科幻小說新流派：氣候變化小說

氣候變化小說是科幻小說的分支之一，它不同于傳統科幻小說虛構一些天馬行空的技術或外太空，這類小說通常是反烏托邦的，聚焦人類面臨的災難。氣候變化是人類面臨的現實問題。有人認為氣候變化小說可以改變人們的觀念，讓這些看上去高大上的問題更接地氣，也可喚醒大眾對該問題的關注。不過，也有人不認同小說能喚醒大眾對氣候變化問題的關注。信者恒信，不信者恒不信，科幻故事只能加強人們原有的信仰。

A new genre of fiction has emerged out of rising sea levels. Climate fiction， or “cli-fi”， is a sub-genre of science fiction. It imagines an often dystopian future where man struggles against the extremes of a changing environment.

全球變暖導致海平面上升，伴隨而來的還有一種新的小說流派。氣候變化小說，是科幻小說的一種。這種小說常常虛構一種黯淡悲觀的未來情境，在那里人類努力與極端變化的環境做斗爭。

Although it is still an unexplored territory in the Chinese literary circle， cli-fi in the English-speaking world has gained so much popularity that climate change literature is now a regular course in universities as geographically diverse as the US， the UK and India， according to a Reuters report. A brief amazon.com search of “climate fiction” returns more than 1，800 results， reflecting a growing demand for books that focus on environmental issues.

雖然氣候變化小說在中國文學圈還是一塊尚未勘探的領域，但它在英語世界國家已經大受歡迎。路透社報道說，在有些國家如美國、英國和印度，氣候變化文學已經成為大學的一門常規課程。在亞馬遜網站上稍微搜索一下“氣候變化小說”就會出現1800多個搜索結果，這反映了環境題材作品的需求量在不斷上升。

According to The Atlantic， cli-fi stories seldom talk about “imaginary technologies or faraway planets”， unlike traditional sci-fi. Cli-fi is a lot more down to earth. It examines the impacts of pollution， rising sea levels and global warming on human civilization. According to the article， the genres “ability to bridge science with the humanities and activism” makes environmental issues “more accessible to young readers， proving literature to be a surprisingly valuable tool in collective efforts to address global warming”.

據美國《大西洋月刊》所說，氣候變化小說不像傳統科幻小說那樣講的都是一些“虛構的科技或遙遠的星球”。氣候變化小說要接地氣得多。它剖析的是污染、海平面上升和全球變暖對人類文明的影響。按照該文章的說法，這類小說“架起科學與人文和行動主義之間的一座橋梁的能力”，讓環境問題“更容易為年輕讀者所接受，證明文學是呼吁集體行動來應對全球變暖的令人驚訝的寶貴工具”。

Although it is regarded as a new literary category， cli-fi has “roots in themes explored in fiction for decades”， says a Huffington Post article. French writer Jules Verne “explored climate change and sudden atmospheric temperature drops at the end of the 19th century in The Purchase of the North Pole”. British sci-fi master

J. G. Ballard created climate dystopia with The Wind From Nowhere （1961）.

《赫芬頓郵報》的一篇文章指出，氣候變化小說雖然被視為新的文學類型，但其實它“數十年來一直根植于探索科幻的小說主題中”。法國作家儒勒·凡爾納“在19世紀末就在小說《旋轉乾坤》中探討過氣候變化和氣溫突降問題”。英國科幻小說大師J. G. 巴德拉創作的《八面來風》（1961）標志著氣候反烏托邦流派的誕生。

But cli-fi has been made more appealing to younger generations thanks to its emergence in movies and TV shows. The Hollywood blockbuster Interstellar in 2014 has elements of cli-fi in its depictions of a future world gradually destroyed by sandstorms. In the 2013 movie Snowpiercer， a failed attempt to stop global warming creates a new ice age. Environmental themes also run through the Madd Addam trilogy， a series of best-sellers written by the prestigious Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood. The books are currently being adapted into a TV series for HBO.

但是由于在電影和電視劇中出現，氣候變化小說在年輕一代中更受歡迎。2014年的好萊塢大片《星際穿越》中描述未來世界被沙塵暴逐漸摧毀的情節就帶有氣候變化小說的元素。在2013年的電影《雪國列車》中，人類試圖阻止全球變暖卻未能成功，反而創造了全新的冰河時代。加拿大著名小說家瑪格麗特·阿特伍德的系列暢銷小說《馬德亞當》三部曲中也貫穿了環境主題。這套叢書最近正被美國HBO電視網改編為電視劇。

The term “cli-fi” was created by US writer and climate activist Dan Bloom. In an interview with The Atlantic， Bloom said he hoped the “catchy buzzword” would help “raise awareness about global warming”. The strategy seems to be working. In an article for The Guardian， UK cli-fi writer Sarah Holding wrote that the genre “reconnects young readers with their environment， helping them to value it more， especially when today， a large amount of their time is spent in the virtual world”.

“氣候變化小說”的概念由美國作家兼氣候變化社會活動家丹·布隆提出。在接受《大西洋月刊》采訪時，布隆說希望這個“朗朗上口的流行語”能幫助“引起大眾對全球變暖的關注”。這種策略似乎正在起作用。在為英國《衛報》撰寫的一篇文章中，英國氣候變化小說作家薩拉·霍爾丁寫道，這一流派“把年輕讀者和環境重新聯系起來，幫助他們更加重視環境，特別是現今，他們大量的時間都花在了虛擬世界。”

But not everyone is convinced of cli-fis potential. In an article for The New York Times， George Marshall， founder of UK-based Climate Outreach Information Network， expressed concern that cli-fi would reinforce what people already believe rather than change anyones minds. “The unconvinced will see these stories as proof that this issue is a fiction， exaggerated for dramatic effect，” he said. “The already convinced will be engaged， but overblown apocalyptic story lines may distance them from the issue of climate change or even objectify the problem.”

不過不是每個人都看好氣候變化小說的潛能。總部在英國的氣候服務信息網創始人喬治·馬歇爾在為《紐約時報》撰寫的一篇文章中就表達了自己的擔憂，他表示氣候變化小說能強化人們的固有觀念而非扭轉它們。“不相信的人會把這些小說當成氣候變化不存在的證據，氣候變化是為了戲劇效果而被夸大的，”他說。“而相信氣候變化的人則會繼續關注該問題，但這些夸張的世界末日的故事情節可能會讓他們疏離氣候變化的主題或者甚至讓該問題客觀化。”