Kim Stanley Robinson in Florida

In Kim Stanley Robinson’s novel 2312, most of Florida lies underwater.  Not by much: for the most part, the ground lies only a dozen or so feet below the waves.  Only a thin spine of the state lies exposed to the air, not enough for people to live on.  Earth’s governments are as bureaucratic as ever, so one of the ways that Swan and Wahram help humanity is by rebuilding Florida.  Actually, this is Wahram’s project more than Swan’s, but both are doing what they can to make Earth a better place to live.  Wahram organizes the mining of what will become Florida’s new bedrock, and this is loaded onto trains, which transport it South.  Starting along the exposed spine, work crews begin the long process of reclaiming the drowned state.

Of course, all this lies in our probable future.  Although most of us recognize the dangers that global warming poses, what can any of us, alone or together, really do about it?  One thing seems certain: whatever climatic processes have been set in motion will take their toll in the coming decades and centuries, and humanity will need visionary leaders capable of steering such reclamation projects through the bureaucratic hurtles that would otherwise stop them. 

Wander across a bridge and explore.

Discover who lives in these hundred year old trees.

And who, cursed by a witch or wizard, sleeps beneath them.

If nothing else, such visions of the future remind us how special undeveloped areas are.  Places like Dunedin’s Hammock Park, laying as it does amid ordinary tract housing, where one can walk along paths sheltered by century-old trees, watch birds in flight or nesting, study animals and plants, and let the mind wander.  It’s always easy to appreciate what we’ve built.  Strangely, we often forget that what we didn’t need to build, or develop, or reclaim, is also worth enjoying and protecting.  Wahram and Swan, who herald from Saturn and Mercury respectively, recognize the importance of Earth’s natural riches, and thus work to reclaim them.  But then, it’s always easy to appreciate what’s in another’s back yard.

What's in your backyard?

Dragon Dave

Related Internet Links

Dunedin Hammock Park