Kim Stanley Robinson is a sci-fi writer I have been reading of late. He has recently specialized in stories about human adaptation to the slow motion climate disaster the human race is inflicting upon itself. In one scenario, the collapse of all the ice shelves in Antarctica and the subsequent rush of its glaciers to the sea in the middle of the current century has raised the sea level by several feet. This has caused the inundation of the east coast and the permanent flooding of Manhattan. Robinson's books explore the changing relations of people to the environment and how it continues to play out.
In a recent podcast with Ezra Klein, Robinson makes the point we are in the midst of a disaster most of us cannot grasp. Unlike a hurricane or tornado which occurs in a time period we are used to, the ongoing climate disaster is hard to relate to. He takes comfort in his belief that humanity will be able to adapt to changing conditions in the long run. In the short term, billions will suffer from our continuing rejection of efforts to slow down the freight train of disaster heading towards us. It does make for great science fiction, however!
No comments:
Post a Comment