There’s been some discussion on the web recently about the use of the term “cli-fi” as a sub-genre of science fiction that deals with climate change. Speaking personally, I like the term. I’m teaching two cli-fi literature courses at Vanderbilt University this semester (one to freshmen and one to senior citizens in the greater Nashville
Continue reading »Author Archives: "edward rubin"
Let’s Not Give Right Wing White People Permission to Violate the Law
A militia group, declaring itself in support of local ranchers, has occupied a building at the Malheur Federal Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon. The ranchers, it seems, object to the fact that the United States government owns a substantial amount of the land in this sparsely populated area and is attempting to preserve this land
Continue reading »It’s the Conservatives Who Are Killing Christmas
‘Tis the season, once again, for conservatives to bemoan de-Christianization of Christmas. In a recent Wall Street Journal editorial, Daniel Henninger declares this to be the “year Christmas died.” His evidence, after a brief swipe at a University of Tennessee diversity notice, is the succession of shop windows along Fifth Avenue. “Forget public Nativity
Continue reading »Introducing “The Heatstroke Line”: A Modern Portrayal of Post-Climate Change America
In his new book, “The Heatstroke Line,” Edward Rubin explores an America ravaged by the disastrous effects of climate change. Coastal cities have become uninhabitable, sweltering heat devastates the interior and an ensuing civil war has broken the nation into smaller successor states and dozens of tiny principalities. Canada, where the climate remains tolerable, dominates
Continue reading »Pakistan’s Heatstroke Epidemic is a Sign of Things to Come if we Don’t Take Action on Climate Change
The killer heat wave currently afflicting southern Pakistan provides us with a vivid image of what the world will look like for our children and our grandchildren if we don’t take action against human-induced climate change. Of course, everyone except James Inhofe – who is unfortunately the chair of the Senate Committee on Environment
Continue reading »Second Thoughts about Steven Pinker’s Better Angels of Our Nature and the New Morality
Recent cases of horrific, cold-blooded murders lead one to wonder about Steven Pinker’s intriguing hypothesis that human history leads naturally, if not inevitably, to the decline of violence. From Dylann Roof going to a church service and then pulling out a gun and shooting everyone in sight, to Islamic fundamentalists calmly beheading and incinerating captured
Continue reading »With Pope Francis’ Encyclical, the Climate Change Deniers Have Become Papal Morality Deniers As Well
Pope Francis’ encyclical on climate change, Laudato Sii, presents American conservatives with a serious dilemma. For several decades, they have been relying on the Catholic Church to support their political position on issues such as birth control, abortion, homosexuality and women’s rights. Now, the leader of the Church, in the most definitive type of statement
Continue reading »Laws Against Assisted Suicide Violate Moral and Religious Freedom
The prohibition against assisted suicide, now the law in all but three states, is currently being debated in a number of state legislatures. In addition, judges in two more states, New Mexico and Montana, have issued decisions that permit assistance under certain circumstances, a sign that change may be on the way. It is long
Continue reading »Ireland’s Same Sex Marriage Vote and the New Morality of Self-Fulfillment
Ireland’s Same Sex Marriage Vote and the New Morality of Self-Fulfillment The overwhelming vote in Ireland’s national referendum to make same sex marriage a constitutional right – the first time this result has been achieved by popular mandate – might raise questions about why this has occurred in a nation known for its intense commitment
Continue reading »James (“Snowball”) Inhofe’s Climate Change Hoax Hoax
James (“Snowball”) Inhofe’s Climate Change Hoax Hoax James Inhofe, Chair of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee, disproved the possibility of global warming, at least to his own satisfaction, by bring a snowball into the Senate chamber. But how is he to explain the fact that the vast majority of university researchers throughout the
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