<
https://grist.org/looking-forward/from-fiction-to-reality-could-airships-be-the-key-to-greener-travel/>
"Last month, we hosted our second Looking Forward book club gathering,
exploring Kim Stanley Robinson’s
Ministry for the Future. Stan himself joined
us to talk about how he approached writing science fiction set just a few
decades from today, and his decision to make that future a hopeful one. In
smaller groups, we discussed our reactions to the ideas presented in the book,
as well as our own climate work and ideas.
One theme we didn’t get to was Stan’s vision of the future of travel.
Ministry
for the Future includes some memorable travel scenes; Mary Murphy, the
ministry’s leader and one of the book’s protagonists, journeys from Switzerland
to California by clipper ship and high-speed rail, enjoying the scenery and
serenity. Later, she joins a wildlife observation tour on a dirigible (a type
of airship). The passengers watch caribou migrating over tundra stretching to
the horizon; they land on a snowy meadow, inaccessible by road, in Yosemite
National Park to observe a family of wolverines. As they fly, they see other
airships: “Giant robot freighters, circular sky villages under rings of
balloons, actual clippers of the clouds sporting sails or pulled by kites,
hot-air balloons in their usual rainbow array.”
Those visions of a world where airships are the predominant mode of sky travel
resonated with many readers — and the idea that, in a sustainable world,
long-distance travel will become slower, rarer, and more intentional. But how
close are we to a future where that is the norm? For this newsletter, we’re
taking a look at the future of air travel, and those who have chosen to forgo
it in the present."
Via Bill Daul.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
