The Peach Report

Wanted: Climate change-based novels with a strong dose of story, vivid character development, a strong theme, and setting or atmosphere. Climate change focus alone may not be sufficient.

In a new article at The Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media, I review two recent novels about climate change: “2045: A Story of Our Future,” by Peter Seidel, and “Human Scale,” by Kitty Beer. Both are set in the mid-21st century United States, when climate change has drastically altered the way Americans live. As I report at The Yale Forum, both novels are carefully researched and present plausible visions of our future.

In novelist Peter Seidel’s 2045, we glimpse the future through the eyes of Carl Lauer, a conservative Midwestern businessman who fell into a coma in the year 2010. He awakens 35 years later to a startlingly altered America. A changing climate has led to drought and reduced snowpack in the Southwest. Worsening hurricanes and rising seas have forced many people to leave Florida. Millions of people fleeing from scorched and flooded regions are migrating to the Midwest, where resulting population growth has led to widespread unemployment and rampant crime. Lauer learns that declining production in America’s wheat belt had caused bread prices to rise — until the U.S. seized control of Alberta and Saskatchewan. He is bewildered and horrified by the country’s transformation.
…

In Beer’s version of the future, Boston in 2062 is under water. The changing climate has led to frequent weather extremes, such as droughts followed by devastating floods. Meanwhile, religious extremists, called Zorians, have seized control of the government.

In this world, the great masses — including refugees from southern latitudes — live in hunger and fear while elites retain access to perks such as air conditioners, good food, and bus passes.

Alas, the books suffer from flaws in plot and character development that ultimately detract from the reader’s experience.

[U]nfortunately, after Lauer’s miraculous awakening, the plot falters. The first half of the book is devoted to his journeys to Chicago, La Crosse, Wis., and Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. Aside from traveling on a futuristic high-speed train system and talking with long-lost friends and family members, Lauer doesn’t really do anything. When he is kidnapped in California — surely a moment for drama — the book zips through the episode in just nine paragraphs.

So how can aspiring novelists do a better job of engaging their readers on climate change? For an answer, read the rest of my story.