Building a Beautiful Climate Future Starts with Imagination

This column is part of聽, a global journalism collaboration cofounded by聽Columbia Journalism Review听补苍诲听The Nation聽to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

It鈥檚 been a heavy week for those of us who want to preserve life on earth. Somehow, the latest, greatest hope for a livable future is in the hands of one man鈥攁 senator, not even a king! Given how few Americans voted for him, it鈥檚 absurd that Joe Manchin has so much national influence. But when you factor in the scale of U.S. power and its historic and current responsibility for the climate crisis, it鈥檚 downright grotesque.

When Senator Ed Markey joined climate activists outside of the Capitol on October 7, , 鈥淭here鈥檚 no middle ground between a livable and an unlivable world.鈥�

But there is a world in between鈥攁nd 飞别鈥檙别 in it now. It鈥檚 a world where everything feels tenuous, like if you touch anything, it might all crumble. It鈥檚 one where you feel uneasy making plans months in advance, because you can鈥檛 picture the future. Today, coming up with a 10-year plan feels ridiculous鈥攍ike building a house on quicksand.

As we careen from crisis to crisis, it鈥檚 hard not to wonder whether the world is ending. But, for the only species with a record, for better or worse, of intentionally changing the planet, that鈥檚 a cop-out. The real question isn鈥檛 about what the world is doing, it鈥檚 about what 飞别鈥檙别 doing. It鈥檚 not whether the world is ending or beginning. It鈥檚 whether 飞别鈥檙别 creating or destroying it. And the answer is, of course, both.

The climate crisis is a crisis of many things: science, economics, politics, immigration. As the author Amitav Ghosh said, 鈥渢he climate crisis is also a crisis of culture, and thus of the imagination.鈥� To be clear, that doesn鈥檛 mean innovation or invention鈥攚e鈥檝e got loads of ideas for solar panels and microgrids. While we have all of these pieces, we don鈥檛 have a picture of how they come together to build a new world. For too long, the climate fight has been limited to scientists and policy experts. While we need those skills, we also need so much more. When I survey the field, it鈥檚 clear that what we desperately need is more artists.

We talk a lot about building a 鈥渓ivable future,鈥� but what does that really mean? Not much for those of us barely surviving today. Furthermore, I don鈥檛 want a future that鈥檚 merely livable. I want a beautiful world. I鈥檓 sick of nightmares, and I鈥檓 ready to dream again.

I鈥檇 like to introduce to everyone the concept of . At its core, world-building is what it sounds like: the process of creating an imaginary world for a work of fiction. It鈥檚 the practice of taking the ideas in your head, the sensations from your imagination, and allowing people to see what you see, feel what you feel. It鈥檚 as much about creating new things as it is about destroying old structures and assumptions. It鈥檚 an art, not a science.

World-building is often thought to be the domain of science fiction, but any work of fiction, or even nonfiction, requires it. You have to build the world as your character sees it, because as every novelist knows, world-building is more about the characters than about the environment. And so it is in life: None of us experiences the world the same way, so we live in our own little versions of it.

We need to apply world-building to the planet we live on. While artists might be the most accomplished at this, they can鈥檛 do it alone this time. We鈥檙e all going to have to push our imaginations. Here鈥檚 one way to start: Close your eyes and think of the world as you see it. Remember that world-building begins with the main character. (That鈥檚 you!) So ask yourself: Who are you, and what do you stand for? And now, what do the people around you stand for?

Picture your surroundings. Observe everything that鈥檚 beautiful and everything that鈥檚 ugly, scary, uncertain: the storms, the fires, the injustices, the screaming, the gnashing of teeth. As you consider your surroundings鈥攊ncluding the laws of society and mores of culture鈥攖ake note of how you feel in them, how you interact with them. Think about what you can change and what you can鈥檛. Open your eyes. Breathe.

Now, close your eyes and imagine the world you want to live in. You鈥檙e starting with the same main character. (Still you!) But maybe the people around you have changed. What do they value in this world? How do they treat each other? What鈥檚 important in this new world, and what isn鈥檛? What does power鈥攏ot just electricity鈥攍ook like? How does the air feel on your skin? What does it smell like? In my world, there鈥檚 laughter and lightness in the air, and it鈥檚 not weighed down with those noxious chemicals that make my nose burn. Memorize your version鈥攅very detail, every sensation. You鈥檒l need to keep coming back here until you make it real.

When you open your eyes, ask yourself: Is there something from that world I can bring into this one? That鈥檚 your job now. If 飞别鈥檙别 going to make the world over, let鈥檚 do it right. Let鈥檚 make a masterpiece.

This story originally appeared in and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.