When it comes down to climate change and global warming the rich will be the ones afloat when the oceans rise and flood coastal cities.
From what we’ve read in class about cli-fi stories, it seems as though a crucial element of the genre is the separation of rich and poor. How the rich are REALLY rich and how the poor seem as though they are living in a third world country even if they are living in the same backyard as the rich. The story that best represent this narrative discourse is “The Weatherman”.
In “The Weatherman”, by the author uses three characters to convey two points of the argument and uses the third character to have readers make the decision about how ethical his decision was for the main character to kill himself. Ultimately jeopardizing the fate of humanity because the weather machine is now broken.
This story essentially says, on both sides, that either oppressing people is morally wrong or how oppressing people is needed to feed the majority of people, no matter how wrong it may be. Although the moral of the story is still up for debate, it still sparks a healthy thought of a very important yet overlooked problem about the future economy as it relates to global warming.
This problem goes by further than the overall environment being impacted but how global warming impacts the economy. With the income gap being as high as it is, the problem this creates for the future economy is frightening.
All over the world we’ve seen poor countries just get more poor, seeing how the poor countries cannot even afford to fend for themselves in the current conditions (for example Greece declaring bankruptcy). Assuming that the third world countries do not have the proper resources needed to adapt to climate change, the only thing that is left is concern for them and who will help then as resources dwindle and the temperature rises by the year.
Another thought is raised within our own country. How will urban and poor communities fair with climate change? Is it likely that the rich would do what is needed to help the communities or will they (the rich) be more concerned about their own well-being and ignore the poor even though they are citizens of the same country?
As abstract as it may be, “The Weatherman” poses one of the more likely futures for a cli-fi story especially since, assuming, it takes place in the distant future. When we can actually have snow in May. If there were a machine, a proven machine and not just some conspiracy theory, then would the machine be used to keep the poor starving?
Living in America, despite the income gap, I highly doubt that this will happen (in America at least). Because with the amount of protests that go on and how quickly news spreads nowadays makes me believe that his type of obvious oppression cannot and will not happen.
Yet again, crazier and worse things have happened.
Thanks for this insightful post about “The Weatherman,” climate change, and wealth inequality. You make an incredibly keen point about the unequal climate change risks faced by different communities within our own country; it’s important to remember that it’s not just about rich countries and poor countries, or developed countries and undeveloped countries, but also communities and populations in our own country that are more at risk than others.
Also, this recent article about wealth inequality in the U.S., seems to connect to your post: http://www.vox.com/xpress/2014/11/10/7186151/wealth-inequality-saez-zucman-chart-gif
Maybe if people thought of climate change not as an “environmental” issue but rather as an issue of “economic equality and social justice,” they’d be more likely to care about it: http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/06/03/climate-change-economic-inequality-are-one-debate-says-sen-warren
What do you think?
The rich vs. poor element is something that I have also defiantly noticed in our readings thus far in the class. It’s something that, although a major element in The Weatherman, is also a key component of nearly every story we have read so far. Maybe the reason this theme is so common in all the stories is that the authors are predicting with some level of certainty what could and will happen if climate change affects us in such severe ways that people clash with others based on their socioeconomic standings.
Rich and poor have always had a disparity in this world and I do not think it will be any different in the future. I think you make a good point about this. The idea that in our country in the future, the disparity will grow ever more is terrifying. I thought it was bad enough now.
Yes, I definitely think that many of the authors we have read are trying to be predictive, and they are also attuned to the ways that climate change will not only affect the environment, but also exacerbate existing social inequalities. Maybe a short story or a novel is a better form for exploring this social aspects of climate change than something like, say, a climate science textbook or a set of climate graphs?
I agree the rich vs the poor has come up in class a lot. Going forward this is something that we are going to have to deal with. Your conclusion is very strong and I agree it probably won’t happen in America but you never know.
Climate change solutions have the possibility of being manipulated by those in charge. Since these solutions cost a great deal of money and resources, the rich are going to most likely be the ones funding those solutions. The Weatherman definitely points out how that can be troublesome, especially if these solutions can be used to oppress the poor. I hope that society can find a way to generate climate change solutions that benefit everyone on Earth, and find a way to have either citizen or government oversight on those solutions.
The rich and poor gap is big enough as it is, even in the USA. This will only get worse once a major climate change disaster strikes the world. The deck will be reshuffled, of course, given the amount of casualties that the global weirding will create, but with the allocation of resources, there will be a prominent hierarchy that will sprout up in all of the populations of the world. This is all the more reason to implement mitigation procedures right now to combat the negative climate change effects.
I totally agree C.J. — and when most people think of climate change, they think of an “environmental” problem rather than a social problem. I’m curious, based on what you wrote in your reply: do you think people would be more inclined to see the importance of mitigation if they thought of climate change not just as an “environmental” problem but as a problem affecting the relationships between humans? Do you think that literary fiction is a good avenue for exploring the social and human dimensions of climate change?
I was looking for something on class warfare, and found this page. Sounds like an interesting book, but you don’t mention the author, and I found two on Amazon with the same title, neither of which seem to be the one you are discussing. Authors are Laurie Axinn Gienapp, and Steve Thayer. Is the book only available in schools? …Thanks.