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Climate fiction, or climate change fiction, usually abbreviated to cli-fi (modelled on the rhyming sounds of "sci-fi") is a literary genre that deals with climate change and global warming. Not necessarily speculative in nature, works of cli-fi may take place in the present day world we know or in the near future. Hundreds of universities worldwide now offer climate-change fiction courses that deal with both literature and film. ==History== Climate change fiction is a relatively new category of fiction, following the recognition in the mid-twentieth century of global warming. Various works were produced before the phrase "climate fiction" entered the lexicon. One example is Jules Verne's 1889 novel ''The Purchase of the North Pole'', which imagines a climate change due to tilting of Earth's axis. In his posthumous ''Paris in the Twentieth Century'', written in 1883 and set during the 1960s, the titular city experiences a sudden drop in the temperature, which last for three years.〔Arthur B. Evans, "The 'New' Jules Verne". Science–fiction Studies, XXII:1 no. 65 (March 1995), pp. 35-46.() and Brian Taves, "Jules Verne's Paris in the Twentieth Century". ''Science Fiction Studie'' no. 71, Volume 24, Part 1, March 1997. ()〕 However, it was not until the mid twentieth century that works of fiction dealing with the theme of climate change began to be published, as science started to emphasis global warming. British author J. G. Ballard published some important early examples, making use of the post-apocalyptic dystopia genre. His most celebrated dystopia is ''Crash'', in which cars symbolise the mechanisation of the world and man's capacity to destroy himself with the technology he creates.〔Sukhdev Sandhu, "JG Ballard: a love affair with speed and violence "Telegraph", 27 Apr 2009.()〕 He explores this theme in terms of global warming in ''The Wind from Nowhere'' (1961), where civilization is reduced by persistent hurricane force winds, while ''The Drowned World'' (1962) describes a future of melted ice-caps and rising sea-levels, caused by solar radiation, creating a landscape mirroring the collective unconscious desires of the main characters.〔(''The Guardian'' 22 January, 2009 )〕 In ''The Burning World'' (1964, later called ''The Drought'') a surrealistic psychological landscape is formed by drought due to industrial pollution disrupting the precipitation cycle.〔.http://www.jgballard.ca/criticism/milicia_drought1985.html〕 Another major writer on this topic is American science fiction novelist Kim Stanley Robinson. Virtually all of Robinson's novels have an ecological component; sustainability would have to be counted among his primary themes.The ''Three Californias Trilogy'' is about the way in which the technological intersects with the natural, highlighting the importance of keeping the two in balance. In the ''Mars trilogy'', one of the principal divisions among the population of Mars is based on dissenting views on terraforming.〔(''Kirkus'' 6 January, 2015 )〕 ''Forty Signs of Rain'' has an entirely ecological thrust, taking global warming for its principal subject. Robinson's ''Forty Signs of Rain'' (2004) is the first book in his ''Science in the Capital'' trilogy, which also includes ''Fifty Degrees Below'' (2005) and ''Sixty Days and Counting'' (2007). Robinson has been nicknamed the "Master of Disaster" for his description of natural disasters based partly on the contents of this book. Robert K. J. Killheffer in his review for Fantasy & Science Fiction said "''Forty Signs of Rain'' is a fascinating depiction of the workings of science and politics, and an urgent call for us to pull our heads from the sand and confront the threat of climate change." In addition to Ballard, a number of other major British authors have also written about climate change. ''Solar'' (2010) by Ian McEwan follows the story of a physicist who discovers a way to fight climate change after managing to derive power from artificial photosynthesis.〔(The Guardian website, "McEwan's new novel will feature media hate figure" Retrieved on 2010-02-01 )〕 ''State of Fear'' (2004) is a techno-thriller by Michael Crichton concerning a group of eco-terrorists attempting to create "natural" disasters to convince the public of the dangers of global warming. The book is critical of scientific opinion on climate change and accuses its proponents of using fear tactics. ''The Stone Gods'' (2007) by Jeanette Winterson is set on the fictional planet Orbus, a world very like Earth, running out of resources and suffering from the severe effects of climate change. Inhabitants of Orbus hope to take advantage of possibilities offered by a newly discovered planet, Planet Blue, which appears perfect for human life.〔(Jeanettewinterson.com website, "The Stone Gods" Retrieved on 2010-01-02 )〕 A writer of speculative fiction, Canadian Margaret Attwood has explored the subject in her dystopian trilogy ''Oryx and Crake'' (2003), ''The Year of the Flood'' (2009) and ''MaddAddam'' (2013).〔(Huffington Post 12 November 2014 )〕 In ''Oryx and Crake'' Attwood presents a world where "social inequality, genetic technology and catastrophic climate change, has finally culminated in some apocalyptic event".〔(''Publishers Weekly'' )〕 The novel's protagonist, Jimmy, lives in a "world split between corporate compounds", gated communities that have grown into city-states and pleeblands, which are "unsafe, populous and polluted" urban areas where the working classes live.〔''Publishers Weekly''/〕 Other authors who have used this subject matter include Liz Jensen, Tony White, Sarah Holding, Barbara Kingsolver and journalists Scott Thill, Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow and Dan Bloom. Kingsolver's most recent novel, ''Flight Behavior'' (2012), employs environmental themes and highlights the potential effects of global warming on the monarch butterfly. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「climate fiction」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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