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I've had some interesting discussions on just how far back climate change concerns go back in sci-fi. There are famous works as far back to the 1950s from my re

I've had some interesting discussions on just how far back climate change concerns go back in sci-fi. There are famous works as far back to the 1950s from my reading. To be fair, you do have to discount and untangle many of the very wrong and worst parts (especially eugenics) of Malthusianism [1] the further back you go, but environmentalism and anthropogenic climate change (even if the models of the causes were sometimes very wrong) have long been concerns in sci-fi used to provide many, many warnings (of some stuff we see applicable today as more than just fiction, sadly). "Soylent Green" has its Malthusianism to discount as well ("Green" as a solution is eugenics and a warning of "Soylent Green" is one to beware of eugenics as a deeply suspect solution to anthropogenic climate change). (That's still sometimes a message people need to hear today. Eugenics is nearly an anti-solution, but plenty of people still raise the specter of it when climate change gets debated.) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusianism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusianism

dTal 3y ago
Some interesting examples predating the 1950s: In the far-future world of The Machine Stops (1909), the Earth's surface is uninhabitable and respirators are required to even breathe outside. I don't think it's explained why, but it's hard not to connect it with The Machine, and the general apathy the population displays towards the natural world. The there's The Man Who Awoke (1933) which I have not read but from Wikipedia seems like a very clear cut example: "a man who awakes from suspended animation in various future eras and learns about the destruction to the Earth's climate, caused by overuse of fossil fuels, global warming, and deforestation. People of the future refer to 20th century humans as "the wasters"." I suspect the concept of anthropogenic climate change, accidental or deliberate, is probably about as old as sci-fi - the concerns would have become apparent as soon as the industrial revolution started visibly wrecking the environment.
- archo 3y ago
  'Fritz Lang's Metropolis' Metropolis (1927 film) : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_(1927_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_(1927_film) Fritz Lang's Films - IMDb : https://www.imdb.com/list/ls006049088/ https://www.imdb.com/list/ls006049088/ Fritz Lang Filmography : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Lang_filmography https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Lang_filmography

dTal 3y ago

Some interesting examples predating the 1950s: In the far-future world of The Machine Stops (1909), the Earth's surface is uninhabitable and respirators are required to even breathe outside. I don't think it's explained why, but it's hard not to connect it with The Machine, and the general apathy the population displays towards the natural world. The there's The Man Who Awoke (1933) which I have not read but from Wikipedia seems like a very clear cut example: "a man who awakes from suspended animation in various future eras and learns about the destruction to the Earth's climate, caused by overuse of fossil fuels, global warming, and deforestation. People of the future refer to 20th century humans as "the wasters"." I suspect the concept of anthropogenic climate change, accidental or deliberate, is probably about as old as sci-fi - the concerns would have become apparent as soon as the industrial revolution started visibly wrecking the environment.

archo 3y ago
'Fritz Lang's Metropolis' Metropolis (1927 film) : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_(1927_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_(1927_film) Fritz Lang's Films - IMDb : https://www.imdb.com/list/ls006049088/ https://www.imdb.com/list/ls006049088/ Fritz Lang Filmography : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Lang_filmography https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Lang_filmography