SUNSHINE STATE - a cli fi novel by James Miller in the UK

http://clifibooks.com/sunshine-state-james-miller/

How About a Cli-Fi Novel About Fracking?

By JIM & CLAIRE CASTAGNERA father daughter blog chat about CLI FI here: 9/21/2033 AD Jim: Our most faithful fan does not live in Lehighton or Jim Thorpe or Tamaqua, or anywhere in the hard coal region. No, he lives on the other side of the world. Dan Bloom is a freelance writer and ex-patriot, who resides in Taiwan where, he says, he is "buffeted around by Pacific typhoons every summer." Maybe that's why he worries a lot about climate change. Of late Dan has become enamored by Climate Fiction, or Cli Fi as a growing fan base has dubbed it. According to Wikipedia, "Cli-fi (or 'cli fi') is short for climate fiction. Cli-fi novels and films are often set in either the present or the near or distant future, but they can also be set in the past. While cli-fi does not necessarily infer a belief in the science of climate change, many cli-fi works raise awareness about the major threats that climate change and global warming present to life on Earth. Some cli-fi novels support the views of climate change skepticism." The Wiki Wizards go on to attest, "The term 'cli-fi' was popularized by climate activist Danny Bloom beginning in 2007 and by Wired reporter Scott Thill in 2010." Dan remains a tireless advocate of the genre. Following last week's column, in which I compared myself to a Portobello, Dan wrote to me, "God does love mushrooms. BTW, any chance of a JIM/ CLAIRE story one day soon on CLI FI as new climate fiction literary term pro and con, does it work maybe for SANDY ANNIVERSITY ONE YEAR LATER?"=========================================== Well, Dan, here's your wish granted… sort of. While the Wiki story credits you with launching the Cli Fi movement in 2007, I feel I must give credit where it is also due. I refer to the late, great Sci Fi writer Michael Crichton. In 2004 - not long before his untimely death - Crichton published "State of Fear." The novel's premise is that eco-terrorists plot mass murder to support their apocalyptic views. These villains are in league with the fictional National Environmental Resources Fund, which is determined to hang onto its funding base of wealthy philanthropists. To keep these donors engaged, they contrive to cause eco-disasters. They also knock off scientists who dare to espouse research results that contradict global-warming theories. Crichton's story wasn't very PC, I'm afraid, Dan. In a postscript to his long yarn, Crichton wrote: "I have been reading environmental texts for three years…. I have had the opportunity to look at a lot of data, and to consider many points of view. I conclude, [wrote Chrichton]:============================ -- We know astonishingly little about every aspect of the environment…. -- Atmospheric carbon dioxide is increasing, and human activity is the probable cause…. Ÿ We are also in the midst of a natural warming trend that began about 1850…. Ÿ Nobody knows how much of the present warming trend might be a natural phenomenon. Ÿ Nobody knows how much of the present warming trend might be man-made…. Ÿ We cannot hope to manage a complex system such as the environment through litigation…. Ÿ We desperately need a nonpartisan blinded funding mechanism to conduct research to determine appropriate policy."======================================== Nine years have passed since Crichton wrote those words and his highly irreverent Cli Fi thriller. A lot more research funding has flowed over the federal dam and a lot more research has been conducted. Though the weight of the data seems to push hard for the conclusion that global warming is real and man-made, the doubters persist. Others - and I admit to being in their ranks - argue that, while global warming is a man-made fact, America's chance at energy independence outweighs the risks of weather change. North America is the carbon kingdom of the planet and many of us believe that we should be exploiting the heck out of Canadian oil sands, Ohio/Pennsylvania fracking fields, hard and soft coal mines, and the resurrection of old oil fields via new technologies. Guess that makes me a candidate for the villain in a future Cli Fi novel, Danny. Feel free to do your worst. ==================================================================================================================================Claire: The simple fact that we live in a world where there are still people who don't "believe" in climate change - like, say, one might not believe in unicorns - leads me to firmly believe that we are all in major trouble. But I'm not going to give a lecture on the intricacies of global warming, because I have a feeling that would futile. Instead, I'm going to skip right ahead to some worst-case scenarios, as presented by what I now deem "SyFy CliFi," a new genre of film involving the SyFy channel and a spate of films they've recently screened. First off, we have "Sharknado." Perhaps you can infer the plot of this movie from the title: it's about a tornado… filled with sharks. Yes, you read that correctly. Sharks glide around California, powered by severe tornadoes, eating up surfers in single, flying bites. The cause of these intense tornadoes? Global warming. Then there's "Arachnoquake." In this flick, huge earthquakes in New Orleans release gigantic spiders onto the general populace. The twist? The earthquakes were caused by fracking. It all sounds completely ridiculous, but the science behind these films is real. (Well, the part about global warming causing more powerful hurricanes and fracking wastewater injection causing earthquakes… not the part about tornadoes being strong enough to pick up sharks and fly them around the world.) And for some reason, the public eats this stuff up. "Sharknado" quickly picked up steam and became a veritable hit; you can find it at any Target or Walmart, which is a big deal for a channel whose movies usually go straight to oblivion, not DVD. But why? Why do we love to see our world torn apart, again and again, whether it be in apocalypse movies, or Cli Fi films, or in print fiction? Is it because, deep down, we don't believe this stuff could ever happen? Or because, deep down, we do, and seeing it on film trivializes it, sets us apart from it, to a certain extent? I'm new to this whole "Cli Fi" idea, so I don't have any answers. My only hope is that Climate Fiction does more, on the whole, to educate than to trivialize. Shark tornadoes may never be a real threat, but it's possible that there are even scarier things on the horizon.

An Interview with cli fi novelist James Tam in Hong Kong

James Tam is the author of a new novel titled "Man's Last Song"

Meet James Tam, a serious thinker and writer based in Hong Kong, where he was born and raised before moving to Canada in the 1970s (and then back again to Hong Kong in the 1980s). He is the author of a new novel titled "Man's Last Song" and it's well worth reading. Married with two daughters, Tam was gracious enough to sit for an email interview the other day between our home office in southern Taiwan and his home office in Hong Kong.

When asked to describe his novel and its themes, Tam said: "The theme of my novel is that after decades of infertility, the human race is winding down.It sounds dystopian but ironically, the characters in the story, remnants of the human race,are also benefiting from the disappearance of humanity in some respects.Why this theme? I think over-population is one of the biggest issues affecting human well-being, if not survival, yet the denial is mind-boggling. So looking back from a sparsely populated future gives us an interesting perspective that I hope might enjoy the clarity of “hindsight”. Most people who write are driven by the same inexplicable but irrepressible urge to do so. Iʼm no exception.''

Tam said that while he does not like to be pigeonholed by literary genre, noting that in his opinion ''most books are multi-genre in my view.''

"But if I have to choose one genre for 'Man's Last Song,' I think Cli Fi is actually an interesting new label, and probably the most fitting one for my book.''

Born in Hong Kong. Tam lived and studied in Canada in the 1970s and returned to Hong Kong in the mid-1980s to work as an environmental engineer. He started his own environmental engineering practice and a software company as well.

Tam hopes his novel will serve as a wake up call for readers.

"As I indicated in an earlier answer above, the fact that weʼre stupidly creating a lot of unnecessary challenges for ourselves does not mean itʼd be the end of humanity," he said. "The end-time scenario in 'Manʼs Last Song' is just fictional, a possible scenario. Meanwhile,life under any circumstances can still be quite good sometimes, if we live it one day at atime. Having a longer term view of “what might happen if we donʼt smarten up” does not_mean we have to live in despair today. Taking realistic precaution is often mistaken as being 'gloomy'. That escapist attitude is in fact what gets us into deeper trouble right now. In short, if we continue the way we are, I think the chance of humans having to suffer an_extremely tough phase in the near future is quite high. But then in most of our speciesʼ history, life is tough for the absolute majority.'

Asked about his ideas or beliefs in things supernatural, Tam, ever the realist, replied: "I donʼt believe in a human-like God or Creator who pokes his nose into our silly affairs. But I like to put humans in cosmic perspective. We are but one of numerous organisms on a mediocre planet no more impressive than a grain of sand amongst all the beaches on Earth. I know some people find this sense of insignificance disturbing; but I find it calming instead. In any case, like it or not, itʼs the reality."

"Nearly all our mundane worries are grossly out of proportion if we put them against the big picture of this cosmic dance," Tam continued. "The characters in 'Manʼs Last Song', having nothing better to do in their circumstances, have actually spent some time discussing this existential issue.''

When asked if he had heard of the cli fi term, for climate fiction, before, Tam said: "Yes, Iʼve heard the term Cli Fi before. A reader told me about it, and said my novel definitely belongs to that new genre. I think itʼs a very good genre, much more than a PR term. It helps to put the critical issue of climate change in peopleʼs mind."

Asked how his novel might be received in Hong Kong and China in its Chinese language edition, Tam said:

"Living in severe resource and environmental pressures everyday, the Chinese are actually more sensitive and realistic about environmental issues than, say, someone living in Australia who only sees the danger conceptually. Thatʼs why China as a developing country tackles environmental issues relatively more seriously than many others. But then, the Chinese sense of pragmatic acceptance also comes into play. Everyone in the world is talking about protecting the environment while damaging it thoughtlessly, creating little if any benefit to himself and society. How can that dumb situation be stopped or reversed before it gets really unpleasant? Who should make the first move and be at a relative 'disadvantage' in the short-term? Thatʼs the big question mark."

UK Bookstores Set Tables for ‘Cli-Fi’ Books

******During the sweltering British summer of 2013, several bookstores in the UK did something that was a long time coming: They set up a dedicated ”cli-fi” tables with a simple yet eye-catching signs promoting fiction and non-fiction books with climate themes.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ We spoke with the marketing director at the one of the London bookshops about why she set up the cli fi tables and signs. When asked what the motivation was, she explained that after she read the Rodge Glass piece in the Guardian in May, she became very concerned about finding ways to promote climate fiction (and non fiction books) in her store. So she asked her design team to come up with some posters and signs, and tables were set up. Customer reaction was positive, she said.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Yes, our customers warmed to the idea, you might say, and there were no complaints," she said. "While climate novels and non fiction books about climate cover a lot of ground, from pro-AGW rants to skeptics books and even denialists rants, it is important that we shine the spotlight on climate books now and in the future. So our summer 2013 events were positive and we plan to repeat them over the course of the coming year, too. And sure, we do hope our example where in the UK will be reflected in the USA and Australia too, for bookstores there."-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Among the books displayed were Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” and James Lovelock’s “The Revenge of Gaia” as well as Stephen Emmott’s bestseller “10 Billion” sitting alongside such dystopic scenarios as J.G. Ballard’s “The Drowned World,” John Christopher’s “The Death of Grass,” Joe Dunthorne’s “Wild Abandon” and Liz Jensen’s “The Rapture.”----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Most of the books on the table are also available as e-books as well.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These ‘cli-fi’ signs in-store may be the first of their kind anywhere in the now-warming world, and they follow extensive media coverage of the emerging cli-fi genre in TeleRead, The Guardian, the Financial Times, and The New Yorker.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other cli-fi novels on the tables included Barbara Kingsolver’s”Flight Behavior” and and Ian McEwan’s “Solar.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Will other bookstores and book-selling websites around the world follow these sterling British bookstore examples and set up similar cli-fi sites at bookstores in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Sydney, Melbourne, Wellington and Paris? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Is this a trend or just one-off events and photo opps in the UK?------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BREAKING NEWS: London Bookstore Sets 'Cli-Fi' Table For Climate Books

BREAKING NEWS: London Bookstore Sets 'Cli-Fi' Table For Climate Books ...from TeleRead ... http://www.teleread.com/bookstore/london-bookstore-sets-cli-fi-table-for-climate-books/

London's Foyles Bookstore Fronts 'Cli Fi' Table For Climate Books

During the sweltering summer of 2013, Foyles (St Pancras International store) in London set up a cli-fi table with a eye-catching sign that promotes non-fiction and fiction classics such as Rachel Carson's ''Silent Spring'' and James Lovelock's ''The Revenge of Gaia'', as well as Stephen Emmott's current bestseller ''10 Billion'' sitting alongside such dystopic scenarios as J.G. Ballard's ''The Drowned World'', John Christopher's ''The Death of Grass'', Joe Dunthorne's ''Wild Abandon'' and Liz Jensen's ''The Rapture''. The ''cli fi'' sign in-store may be the first of its kind anywhere in the now-warming world. Other cli fi books on the table included Barbara Kingsolver's FLIGHT BEHAVIOR and Ian McEwan's SOLAR. As the photo makes clear, this is first time that any bookstore anywhere in the known world has created a special "corner" or table spefically fearuring CLIMATE-THEMED novels and non-fiction reports. It is hoped that other bookstores around the world will follow Foyles' example and set up similar cli fi tables at bookstores in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Sydney, Melbournme, Wellington and Paris. ----------------------- http://pcillu101.blogspot.tw/2013/08/cli-fi-sign-in-foyles-bookstore-london.html

Cli fi novelists Margaret Atwood and Nathaniel Rich at Kingston WritersFest in Canada on September 25

Cli fi novelists Margaret Atwood and Nathaniel Rich, being hailed by media critics as two leaders of the new cli fi genre, will appear together at the Grand Theatre in Kingston in Canada on Sept. 25, 2013 -- opening the Kingston WritersFest. It's just about a month before the first anniversary of Superstorm Sandy along the East Coast of the USA that served as a major wake up call about future storms and emergency preparedness (or the lack thereof)._____________________________________________ Ms. Atwood is poised to launch the third and final installment of her trilogy that began with ''Oryx and Crake'' and continued with ''The Year of the Flood'', which opened the first Kingston WritersFest in 2009. No one was talking cli-fi then. The press at that time just called her books sci-fi, a term that she herself famously rejected, even though her novels were winning SF awards [''The Handmaid’s Tale'' won the Arthur C. Clarke Award and was a finalist for both the Nebula and the Promethus Awards.]___________________________________________________________________________ Other cli fi writers, too, are warning us of the dangers ahead, already turning out stories of climatic catastrophe. Such fiction now has a real and legitimate name: cli-fi, a sub-genre of sci-fi or even a completely new genre of its own (take your pick) — a speculative story in which the narrative punch is supplied by a dramatic change in the physical world around us, brought on wholly or in part by the machinations of humans.______________________________________________ The term was coined by U.S. climate activist and public relations blogger and consultant Danny Bloom in 2008 and used by Scott Thill at Wired magazine in two movie reviews in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, Margaret Atwood re-tweeted it. [Rich told reporters that he never heard of the cli fi term before he started his book tour this spring.]_____________________________________________ This spring, The Guardian legitimized it, hailing Atwood and Rich as two leaders of the new genre. Both these Planet Earth-shattering authors be at the Kingston WritersFest. Should be a good festival.