Behind the Carbon Curtain
Behind the Carbon Curtain
The Energy Industry, Political Censorship, and Free Speech
Exploring censorship imposed by corporate wealth and power, this book focuses on the energy industry in Wyoming, where coal, oil, and gas are pillars of the economy. The author examines how governmental bodies and public institutions have suppressed the expression of ideas that conflict with the financial interests of those who profit from fossil fuels. He reveals the ways in which university administrations, art museums, education boards, and research institutes have been coerced into destroying artwork, abandoning studies, modifying curricula, and firing employees. His book is an eloquent story of the conflict between private wealth and free speech.
Providing more of the nation’s energy than any other state, Wyoming is a sociopolitical lens that magnifies the conflicts in the American West. But the issues are relevant to any community that is dependent on a dominant industry—and wherever the liberties of citizens and the ethics of public officials are at risk.
Lockwood has done the important work of placing free speech in the context of socioeconomic forces that operate in Wyoming, the American West, and beyond.
A seething exposé…The book paints a convincing portrait of the intimate ties between energy corporations, state government, and the state university in closing ranks against dissent in Wyoming.
Jeffrey A. Lockwood is a professor of natural sciences and humanities in the Department of Philosophy and the Creative Writing Program at the University of Wyoming. He teaches environmental ethics, philosophy, and creative nonfiction writing. He is the author of The Infested Mind: Why Humans Fear, Loathe, and Love Insects and the coauthor of Philosophical Foundations for the Practices of Ecology.
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
The Case of: The Scuttling of Carbon Sink
Chapter One. The Art of Making People Think—And Industries Mad
Chapter Two. Destroying Art to Preserve Political Privilege
Chapter Three. Paying the Price for Free Speech
The Case of: Shoot the Messenger
Chapter Four. Science Fails to Mind Its Own Business
Chapter Five. Reloaded and Fired Again
The Case of: The Carbon County Controversy
Chapter Six. Silencing Dissent in Coal Country
Chapter Seven. Corporate Coercion and Public Courage
The Case of: An Epitaph for Photographs
Chapter Eight. A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words—Or a Million Bucks
Chapter Nine. Give Us Liberty or Give Us Oil
The Case of: An Atmosphere of Fear and Silence
Chapter Ten. Where the Skies Are Smoggy All Day
Chapter Eleven. The Calculated Absence of Evidence
From Wyoming to the World: The Future of Censorship
Chapter Twelve. The Death of Free Speech: Finding the Killer
Chapter Thirteen. For Sale: Free Speech
Epilogue
Notes
