A review by quintusmarcus
Welcome to the Greenhouse: New Science Fiction on Climate Change by Gordon Van Gelder

4.0

The great value of science fiction is the opportunity good stories offer to think about possible futures. Most reasonable people now accept the reality of global warming and climate change, but what does that really mean for the future? Welcome to the Greenhouse, a new collection of short stories from O/R books, helps to answer that question. Stories that range from the merely alarming to the completely apocalyptic lay out possible long- and not so long-term scenarios for life on a climatologically changed Earth. Brian Aldiss' "Benkoelen" establishes the basic picture for many of the stories: "As the oceans of the world began to heave their mighty shoulders...Many another island sank beneath the waves, many a coastline was consumed." Likewise, in Joseph Green's excellent "Turtle Love", coastal Floridians come to grips with mandatory evictions as the government performs triage on the communities reclaimed by the ocean. As residents flee to new communities on higher ground, conservationist's efforts to save sea turtles become a metaphor for saving the human race. Judith Moffet's subtle "Middle of Somewhere" looks at sustainability; other stories ("The California Queen Comes A-Calling", "The Men of Summer") examine the possible social consequences of massive climate change. Most surprising, though, was Alan Dean Foster's "That Creeping Sensation". In his story, an oxygen-rich world drives the massive growth and proliferation of giant insects. Although he handles the story with a light touch, it's really the most shocking of the collection. Hats off to Mr. Foster, for creating a completely plausible and thoroughly disgusting new nightmare scenario! This is a varied and well-assembled collection, of value not just to science fiction enthusiasts, but to anyone trying to understand the consequences of human-driven climate change.