The Drowned World And Climate Change

Popular fictions texts expressing views of the future educate audiences about current issues and the dystopias that develop from them. Texts such as the film ‘Gattaca’, directed by Andrew Niccol and novel ‘Fahrenheit 451’ by Ray Bradbury explore futuristic societies and the implications that become of their innovation. Although entertaining, texts such as these are didactic and must be taken seriously, as they communicate messages to audiences regarding prevalent concerns and possible futures based on society’s choices.

Carolyn Shumaker Jen Plants English 174 26 February 2024 “Hurricane Diane”: Laughing out the Apathy “The problem with the planetary crisis is that it runs up against a number of built-in ‘apathy biases’. Although many of climate change’s accompanying calamities – extreme weather events, floods and wildfires, displacement and resource scarcity chief among them – are vivid, personal, and suggestive of a worsening situation, they don’t feel that way in aggregate. They feel abstract, distant, and isolated rather than like beams of an ever-strengthening narrative.” (Safran PAGE NUMBER).

Even though the main fear induced by climate change is whether the global average temperature would further increase or not, climate change has been having negative influences on people’s lives. Due to the rising sea level and erosion, six inhabited islands in the Pacific Ocean have a large amount of land being washed into the sea and people had to relocate (Reuters). According to EPA, the rising sea level also decreases the availability of farmlands and the rising temperature increases the presence of certain diseases, such as malaria and yellow fevers (EPA). People who are negatively affected by climate change and decide to relocate are called climate refugees. They have been present in protests, such as the People’s Climate March in 2017, opposing Trump’s denial of climate change. Despite climate refugees’ participation of political activities, I argue that in the US, civic engagement around climate change focuses on symbolic rhetorics, but neglects concrete advocating and assistance to climate refugees.

Science fiction can reveal the dark truths of today's world by using enticing literary techniques. Science fiction pieces, “Time Capsule Found on The Dead Planet” by Margaret Atwood, “The Veldt'', and “ Taurus 451” both written by Ray Bradbury, together appraise the world and act as a bridge between the past and the future using the conventions of science fiction. The authors use conventions of science fiction to critique society using literary devices such as imagery, personification, and word choice, which makes their work so crucial to revealing the world's truths. Whilst both authors demonstrate this theme clearly, Margaret Atwood’s “Time Capsule Found on the Dead Planet” is most relevant in today’s society. Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, depicts a

As far as we know everything that exists in the earth is moving toward the inescapably and irreversible tragedies of familial loss and climate disaster. It is natural and yet wholly unnatural of civilization and its

This introspection adds a layer of depth to the story, prompting readers to consider their own responses to adversity and the choices they would make in similar situations. Additionally, Dunn's prose is engaging and evocative, drawing readers into the world of the novel and immersing them in its dystopian landscape. His vivid descriptions and attention to detail bring the setting to life, allowing readers to visualize the environmental devastation and feel the characters' emotions as they navigate their harsh

In his intriguing story There Will Come Soft Rains, Ray Bradbury portrays a dystopian future wherein all of humanity has been destroyed and all that remains is their creations, more specifically the technology they’ve created. By portraying this haunting image of a world decimated by simple human nature, Bradbury illustrates the idea that we, as a species, cannot resist our nature to expand beyond current limits and to explore unchartered territory, and in doing so, will have reached and will continue to reach places, literal and figurative, that we never should have visited or even had been willing to visit. The inevitable result is our demise.

Imagine your hometown underwater; the places you once hoped to show your grandchildren lost completely and swept away into an abyss. It doesn’t sound great, does it? Unfortunately, this could very well become reality. Maybe not during this generation, but eventually. Climate change is a severe issue that affects us all. Icecaps are melting, sea levels are rising, and many Americans are either unaware of the issue or have listened to major politicians dismissing the issue without much knowledge of it.

The literature of Ray Bradbury and Michael Crichton aspire to entertain readers whilst also educating them. Their works still apply to the world daily. Bradbury’s writing contains time travel, ageless children, and never-ending rains. While Crichton’s work is full of predictions, speculations, and he projects what may be in our future.

Around the world, humans are aware of the environmental crisis going on, yet, the issue is brushed under the rug and ignored. This issue is ignored due to the fact that some people are unwilling to change their lifestyles, it is expensive to be environmentally friendly, and there is a lack of effort towards change worldwide. Scientific evidence has proven that there is a crisis happening, but people show disinterest in it. Some people feel helpless because there is no way that the individual effort that is made can possibly make a global difference.

The fight for climate change is a fight that has been ongoing in modern years and is all too familiar for people who never seem to have the voice to speak up against it. With the increase in oil extractions or the rise in carbon emissions, it is no secret that climate change’s impacts have severely taken a toll on people and the environment, but it is also evident that certain people are being impacted by its affects more than others. Often times, marginalized people are the people that have to deal with the most apparent effects of climate change - whether it being combating it or living with it, they are the ones whose lives are being changed the most because of it. In Bill McKibben’s Oil and Honey, Bill McKibben finds himself at the forefront

The world’s climate is changing, and the effects of it will not only affect the inhabitants and the planet, but also humans. Everyone usually only pays attention to the weather on a weekly or even a monthly basis. However, humans don’t pay attention to the changes that they are causing. Very few people actually accept that they are the ones who are causing it and that they are also the ones that can help with the issue. It is time to take action on this problem that will only continue to cause horrible consequences and the only way to do that is having humans change their ways. Even starting with the smallest way can have a dramatic change if everyone is doing it.

Climate change is difficult to communicate by its very nature. Greenhouse gases are invisible, and their accumulating effects (e.g., global warming, precipitation changes, and extreme weather events) can take years before they are felt. Worldwide warming trends are hard for the average person to detect amidst the variability of everyday weather and the causes are far removed, in both time and space, from the impacts. Climate change is thus an example of “hidden hazards”—risks that, despite potentially serious consequences for society, generally pass unnoticed or unheeded until they reach disaster proportions (Kasperson and Kasperson, 1991).

There is an issue on this planet that will define this generation. The issue is climate change. Global warming. A world on the collapse as our oceans are acidified, our air polluted, our forests disappearing, and human rights issues getting worse. It seems that people are not aware of how big climate change actually is. It’s not something that only takes place on the ice caps or in the forests on the far corners of the world. This is an issue that happens here, and now. It’s real. It’s happening.

Since before the industrial evolutions humans have been pumping green house gasses—carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons— into the atmosphere however, it wasn’t until recently that the amounts being produced are shoving the Earth into a sixth extinction. While the causes of this upcoming extinction are constantly debated on it has earned itself the name Holocene extinction. This name is derived from the theory that humans are the main contributors to this extinction. To investigate the cause Elizabeth Kolbert, and American journalist and professor at Williams College, took the world on a wild and saddening journey on the human contribution to this looming extinction in her novel, The Sixth Extinction; An Unnatural History. Not only does Kolbert’s book explain how humans have contributed to global warming and its effects on life on land but also ocean acidification and how life under the sea has changed over the years.