Energy, Resilience, and Responsibility in Post-Hurricane Maria Dominica: Ethical and Historical Perspectives on ‘Building Back Better’

Abstract

In the wake of the 2017 hurricane season, discussions across the Caribbean have turned to the need to develop more resilient energy systems, particularly through the deployment of renewable energy sources. In this paper, we examine the post-Hurricane Maria rebuilding of Dominica’s electricity system in light of recent scholarship around the Anthropocene and the Caribbean, work that has heightened awareness of the entanglements between the earth’s geophysical forces and its socio-economic and geo-political relations. Drawing on archival research and key informants in Dominica, we describe the history of Dominica’s energy system, and then provide an overview of some of the energy rebuilding efforts in the country’s ongoing recovery from Hurricane Maria, particularly around the question of resilience. While we acknowledge critiques of resilience as a framework for disaster management, we also argue that resilience initiatives foster the potential for an Anthropocene reimagining of geosocial formations within the Caribbean. In the conclusion, we argue that the domain of energy, and in particular electricity, opens up important questions at the interface of social-ecological relations and the organization of collective life.