How sci-fi informs our climate future — and what to do next | Zainab Usman

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4.1 • 11.9K Ratings

🗓️ 13 February 2024

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Science fiction authors have warned us for decades: division among global leaders can quickly create dystopia. Political economist Zainab Usman thinks present-day power struggles may seriously hinder the world’s ability to fight climate change, with similarly disastrous results. She highlights three areas of particular economic concern, urging scholars, business leaders and policymakers to do more to align against the growing threat. (Contains spoilers for "The Three-Body Problem" by Liu Cixin)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Ted Audio Collective.
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0:13.2	Some of the most well-known works of science fiction paint a rather bleak future of how humanity
0:18.8	will react to existential threats.
0:21.9	But political economist Zayneb Usman believes these stories also shed light on a more hopeful path forward.
0:29.6	She lays it out in her 2023 talk from the TED Countdown Summit after a sponsor message.
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1:23.0	We don't have to look far to see how humanity's fights against climate change might play out.
1:30.0	Science fiction authors from around the world writing from different traditions coalesce on one point.
1:38.0	A divided world unable to fight the common threat.
1:42.0	In session, liues the three-body problem. unable to fight the common threat.
	...

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