Ecological Issues in
Science Fiction
Reference
and Critical Works | Anthologies | Alien
Ecologies/Ecological Puzzles | Ecological
Catastrophes (Mostly Man-Made) | Eco-Mysticism
and Eco-Feminism
Reference
and Critical Works
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Anderson, Poul. "The Creation
of Imaginary Worlds: The World Builder's Handbook and Pocket Companion."
Science
Fiction: Today and Tomorrow. Ed. Reginald Brentnor. Penguin, 1973,
pp. 235-58. A classic, hard science fiction
essay about how to create a scientifically plausible, self-consistent,
alien ecology.
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Barron, Neil, ed. Anatomy
of Wonder: A Critical Guide to Science Fiction. (3rd ed.) R.R. Bowker,
1987. A collection of annotated bibliographies on
science fiction in various time-periods and languages. Includes section
on Children's and Young Adult Science Fiction. Introduction to The Modern
Period: 1964-86 by Brain Stabelford mentions "ecological mysticism" (p.
219); annotations often reveal presence of ecological themes.
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Day, Phyllis J. "Earthmother/Witchmother:
Feminism and Ecology Revisited." Extrapolation 23.1 (1982): 12-21.
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Nicholls, Peter, ed. The
Science Fiction Encyclopedia. 1979. Entry on Ecology
by BS {Brian Stabelford?} sets up basic divisions of this bibliography
and mentions several novels and most of the short stories cited.
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Schweickart, Patrocinio. "What
If. . . Science and Technology in Feminist Utopias." Machina Ex Dea:
Feminist Perspectives on Technology. Ed. Joan Rothschild. Pergamon
Press, 1983, pp. 198-211.
Anthologies
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Carr, Terry, ed. Dream's
Edge: SF Stories About the Future of Planet Earth. San Francisco: Sierra
Club Books, 1980. ^ek
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Clem, Ralph S. et al, eds.
No
Room for Man! ^ek Collection of short stories
about over population.
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Clem, Ralph S. et al eds.
The
City 2000 A.D.: Urban Life Through Science Fiction. Fawcett, 1976.
^ek
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Disch, Thomas, ed. The Ruins
of Earth. (1981) ^ek A collection of ecological
catastrophe stories.
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Elwood, Roger and Virginia
Kidd, eds. The Wounded Planet (v.t.Saving Worlds) Intro by
Frank Herbert. Bantam, 1973. ^ek
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Gerald, Gregory Fitz and John
Dillon, eds. The Late Great Future. Fawcett, 1976. ek
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Harrison, Harry, ed. The
Year 2000. Twelve short stories including several
about the effects of pollution and two about racial conflict.
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Pohl, Frederick, ed. Nightmare
Age. Ballantine, 1970. Voyages: Scenarios for a Ship Called Earth.
(ZPG: Zero Population Growth) Ballantine, 1971.
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Stadler, John, ed. Eco-Fiction.
Pcket Books, 1971. ^ek
Alien
Ecologies/Ecological Puzzles
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1950 Kuttner, Henry. Fury
(v.t. Destination Infinity) 1950. Colonization
of Venus.
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1954 Clement, Hal. Mission
of Gravity. Classic extrapolation of life conditions
on Mesklin, a planet whose rotation is so fast it creates immense gravities,
forcing its lobster-like inhabitants to live in a largely two-dimensional
environment.
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1957 ---. Cycle of Fire.
1957 ---. Close to Critical (1964)
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1958-62 Aldiss, Brian. "PEST
[Planetary Ecological Survey Team]" Series
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1968 Anthony, Piers. Omnivore.
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1973 Coney, Michael. Syzgy(ecological
puzzle)
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1975 ---. Rax (v.t.
Hello
Summer, Goodbye)
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1974 Anderson, Poul. Fire
Time. Doubleday. Alien ecology designed along
lines of essay above.
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1984 Brunner, Jon. The Crucible
of Time. Arrow.
Ecological
Catastrophes (Mostly Man-Made)
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1949 Huxley, Aldous. Ape
and Essence.
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1950 Hymans, Edward. The
Astrologer. Soil exhaustion; short term thinking
by poli ticians.
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1954 Knight, Damon. "Natural
State"; Masters of Evolution, 1959.
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1956 Christopher, John.
No
Blade of Grass (v.t. The Death of Grass)^ek Plague
strikes all the world's grasses. (Have tape of movie version)
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1959 Cooper, Edmund. Seed
of Light. Industrial pollution has increased level
of carbon monoxide to the point it has almost destroyed life outside the
domed cities
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1959 Davis, Chandler. "Adrift
on the Policy Level." Attempt to warn corporation
of wheat blight.
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1963 Vonnegut, Kurt. Cat's
Cradle. ^ek Ice-nine, created to keep the Marines
from having to slog through mug, freezes all water on earth, but before
the end of the world, many are made happy by tenants of Bokononism -- a
new religion that embodies Vonnegut's central philosophical and ethical
ideals.
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1964 Ballard, James. The
Burning World. Industrial pollution prevents evaporation
of water, causing extensive drought.
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1965 Aldiss, Brian. Earthworks.
Chemical
pollution leads to complete soil exhaustion.
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1967 Zoline, Pamela. "The Heat
Death of the Universe." A New Wave story about entropy
and the life of a housewife.
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1969 Blish, James. "We All
Die Naked." Novella in Three for Tomorrow. Cited
as first prediction of the Greenhouse" effect.
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1969 Ehrlich, Paul. "Ecocatastrophe."
Short
story which presents a condensed version of his predictions in The Population
Bomb (1968).
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1970 Thomas, Theodore L. and
Kate Wilhelm. The Year of the Cloud. World
disaster caused by compound which fractionally increases viscosity of H2O
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1972 Brunner, John. The
Sheep Look Up. ^ek Most fully developed of eco-catastrophes;
based on extensive research. Tells story of destruction of the United States
through intersecting effects of agricultural, industrial, and military
pollution. Narrated in complex Dos Passos style from the point of view
of multiple characters, incorporating various media reports.
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1972 Offutt, Andrew J. The
Castle Keeps.
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1972 Wylie, Philip. The
End of the Dream.^ek Wylie's last book. A bitter,
horrific vision of the sequence of events which destroys the American Dream,
the book is an awful warning of what may come to pass if individual people
do not accept the responsibility for understanding and halting dangerous
technological excesses and carelessnesses.
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1973 McLaughlin, Dean. "To
Walk with Thunder." Pollution is permitted because
individuals can control personal, home environment.
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1974 Pedler, Kit and Gerry
Davis. Brainrack.
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1981 Hayes, Ralph. Last
View of Eden. Tower Books.^ek Story of what happens
when a powerful drain cleaner/solvent is accidentally mixed up with bags
of animal feed. (Made into a movie with Ron Howard?)
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1985 Herbert, Brian. The
Garbage Chronicles. Berkeley.^ek Son of Frank
Herbert; earth throwing garbage into space rather than recycling.
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1986 Streiber, Whitney and
James Kunetka. Nature's End. ^ek Carefully
envisioned, methodical account of environmental processes (destruction
of the rain forests, uncontrolled population growth) which bring the world
to the brink of a terrible choice: the Depopulation movement advocates
a death draft by which 1/3 of earth's population will die; they are opposed
only by a small band of super-intelligent children.
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1990 Brin, David. Earth.
(Hardback out in May) Bantam.^ek Story of near-future
earth (fifty years from now) which has managed to solve a few of the current
environmental problems -- endangered species, however, have been moved
into Life Arks because of irrevocable habitat destruction. Question of
our planetary responsibility is most acutely raised when military research
releases a small Black Hole into the center of the earth.
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1991 Tobias, Michel. Fatal
Exposure. Pocket Books. ^ek Ozone hole over Seattle
causes massive die-offs, blindness, panic among residents of Seattle as
the goverment attempts to cover up.
Eco-Mysticism
and Eco-Feminism
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1965 Herbert, Frank. Dune.
Major
classic in ecological world creation. Posits existence of a desert world
with intricate water-saving ecology.
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1966 Herbert, Frank. The
Green Brain. Ace. On overpopulated earth, attempt
to eradicate all insects backfires, causing massive adaptational changes
by which remaining insects form interconnective, communal brain which tries
to communicate with isolate mankind.
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1972 Le Guin, Ursula. The
Word for World is Forest. Post-Viet Nam account
of de-forestation of a tree world by the Colonial Marines. Intricate ecological
matrix is shared by dreaming, right-brained natives to whom the Marines
teach the meaning of murder.
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1975 Callenbach, Ernst.
Ecotopia.
Utopia in the tradition of Looking Backward
which imagines the secession of the West Coast from the rest of the United
States and the establishment of a neo-hippy society based on communal ideals
of property sharing and harmony with natural processes. Became a cult favorite
among New Agers and European devotees of "green politics." Also see prequel,
Ecotopia Emerging (1981, Bantam)
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1976 Doris Pichera. Earthchild.
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1979 Varley, John. Titan.
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1981 ---. Wizard.
Adventures
on a wheel shaped world genetically engineered by a goddess, Gaia, who
tailors species to replace technological mechanisms.
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1981 Schmidt, Dennis. Satori.
Ace. Last book in trilogy including Way-Farer
and Kensho which describes life on colony world which has combined
Zen-like spiritual discipline with limited technological development.
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1987 Le Guin, Ursula. Buffalo
Gals and Other Animal Presences. A series of short
pieces and poetry which take place in the Dream Time where humans can think
through the thoughts of animals and plants, empathetically participating
in the presence of natural life.