Science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson's novels often end with academic conferences where researchers discuss ways to improve civilization, and his recommendations for dealing with climate change include researchers and scientists It also includes coming together to effect change at scale.
“Since the Industrial Revolution, we have made the natural processes of geology, humans releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, much faster, much of which has been part of a larger acceleration over the past 30 years, and this This is truly new in the history of geology,'' said Robinson, who was the featured speaker at the April 1 presidential lecture. “We've never seen anything like this before. We don't know what will happen. We know it's dangerous and unstable.”
The event was the second Presidential Lecture in “Answering the Call: A Special Series on Climate Change” hosted by Stony Brook State President Maury McInnis. Robinson spoke virtually to the campus community and answered questions submitted by the Charles B. Wang Center His Theater audience.
Robinson has written more than 20 books that frequently explore environmental themes. his masterpiece, Ministry of the Future, was named one of Barack Obama's favorite books in 2020 and one of Bill Gates' “Five Great Books of the Summer'' in 2022. It explores the interplay of politics, technology, and ethics in climate change.
Robinson has a PhD in English and attends scientific conferences for research to ensure the novel stays true to fact and offers plausible solutions to the climate crisis.
“As well as many of us being passionate fans, your work inspires us as a university to combine creativity and scientific thinking to respond to the urgent need for effective and thoughtful solutions to climate change. Professor MacInnis said in his opening remarks.
Ministry of the Future It begins with a “wet bulb” heat wave, a mixture of heat and moisture that makes it more difficult to release excess heat and causes sweat to evaporate slowly, if at all. No healthy person can survive in such conditions, even in the shade.
Such heatwaves have recently occurred in countries such as Australia, India, Mexico, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. “When the power grid fails and the power system goes down, people can only survive in those temperatures for a few hours, even indoors in the shade,” Robinson said. “Even if you have a fan, none of it will work in the combination of extreme heat and humidity. Conditions are tough.”
He outlined climate interventions to accelerate global cooling, including the urgent need to extract carbon from the atmosphere to prevent a “greenhouse earth” scenario. Despite the dangers of releasing frozen carbon and methane that could result in an “ice-free greenhouse planet” and moral hazard concerns, he called for drastic climate change to save lives in the heatwave. We explained the importance of implementing interventions.
Robinson pointed out that tackling climate change requires a concerted global effort, and that a huge injection of money is needed to save the planet. “If we had a 9% rate of return for destroying the world and a 6% rate of return for saving the world, we would choose 9% because we don't care about the world,” he said. Ta. “We like capital, so we aim for the highest rate of return. So do governments. If you want us to invest in good things, like saving the planet, you want us to be compensated, and you need government insurance.” You need to join.”
Mr. Robinson urged current Stony Brook students to find meaningful work that would benefit graduating students in any field. “Yes, we are now in despair over climate change. This is a change in the fabric of emotions, but the concept that life is meaningless will soon be replaced by meaningful efforts to bring balance to the biosphere.” ,” he said. “Whatever you're interested in, you'll find a green angle in it.”
Although Robinson admits that he felt “more fear than pessimism” when creating the vision depicted, Ministry of the FutureHe feels hopeful as he sees the scientific response to the pandemic being adjusted. Meanwhile, we were forced to work together around the world to fight COVID-19, with “everyone getting punched in the nose.”
“The pandemic hit us with the realization that the biosphere can kill us and change your life dramatically with the slightest change. I think it gave Ministry of the Future It will have more power in the hearts of people who read it,” he said. “At the end of the day, we're really paying attention, we're trying to get things done, and we've seen a tremendous amount of commitment from governments, diplomats, businessmen, academics, everyone. They're all focused on whether they can address this problem.'' It's a powerful combination of social forces.When I wrote this book, I didn't think that was the case, but now I think so. teeth truth. “
Robinson left the audience with a message of hope. “I want you to think of the Governor's Island project as an exercise in utopian science fiction. You'll look 50 years from now and say, “This could be what happened.'' Dystopias are all too obvious and painfully boring and repetitive.What should you focus on instead? did it All we need to do is work together to alleviate the climate crisis. ”
— Beth Squire
