December 1, 2015 - 22:46
These are quotes that summarize some points that I think Latour is trying to make:
1. "people are not equipped with the mental and emotional repertoire to deal with such a vast scale of events". I think that Latour is referring to the fact that even though we have the knowledge about climate change, we don't have the mental and emotional ability to comprehend how extreme our effects on the environment are.
2. the Earth "is agitated through the highly complex workings of many enmeshed living organisms", meaning that not only are there external pressures that change the environment, but the organisms that are surviving off of this very environment are also 'agitating' it and changing its basic structure.
3. "human societies have resigned themselves to playing the role of the dumb object, while nature has unexpectedly taken on that of the active subject!". This quote, to me, means that human societies have more or less become the objects upon which the nature acts -- instead of us influencing the course of nature, nature has reacted and is now creating irreparable consequences on human societies. For example, the whole in the ozone layer is causing skin cancer and the climate change is causing global droughts which cause conflict between nations over resources.
One question I have for Latour is: when have humans ever been the subject? The environment is much larger than we can conceive, yet Latour seems to indicate that we can control it to some extent. I don't think that we were ever in control of the environment, though...