Climate Imagination: Dispatches from Hopeful Futures [Paperback]

A clarion call for visions of vibrant, hopeful climate futures, bringing together global voices to share stories of resilient communities based in real science.

When we think of climate, the stories we tell about the future are often catastrophic: megastorms, crop failures, and heat waves loom over us, sending a signal that the problem is so vast, so complex, that it’s out of our control. That narrative is compelling for some, but leaves others feeling hopeless, helpless, and disillusioned. Even the most ardent champions of decarbonization sometimes focus more on sounding the alarm than on mapping out what success might look like. Without positive climate futures, visions of climate adaptation and resilience that we can work toward, it’s much harder to motivate broad-based efforts for change in the present.

Through short speculative fiction, essays, and visual art, Climate Imagination seeks to inspire a wave of narratives about what positive climate futures might look like for communities around the world. This book features perspectives from writers, artists, researchers, and advocates based in a diverse range of places, each with their own unique opportunities and challenges for climate action: from China to Wales, Germany to Nigeria, Sri Lanka to Mexico, Malaysia, India, Brazil, the United States, and more.

• Introduction, Imagining Positive Climate Futures, by Ed Finn and Joey Eschrich
• Itineraries
• Section I: Stories that Spark Change
• Three-World Cantata, by Vandana Singh
• The Case for Reckless Climate Optimism, by Chinelo Onwualu
• The Robin, the Wolves, and the Library, by Claire Armitstead
• Learning to Dwell in Multispecies Futures, by Azucena Castro
• The Village Within, by Benjamin Ong
• Mina&rlsY