Weather

What are we talking about when we talk about the weather? We are talking about the rain, the clouds, the air, the breath, the fog, the gas, the dust, the soil, the carbon, the climate, the bomb, the border, the math, the sensor, the sensorium, the satellite, the snow, the ice, the exorcist, the shaman, the gods, the future, the good fortune, the bad luck, and the better times ahead. As a container term, “the weather” has generally referred to things that happen in the atmosphere. However, how the weather happens is now a subject of serious debate. In western culture it has historically been capricious, beyond control and beyond reproach; today, the weather is increasingly something that exists, to some extent, as a byproduct of human decisions. Its mixture of gasses, salts, dust, and debris can be contaminated, and its intensities of heat, pressure, and moisture can be modified. Today the weather can commit a crime, and those responsible held accountable. Understanding the extent to which the weather in general is a product of human decisions is now an international juridical project. A critical reassessment of how the weather happens, what its mixture consists of, and how it ought to entangle human life is necessary. This issue consists of eighteen contributions including original English translations from French, Korean and Indonesian, interviews, essays, reviews and projects.