Climate change is arguably the great problem confronting humanity, but we have done little to head off this looming disaster. In The Perfect Moral Storm, Stephen Gardiner illuminates our dangerous inaction by placing the environmental crisis in an entirely new light, considering it as an ethical failure.

Contents ; Preface ; Acknowledgements ; Introduction: A Global Environmental Tragedy ; I. Some Assumptions ; II. Introducing the Perfect Storm Metaphor ; III. Climate Change ; IV. The Wider Relevance of the Model ; V. Outline of the Book ; Part A: Overview ; Chapter 1: A Perfect Moral Storm ; I. Why Ethics? ; II. The Global Storm ; III. The Intergenerational Storm ; IV. The Theoretical Storm ; V. The Problem of Moral Corruption ; Chapter 2: A Consumption Tragedy ; I. What is the Point of Game Theory? ; II. Motivating the Models ; III. A Green Energy Revolution? ; IV. Consumption and Happiness ; Part B: The Global Storm ; Chapter 3: Somebody Else's Problem ; I. Past Climate Policy ; II. Somebody Else's Burden ; III. Against Optimism ; IV. Conclusion ; Chapter 4: In the Shadow of a Common Tragedy ; I. Climate Prisoners? ; II. An Evolving Tragedy ; III. Beyond Pessimism ; IV. Lingering Tragedy ; V. Climate Policy in the Shadows ; VI. Conclusion ; Part C: The Intergenerational Storm ; Chapter 5: The Tyranny of the Contemporary ; I. Problems with 'Generations' ; II. Intergenerational Buck-Passing ; III. Intergenerational Buck-Passing vs. The Prisoners' Dilemma ; IV. The Features of the Pure Intergenerational Problem ; V. Applications and Complications ; VI. Mitigating Factors ; VII. The Non-Identity Problem: A Quick Aside ; VIII. Conclusion ; Chapter 6: An Intergenerational Arms Race? ; I. Abrupt Climate Change ; II. Three Causes of Political Inertia ; III. Against Undermining ; IV. Conclusion ; Part D: The Theoretical Storm ; Chapter 7: A Global Test for Political Institutions and Theories ; I. The Global Test ; II. Scenarios ; III. A Conjecture ; IV. Theoretical Vices ; V. An Illustration: Utilitarianism ; VI. Understanding the Complaint ; VII. Conclusion ; Chapter 8: Cost-Benefit Paralysis ; I. Cost-Benefit Analysis in Normal Contexts ; II. CBA for Climate Change ; III. The Presumption Against Discounting ; IV. The Basic Economics of the Discount Rate ; V. Discounting the Rich? ; VI. Declining Discount Rates ; VII. Two Objections to "Not Discounting" ; VIII. The "Devil's in the Details" Argument ; IX. Conclusions ; Part E: Moral Corruption ; Chapter 9: Jane Austen vs. Climate Economics ; I. Corruption ; II. The Dubious Dashwoods: Initial Parallels ; III. The Opening Assault on the Status of the Moral Claim ; IV. The Assault on Content ; V. Indirect Attacks ; VI. The Moral of the Story ; Chapter 10: Geoengineering in an Atmosphere of Evil ; I. An Idea that is Changing the World ; II. The Problem of Political Inertia Revisited ; III. Two Preliminary Arguments: Cost and "Research First"? ; IV. Arming the Future ; V. Arm the Present? ; VI. Evolving Shadows ; VII. Underestimating 'Evil' ; VIII. An Atmosphere of Evil? ; IX. "But... Should We Do It?" ; Part F: What Now? ; Conclusion: The Immediate Future ; Postscript: Some Initial Ethics of the Transition ; I. Introduction ; II. The Ethics of Skepticism ; III. Past Emissions ; IV. Future Emissions ; V. Responsibility ; VI. Ideal Theory ; VII. Conclusion ; Appendices ; Appendix 1: The Population Tragedy ; I. Hardin's Analysis ; II. Population as a Tragedy of the Commons ; III. Total Environmental Impact ; IV. Conclusion ; Appendix 2: Epistemic Corruption and Scientific Uncertainty in ; Michael Crichton's State of Fear ; I. What the Scientists Know ; II. Certainty, Guesswork and the Missing Middle ; III. Conclusion

"Gardiner has expertly explored some very instinctual and vitally important considerations which cannot realistically be ignored. --Required reading." --Robin Whitlock, Green Prophet "Gardiner makes a strong case for highlighting and insisting on the ethical dimensions of the climate problem, and his warnings about buck-passing and the dangerous appeal of moral corruptions hit home." --Steve Yearley, Times Higher Education "Stephen Gardiner takes to a new level our understanding of the moral dimensions of climate change. A Perfect Moral Storm argues convincingly that climate change is the greatest moral challenge our species has ever faced -- and that the problem goes even deeper than we think." --Peter Singer, Princeton University "This is a radical book, both in the sense that it faces extremes and in the sense that it goes to the roots." -- Holmes Rolston, III, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews "Everyone who is interested in ethics, the future of her children, or the welfare of the planet, should read this book. Clear, analytically precise, and superbly written, Gardiner does practical philosophy at its very best. In analyzing the ethics of climate change, no moral philosopher anywhere does a better job than Gardiner. He sets the standard for work in this area." --Kristin Shrader-Frechette, Philosophy and Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame "Gardiner's A Perfect Moral Storm sets a new standard in erudition, philosophical rigor, and interdisciplinary breadth in discussions of climate ethics. This book should be read by any philosopher, scientist, or policy-maker who is serious about addressing the moral challenge with which climate change confronts us." --Dale Jamieson, Environmental Studies and Philosophy, New York University "Written with great authority and lucidity, A Perfect Moral Storm identifies exactly why our ethical theories and intuitions have been found wanting in relation to climate change. Before seeking to remove the speck in other people's eyes--laying the blame--it is best to remove the log in one's own. Gardiner's book helps us to do just that: for professionals, students and advocates alike. This will be an important benchmark analysis for years to come." -- Mike Hulme, Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia "In the most penetrating analysis yet Gardiner convincingly shows the sources of the dangers likely to be our frightful legacy to coming generations. With steely foresight he pioneers the exploration of the climate abysses, including geo-engineering, that shamefully bad idea whose time seems ready to come." --Henry Shue, Politics and International Relations, Oxford University "A Perfect Moral Storm exposes the multiple hidden agendas behind the fiery but largely vacuous public debate that focuses on the credibility of climate change science. By challenging us to acknowledge and come to grips with the profound ethical dimensions of global, intergenerational issues like human induced climate change, Gardiner's book will help us to understand and hopefully to move beyond the current impasse in environmental policy legislation." --Mike Wallace, Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington "Gardiner's is a distinctive voice at the forefront of contemporary debates about the ethical implications of climate change. Much of what he writes is profoundly unsettling, revealing not only the nature and scale of the problem facing us -- a perfect moral storm --but also why it is so hard for us to shift the personal and institutionalized motivations that are leading us into an already unfolding global environmental tragedy. I expect the book to be highly influential in shaping ethical debate in the years to come." --Tim Hayward, Environmental Political Theory, University of Edinburgh "The book's strength lies in Gardiner's success at understanding and clarifying the types of moral issues that climate change raises, which is an important first step toward solutions." --Science Magazine "Stephen Gardiner's A Perfect Moral Storm is a deeply serious effort at clarifying the ethical problem posed by climate change. In this book, outrage is expressed through analytical reasoning"--Aaron Lercher, Catholic Library World

Selling point: Defends a controversial thesis about the nature of the climate problem, arguing that because the problem is dominated by its intergenerational aspect, existing institutions and theories are poorly placed to cope. Selling point: Contains an in-depth analysis of geoengineering from an ethical perspective.

Stephen M. Gardiner is Professor of Philosophy and Ben Rabinowitz Endowed Professor of Human Dimensions of the Environment at the University of Washington, Seattle. He is the coordinating co-editor of Climate Ethics: Essential Readings (Oxford, 2010), and the editor of Virtue Ethics: Old and New (Cornell, 2005). He is currently co-editing the Oxford Handbook on Environmental Ethics with Allen Thompson.

Selling point: Defends a controversial thesis about the nature of the climate problem, arguing that because the problem is dominated by its intergenerational aspect, existing institutions and theories are poorly placed to cope. Selling point: Contains an in-depth analysis of geoengineering from an ethical perspective.