Can Science Fiction Motivate Us to Save the Environment? November 12, 2010

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Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2010/08/28/Kim_Stanley_Robinson_In_Conversation

Author Kim Stanley Robinson compares science fiction to weather forecasts: the predictions are not necessarily accurate, he says, but they can change the way people approach the future and live their daily lives.

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American science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson, best known for his award-winning "Mars" trilogy, joins Lucy Sussex at the Melbourne Writers Festival to discuss the inspiration for his work and the problems facing planet Earth.

Robinson explains to his audience why it is important for everyone to know about science, especially in the face of the climate change crisis. It's a subject very close to the author's heart: virtually all of Robinson's novels have an ecological component with sustainability being one of his major themes. Robinson also defends science fiction, believing it deserves more attention by literary awards such as the Booker Prize. After all, if one of his favorite authors, Virginia Woolf, was a science fiction fan, why can't contemporary literary audiences appreciate the genre more? - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Kim Stanley Robinson is a science fiction writer known for his award-winning Mars trilogy. His work delves into ecological and sociological themes regularly, and many of his novels appear to be the direct result of his own scientific fascinations, such as the fifteen years of research and lifelong fascination with the planet Mars.

Robinson's work has been labeled by reviewers as literary science fiction.

Robinson was an instructor at the Clarion Workshop in 2009. In 2010, Robinson was guest of honor at the 68th World Science Fiction Convention, held in Melbourne, Australia.