Welcome to the Greenhouse
"No matter what you believe about climate change,Welcome to the Greenhouse is a treat for anyone who appreciates good SF in the best speculative tradition."
– Analog Science Fiction and Factabout the bookabout
The shotgun man barked, "That will not save us. Not save the Arctic. Our beautiful home." He had a knotted face and burning eyes beneath heavy brows.
She talked fast, hands up, open palms toward him. "All that SkyShield nonsense won't stop the oceans from turning acid. Only fossil- "
"Do what you can, when you can. We learn that up here."
- from Welcome to the Greenhouse
Forty years ago, Walt Kelly's comic strip character Pogo famously intoned: "We have met the enemy, and he is us." Now, as the evidence for climate change becomes overwhelming, we learn the hard reality behind that witticism. The possible destruction, and certain transformation, of the ecosphere has been brought about by our own activities.
What will our new world look like? How will we - can we - adapt? The clash of a rapidly changing environment with earth’s self-styled ruling species, humans, provides ample creative fodder for this riveting anthology of original science fiction. In Welcome to the Greenhouse, award-winning editor Gordon Van Gelder has brought together sixteen speculative stories by some of the most imaginative writers of our time. Terrorists, godlike terraformers, and humans both manipulative and hapless populate these pages. The variety of stories reflects the possibilities of our future: grim, hopeful, fantastic and absurd.
Included is new work by Brian W. Aldiss, Jeff Carlson, Judith Moffett, Matthew Hughes, Gregory Benford, Michael Alexander, Bruce Sterling, Joseph Green, Pat MacEwen, Alan Dean Foster, David Prill, George Guthridge, Paul Di Filippo, Chris Lawson, Ray Vukcevich and M. J. Locke.
About The Author / Editor
Preview
Introduction
"This month, negotiators will meet in Cancún for another round of international climate talks, and it's a safe bet that, apart from the usual expressions of despair, nothing will come of them. It may seem that we'll just keep going around and around on climate change forever. Unfortunately, that's not the case: one day, perhaps not very long from now, the situation will spin out of our control."
- Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 22 November 2010
I am, I readily admit, something of a contrarian. It's probably the result of having had a scientist for a father. Whatever the reason, if you present to me a truth that is universally acknowledged, I'll question it instinctively.
So I've largely sat on the sidelines during the global warming controversies that have raged over the past decade. Do I think Earth's climate is warming? Yes. Do I know what the causes are? Can't say for certain that I do. In fact, I don't think anyone can say for certain that they know.
I suspect my position is a fairly common one.
However, as Elizabeth Kolbert points out, that sort of complacent attitude is likely to lead to chaos. So I asked a bunch of writers who speculate on the future to consider the subject of climate change. What might life be like in five, fifty, or five hundred years?
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Related Interest
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Welcome to the Greenhouse
"No matter what you believe about climate change,Welcome to the Greenhouse is a treat for anyone who appreciates good SF in the best speculative tradition."
– Analog Science Fiction and Factabout the bookabout
The shotgun man barked, "That will not save us. Not save the Arctic. Our beautiful home." He had a knotted face and burning eyes beneath heavy brows.
She talked fast, hands up, open palms toward him. "All that SkyShield nonsense won't stop the oceans from turning acid. Only fossil- "
"Do what you can, when you can. We learn that up here."
- from Welcome to the Greenhouse
Forty years ago, Walt Kelly's comic strip character Pogo famously intoned: "We have met the enemy, and he is us." Now, as the evidence for climate change becomes overwhelming, we learn the hard reality behind that witticism. The possible destruction, and certain transformation, of the ecosphere has been brought about by our own activities.
What will our new world look like? How will we - can we - adapt? The clash of a rapidly changing environment with earth’s self-styled ruling species, humans, provides ample creative fodder for this riveting anthology of original science fiction. In Welcome to the Greenhouse, award-winning editor Gordon Van Gelder has brought together sixteen speculative stories by some of the most imaginative writers of our time. Terrorists, godlike terraformers, and humans both manipulative and hapless populate these pages. The variety of stories reflects the possibilities of our future: grim, hopeful, fantastic and absurd.
Included is new work by Brian W. Aldiss, Jeff Carlson, Judith Moffett, Matthew Hughes, Gregory Benford, Michael Alexander, Bruce Sterling, Joseph Green, Pat MacEwen, Alan Dean Foster, David Prill, George Guthridge, Paul Di Filippo, Chris Lawson, Ray Vukcevich and M. J. Locke.
About The Author / Editor
Preview
Introduction
"This month, negotiators will meet in Cancún for another round of international climate talks, and it's a safe bet that, apart from the usual expressions of despair, nothing will come of them. It may seem that we'll just keep going around and around on climate change forever. Unfortunately, that's not the case: one day, perhaps not very long from now, the situation will spin out of our control."
- Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 22 November 2010
I am, I readily admit, something of a contrarian. It's probably the result of having had a scientist for a father. Whatever the reason, if you present to me a truth that is universally acknowledged, I'll question it instinctively.
So I've largely sat on the sidelines during the global warming controversies that have raged over the past decade. Do I think Earth's climate is warming? Yes. Do I know what the causes are? Can't say for certain that I do. In fact, I don't think anyone can say for certain that they know.
I suspect my position is a fairly common one.
However, as Elizabeth Kolbert points out, that sort of complacent attitude is likely to lead to chaos. So I asked a bunch of writers who speculate on the future to consider the subject of climate change. What might life be like in five, fifty, or five hundred years?