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While the Anthropocene has traditionally been associated with apocalyptic images, the notion of the good Anthropocene, widely criticized since its origin, has emerged as its utopian counterpart. In his novel The Ministry for the Future (2020), Kim Stanley Robinson explicitly uses the name “good Anthropocene” to refer to the state of the world at the end of the story, more sustainable and equitable. This article examines the utopian and dystopian connotations of the (good) Anthropocene and analyzes how Robinson utilizes the term in his narrative; in particular, it focuses on his employment of narrative structure to convey the multiplicity of the Anthropocene, his preoccupation with discerning the socio-cultural origins of the epoch and his intention of conveying the positive future of the story as achievable through active hope and collaboration.

Three recent climate fictions set in New York City—Nathaniel Rich's Odds Against Tomorrow (2013), Lev Rosen's Depth (2015), and Kim Stanley Robinson's New York 2140 (2017)—reimagine urban space in climate crisis. Reflecting contemporary concerns, Rich, Rosen, and Robinson represent Manhattan in novel ways: as an ecosystem and a multi-species habitat. This imaginary city reaches deep into the bedrock and expands into (and beyond) the New York Bight to reveal a vaster, unfamiliar, less human-centered eco-polis. Although the novels depart from anthropocentric traditions of urban representation, their portrayals of the relationship between the city and its environment recall Romantic and colonial tropes (the aesthetization of “nature” as an autonomous realm, the romance of wilderness, the erasure of Native histories). These fictions highlight the challenge of forging new spatial imaginaries for the Anthropocene.

In an interview with Kamran Abbasi, Kim Stanley Robinson, whose book is the inspiration behind The BMJ’s special issue, talks about his admiration for the medical profession and why he still has hope in troubling times

Kim Stanley Robinson A Jövő Minisztériuma (The Ministry for the Future) című regénye 2020-ban jelent meg. A mű a szerző korábbi, New York 2140 című tudományos-fantasztikus disztópiá­jának továbbgondolása és egyben konceptuális folytatása. Míg azonban a New York-regény figyelme a kapitalizmus vég nélküli növekedésében érdekelt és ennek következtében fenntarthatatlan működésmódjára irányul, addig A Jövő Minisztériuma immár az externáliák folytán jelentkező klímaváltozásra, továbbá annak a társadalmakra, illetve az egyénekre gyakorolt hatásaira összpontosít. A tanulmány a tőkés rendszerrel, a tömegtermeléssel és -fogyasztással kapcsolatos kritikai attitűd kialakításának, illetve felerősítésének fontosságát hangsúlyozza, miközben rámutat a regényben jelentkező technooptimista vonatkozásokra. A klímaváltozás regénybeli megjelenését tágabb interdiszciplináris, az éghajlatváltozásra irányuló természet­tudományos-empirikus diskurzus összefüggésében tárgyalja.

This paper explores the behavioural and social dimensions of false consciousness and climate anxiety in European contexts. Building on Marxist theory of false consciousness, it examines how dominant ideologist and capitalist structures foster denial and dismissiveness toward climate change, thus delaying or preventing necessary action to address it. As the realities of climate crisis become harder to ignore, individuals and societies experience climate anxiety characterized by a sense of helplessness and dread. Recent studies by Panu Pihkala on the concept of climate anxiety help us understand how false consciousness can prevent climate awareness but also exacerbate climate anxiety once it breaks down. By analyzing literary representations in The Overstory and The Ministry for the Future along with European policy responses, this study sheds light on the environmental distress caused by breaking down of the false consciousness and awakening to the reality of climate change. This interdisciplinary study unpacks the behavioural impact of climate awareness in the society and also highlights the need to address the root causes of climate change denial to foster a more proactive response to environmental concerns in European policymaking.

[...]the setting of Private Rites has less to do with the titular 'drowned world' of Ballard's novel, a work retrospectively (and erroneously) reclaimed for climate change fiction, than with a running preoccupation in Armfield's writing that she equates with her lived condition as a young gay woman residing in a patriarchal and heterosexist society. In particular, the constricted spaces, degraded living conditions, haphazard work routines, periods of languor, rising tempers and bursts of sexual energy all speak to the weird temporalities of life lived under the plague. In the final, calculated whitening-out of her prose, we sense the New Weird - so vivid and bright at the start of this century - turn pale and cold like the guttering, melancholic light of a dying sun.

The 'butterfly effect' is an underlying principle of chaos theory- a branch of mathematics and physics developed by Edward Norton Lorenz in 1960s- resting on the notion that a small occurrence can influence a complex system. In the same vein, the butterfly effect as an interdisciplinary approach applied to sociohistorical studies describes how seemingly insignificant individual actions can initiate significant sociohistorical consequences within complex systems. Accordingly, the \"butterfly effect\" highlights the agency of individuals and the profound effects their choices can generate. Guided by this principle, the present study aims at exploring the alternate history presented in Kim Stanley Robinson's The Years of Rice and Salt (2002). The novel explores a pivotal point of divergence: what if the Black Death plague had annihilated 99% of Europe's population instead of a third. The Years of Rice and Salt also tries to speculate how the absence of European colonization and imperialism shapes the world, including the rise of new powers and the impact on cultural, political, and scientific advancements. Through the lens of the principle of the \"butterfly effect\", the study attempts to offer a comprehensive understanding of the intricate interplay between sociopolitical conflicts and individual agency within the novel's micro-macro structure and to explore diverse perspectives on how these forces interact, shaping the course of history in this alternate reality.