Author John Scalzi publishes a "Big Idea" series on his blog, in which he gives space to other authors to discuss the ideas behind their books. Today's post, by Michael Muntisav, is especially interesting.
George Orwell once wrote “If you plant a walnut you are planting it for your grandchildren, and who cares a damn for his grandchildren?”
Today we witness not Big Brother, but many people in positions of authority insisting that climate change is a hoax. If that makes your blood boil, it’s because you know those people have nothing other than their own self-interest at heart. They don’t give a damn, even about their own grandchildren.
Well what if, thirty years from now, those very same grandchildren decided it was time to hold today’s decision makers to account? That is the big idea behind Court of the Grandchildren.
By then, supercomputers will have advanced enough to tell us what the climate consequences were of every past policy decision or non-decision. There will be no gray areas. The excuses for today’s inaction will seem like parodies.
I haven't read the book, Court of the Grandchildren, but it sounds interesting, and I'm putting it on my ever-growing list of books I'll probably never have time to read but would like to. It also seems similar to some of the ideas in Kim Stanley Robinson's The Ministry for the Future. I would be interested in comments from anyone who has read either book.
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