The Drowned World
by J.G. Ballard
Imagining Tomorrow's Climate
in Sci-Fi and Fantasy Realms
Novels like The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard deal with a future where the ice caps have melted leading to a submerged world or explore visual stories like the movie Waterworld or The Day After Tomorrow, where the ice caps are melting. One leads to a submerged world, the other to a new planet ice age. While the topic of climate change may not be a hot topic (🡨get it?) it can really carry an impact in the SFF world of dystopian survival.
New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson (2017) sets the future of New York City partially submerged by rising sea levels, and residents navigate canals between skyscrapers. It explores the social and economic consequences of climate change.
While humanity is trending toward solar power and renewable energy, lowering carbon levels or meeting carbon neutrality, and building resilient structures, there is a rise in global warming, extreme weather events, and changes in water availability.
The Drowned World
The SFF writers have a plethora of topics to choose from within this arena. What if…extreme storms rise, the waters increase in sea levels, marine ecosystems, and biodiversity are destroyed due to excess carbon dioxide, and the forests are cleared in entirety? How might the laws change? What about environmental, social, economic, and political aspects? What about food production? What if one of these climate changes affected childbirth? How would Migration and Displacement of people or animals affect the world? And so on. There are just too many to select from.
SFF novels have long imagined many and can really bring eye-opening aspects to the thought of just this very thing we are globally calling climate change. While most provide fictionalized accounts, they draw heavily from real-world concerns and scientific projections, offering readers a thought-provoking perspective on the risks and planning required to address the challenges posed by climate change.
Here are a few novels to look at for possible unknown truths.
The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson (2020) is a speculative exploration of the future in the wake of climate change. It focuses on establishing a global organization, the Ministry for the Future, tasked with addressing the consequences of global warming. The novel delves into the complexities of climate risk, policy-making, and the need for coordinated planning on a global scale.
The Wall by John Lanchester (2019) is set in a dystopian future where a massive wall is constructed to protect society from rising sea levels and climate-related threats, “The Wall” explores the consequences of climate change and the risks associated with fortifying against environmental challenges.
An extreme opposite of The Wall, we have Memory of Water by Emmi Itäranta (2014) a speculative fiction novel set in a future world where water scarcity is a major concern due to climate change. The story follows a young woman who discovers a hidden water source and explores themes of adaptation, survival, and the planning required to sustain life in an altered environment.
The Wall
by John Lanchester
Thanks for reading my blog. Here is a short sample of my story The Loss of Strawberry Ice Cream I wrote regarding climate change and the human necessities required to adapt to pollution.
I miss it sometimes. That once-a-week trip to get the frosty, creamy, pink ice with little crispy chunks of strawberry at the corner Baskin Robbins. I guess 31 flavors was over the top, but serving just two is not enough. Strawberry was divine. Now, another hot day is just another hot day to stay inside breathing the filtered air. Why leave? It’s a chore. We have to put on our breathing masks and overcoats. Sure, it’s protection, but my Dalmatian hates wearing her booties and sun guard. And the blind-grainy-thickness of my UV700 glasses makes everything so lackluster. Perhaps her trusting brown eyes in her goggles see something different because she still likes to be outside. But she hasn’t noticed her new leash is no longer bright green. The market now only sells black.
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JL Nich, Science Fiction Fantasy Author
