TW: The book mentioned in this post includes extremely graphic sexual violence and two graphic (consensual) chapters of sex. In the article below, I’ll be mentioning sexual violence, but not in detail.
If you are anything like me before I read this book, then you probably believe climate change is real, and that people who deny it are doing the earth a disservice. However, after reading this book, you’ll believe that climate change is real and very near and that people who deny it are playing a part in our very imminent dissolution as a society. Paolo Bacigalupi’s novel, “The Water Knife”, explores a somewhat post-apocalyptic and extremely dissolved America, with the main focus being on California, Nevada (Las Vegas), New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona (Phoenix), and Texas.
The biggest problem in the book is the lack of water due to an extremely severe drought (much like one California has been facing for six years now). The largest source of water is the Colorado River, and the characters in the book painfully learn that water is not an infinite resource, which spurs the hunt for senior (the oldest) water rights to the Colorado River. However, it’s Bacigalupi’s own opinions about the world he created, and the background details of the world, that worry me.
In the story, the United States has basically disintegrated, and the states mentioned in the book seem to be on the verge of a civil war over water rights and water usage. One character, Maria, exemplifies how the common person struggles to live through the aftermath of the drought and lack of water. She can barely pay rent, and a man called the Vet controls the area she lives in. Her roommate is a prostitute, which is not uncommon for girls who are struggling in the novel. There are a number of militias and gangs, and people often use sexual violence as a means of torture. One of the characters is found dead early on in the book, and he is a victim of sexual violence.
Paolo Bacigalupi himself said that the world in “The Water Knife” is not so far away:
“When I wrote Water Knife in my mind, the novel happened in over 20 years, in 50 years, further, at a safe distance. But the more I look the at the presidential campaign, the more I realize what is at stake, the more I tell myself I deluded myself that Water Knife, politically and climatically, is perhaps closer than I thought, maybe be in 5 or 10 years only. When you see the country Trump, hate waves to overseas it develops, when seen Brexit, we return to my initial question: ‘If it continues like this, where do we go?’ I do not like these trends, they worry me.’ (Translated from French)
This quote, coupled with Donald Trump’s environmental stances, is extremely worrisome. President-elect Trump has promised to get rid of NASA’s climate research funds, dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency, and approve the Keystone XL Pipeline, to name a few detrimental mistakes in the battle against climate change.
So what can you, the average American reader, do to help us win this seemingly lost battle? The EPA has created a resource page for what you can do at home, on the road, at school, and at the office; use it and share it while it’s still here!
