” also requires addressing the resilient nature of colonial legacies and logies and how they are commanicated by different actor. Constitutive of empire's stubborn presence are the discourses, tropes, nar nv and ther seal mati thas (sonst and normale chi ‘oppression. Shome contends thac “whereas in the past, imperialism was seer coming the ‘aie’ by closing he o him erry, nov imperialism is more about subjegating the ‘ative’ by colonizing he or him discursively. To this claim, I would add the enduring effets of colonia: ism in che form of what Danielle Ende calls its "discursive apparatus" In Puerto Rica and elsewhere, both territorial and discursive colonialism exist and co-consiut exch other.cvincing how human and othecbodis of wate land, and ideas are interconnected. ‘The power dynamics of modernity’ racialzed sytem categories, capi talizes on, and controls based on dichoromous hierarchies chat matk col. nized peoplesassubhuman and uncivilized to enact colonalty.™ These sy temic harms tend to operate beyond a colonial government and take sha In legal political, economic and othe fotms of contol, fled by ideologig and discourses of domination that persist in the present da ‘hese patterns of power, Aimee Carrillo Rowe and Eve Tack reducing understandings of and communication about settle frases structural and endaring colonial violence." As many individuals and 'sroups insist, colonies stil exist today, exemplified by Puerto Rico, Gathen, and other US “unincorporated territories" ofthe US “empire-stat.” "Puerta Rico's satus makes for slippery position, 48 the archipelago floats in the interstices between internal and external colonialism and colonialie.™ In 1952, Puerto Rico gained its current commonwealth or estado libre asociadg (freely associated state] designation, which marks “a myth of constitational decolonization,” given chat Puerto Ricans face US legal polities, economic, English-language, and other constraints and disciplining.” Including and theorizing beyond political decolonization, Walter D. Mignolo and Catherine E. Walsh propose alternatives to colonality via slecolonialicy. This counter concept and the actions it cultivates is rooted in the interdependencies and intetconnections ofall living things and peo- ples. Mignolo and Walsh describe their project as one of reexistence—the struggle Co live together with dignity by reassessing dominant definitions, meanings, and stories They embed decoloniality in localized histories and bodies for “creating and illuminating pluriversal and inerversal path" chat resist the colonial matrix of powers univesalizing and globalizing logics and actions! Accordingly, Mignolo and Walsh conceptualize decoloniliy a8 4 “way, option, standpoint, analytic, projec, practice, and praxis” chat val ues the communal, not competition, and rauleipliciies, Rather than advancing zero-point onto-epistemologi Knowing, that celebrate and center dominant perspectives and practices, while disciplining and devaluing others, decalonality imagines a decolonial horizon that works inthe cracks and borders of colonialty.™ One needed intervention in this body of esearch is mote praxis- and plice-based contributions, Darrel Wanzer Serano calls fora “radical contex- ‘not singularities." jes, or ways of being and = sematives « ‘sal of binaries to repo "Recogniting ep imagined amor coon sine reskin ant eter fons of dpomcsin and cong 0 ce he aon © Foss how the g dep "es as of ey esse while ee crs ncn en Heh s to coloniality might take place using various thetorical ne Now Yi oun Lor Peo Rian aso Hace), he finds chat dsdeifction (ie the pone dominane cleus) was one of several Ways ied inches gordo" Heo repurposed material waste that ro Gage Ofer ngrpsel mae ae ht yc and enn py cing eae wih hie ae cealy singed rote pmssanden ihe neighborhood and is esidents as devalue rede a sle points to how thetorical materials can deconstruct a1 i Ba ccatre place based acts, entwined systems of racial eapitasm an tege viacresve place logis and pe Dejcolonialic Jon’ ro analy This seudy of the veo contrungedonl dminao. al ts some important overlaps with Indigenous il studi r a sarah D. Wald, David J. nen ‘Ray note that Indigenous Pes Pil Solb Yar and Sa aeguee oy one aldo oaks henmespponiet eae peadcloia queions and posblies Hovevet hey be ean ar pemuerve interconnections, incading challenging scale sto- = g abstractions. Additionally, scholats and practitio- eater al, ontological, and material workings 7 ich indige "lion hae el conning Su le cee emir dagen pte wes shen bed pla! mu ew har malay ag sone ages engaged researchers to “think about the courses of action that people have available to them, on the ground, as the sarting points for theoretical analysis" Given that Puerto Rico and other island and aschipelagic places ‘exceed on-the-ground courses of ation co inchude intertidal and other water cnvironments of interaction, these noncontinental existences urge consier- inghow geographic and other place diferences configure knowledge creation and cicculation, including effores to survive and uproot systemic oppression when root systems form differently depending on their surroundings and growing conditions. Thus, chorough research requires carefully attending to hhow place and theory may inform and constitute each other. Fieldwork pro- vides an approach for such study: Critical ethnographers employ qualitative methods, inclading inter: views, participant observation or advocacy, and personal testimonios {testimonies D. Soyini Madison writes that this approach is guided by ‘an ethical responsibilty to addzess processes of unfairness of injustice within a particular lived domain.” Such a commitment also involves pa ting the needs of communities above academic agendas, which requires deep critical engagement and selérelexviey before, during, and ae lay ing research areas." Ethnographic methods also ezeate space for what Nina M, Lozano eals“co-constructed sites of resistance, although itis important fot co romanticze fieldwork. Elsewhere I have described ethnographic approaches as a coalition, in situations where researcher and community members align ideologically. For energy echnographies, being co-present «can be especially imporeane, as witnessing particular places in sensorial ways :may help co express and engage with localized environmental and energy ex sgencies."* Furthermore, documenting, seudying, participating in, and eran lating “live” rhetoriescreaes opportunities for and often sequires interacting with multiple culeural artifacts, viewpoines, and environments that contrib tute to che field’ elecerciey, powered by a variety of chetoical energies As Paulami Banerjee and Seacey K, Sowards explain, translation is dffical work and is required of researchers, ever when encountering the “untranslatable and the loss of voice chat might and often does take place in che process." In 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018, experienced four researc trips, resulting in nearly four months of participane advocacy in Puerto Rico's archipelago, [primarily studied che larges island, commonly referred to as “the Island,” given the presence of competing energy discourses there. Venturing to ‘nuinerous municipalities and using a snowball approach, I informally con: versed with and formally interviewed fishers, electricians, environmental ems ais cgice, pois haan, makers, Deparment or Tn Eorconmectal Resources enplyen sl fa exces, energy expr aed ies sour range op, so ognaonalty an ethno nisn om, sabi con ia ding rancid evenmetalinpacof the wchelg Se ef conan pblensando wha xtent stoi ander S28 ln te co conven Puro Rin aon nerviews Fended numer govetmenesponsred pblic hearings and comme Tivtecringolumeeeatanevronmenljze youth camp: marched independence denon, compre wten publ coments pa el pect and supported documentary ln podston by roving commun neers and eving san esipmet ait, Cpl wih these aes, mst of my colon conebions esi when nt ply in Paro Rll hi eeach approach emacs etd chat maybe pl for maining es and ool ‘Miners ume andpac hat exten th ld In hari, Spee caletd (og ys and prod) the converaons ea pet (iesimernew and eld os andthe ways Tula ined Sel (eg lng debs on exon ee and pale eas sce fadingtheocean ri rez] and inkling el, denking Jpalap water cpeecing he fs of war ing andthe conver thon caked cling eth own abs mangrove oe wh oc ont prota shaped ny elton wih communi meme Tamer and ch wo undestod dees hoc energie ciating irons and sou the chpel. Indy fines Tord and highlighted dice pater ey tems andthe communion bervaton rom nn adver teal change Tal fen decd ny lial lng and epee irtetlepeningPoeno Rian, Spanish and ih Ameri, who read Sete ad oper punish well but with an aces, ad someone rie Thea ith ancl and any thes prvi Tes complies thowereconoutedby phys usounding awhile Pero Ro nour tas eminded ne fhm, he coal ropaphical anions of nd © Nc inmangoveaner wend ting naked jo oe oman wa the mtu envionment presented signe dienes rom th an lcd epeees of my Youth, Movinghrwee thew cosjems ere Mon anderen Crean a the Unie See Ie leared sicuae 2. Local community members discuss aa ecointerpeer youth ine 2 ‘econ eldnotes. gure, Puerto Rio, May 16.01. Pheoby Eres Olas Ger in embodied, evocative ways that my familial and nongenecic kinship tes rn deep in chis archipelago, moving me to feel that [am ofPuerto Rico but ‘ot from Puerto Rico. Before embarking on this multiyear research projet, most of my famil ial experiences had been in western and northern urban and suburban atas. ‘As I became increasingly interested in energy issues and the complexities of studying unjust impacts in nuanced, placespecifc ways, I directed my energies toward southern Puerto Rico, specifically Salinas, Guayam, and Pefuelas, given chs coastal region’ use a an “energy sacrifice zone” for US racial capitalism and experimentation and its neglect and erasure in main- stream media.” With increasing seadies of civic action in urban ares, [join calls urging engagemene with rural context in Latin America® The south: eastern area of Puerto Rico is predominancly home to residents of majority Afiican descent, some of whom trace their ancestryo plantation lavery and other exploited labor. As local people live with incergenerational traumas, ‘pain, and individual and communal perseverance, corporate polhters and politicians continually designace their environments as sites for large-scale fossil fuel plants and other toxic operations.” In step with longstanding efforts to reimagine the roe of interlocutorsin

    You might also like