How Science Fiction Can Inspire Environmentalism and Climate Action
Climate change is one of the biggest issues of our time, threatening life on Earth. This pressing problem has led to many non-fiction works like news articles, documentaries, and books. However, it took a while for mainstream fiction to address climate change.
In 2016, Amitav Ghosh noted in his book, The Great Derangement: Climate Change and The Unthinkable, that novelists rarely tackled climate change in their fiction. He acknowledged that early science fiction works did address climate disasters, such as Laurence Manning’s The Man Who Awoke (1933), J.G. Ballard’s The Wind from Nowhere (1962) and The Drowned World (1962), and Octavia E. Butler’s Parable series (1993-1998). More recently, notable authors like Margaret Atwood and Barbara Kingsolver have also written about climate change.
Since 2018, more novels on this subject have gained attention. Richard Powers won the Pulitzer Prize for The Overstory (2018), a novel about trees and climate change. This marked a turning point in climate fiction, also known as “cli-fi.”
Cli-fi, short for climate fiction, was coined by journalist Dan Bloom. This genre, a subcategory of science fiction, focuses on global warming and its impacts. It spans various genres, including dystopian, thriller, and magical realism. For instance, Bangkok Wakes to Rain (2020) by Pitchaya Sudbanthad imagines a future Bangkok submerged by rising seas, and Omar el Akkad's American War (2017) envisions a second American Civil War over fossil fuels.
Fiction helps us understand and feel the impact of climate change beyond cold facts. Stories can inspire empathy, hope, and a sense of urgency. They can also create a sense of community and shared experience, helping us navigate the complex issue of climate change together.
In short, climate fiction is becoming a powerful tool to raise awareness and motivate action on climate change.
🔭 This summary was human-edited with AI-assist.
