Kim Stanley Robinson was named a Muir Environmental Fellow from the John Muir College of UC San Diego on April 21, along with sustainability professor Lisa Shaffer and ocean scientist Paul Dayton. The Muir College names selected individuals whose work has contributed significantly to the cause of sustainability and environmental preservation. The first Fellows were selected in 2011, in connection with the 50th anniversary of UC San Diego.

Dayton, Shaffer, Robinson, and John Muir College Provost Susan Smith

On the UCSD panel discussion on "World Building and Contemporary Art" on April 22 (announced previously here), Robinson talked about the Singularity. An article on this appeared on science20.com, but it seems to have been taken out. I'm reproducing it here:

The Singularity? It's Just A Metaphor

I heard an interesting panel discussion over at UCSD today. One of the panelists was Kim Stanley Robinson. If you're a sci-fi fan like me, you might recognize the name; he wrote the Mars trilogy, "Red Mars", "Green Mars", "Blue Mars", about a fictional human colonization of the Red Planet. Anyway, I saw Robinson's name on the panelist list, and it piqued my curiosity, so I went along. Good thing, too, because my curiosity was amply rewarded with what turned out to be a very interesting discussion.

Robinson pointed out that young readers prefer fantasy to sci-fi -- and have for some years, starting back in the late 1990s. Why? Well, by his way of thinking, it's partly because fantasy is escapist. Most fantasy novels are set in mythic feudal worlds where heroes and villains wield magical powers and modern-day technology is conspicuously absent. In other words, it's entirely divorced from our present reality. It looks to the past, whereas sci-fi looks to the future. And starting back in the 1990s, Robinson says, we have become ever more pessimistic about the future.

Back in the 1950s, we were optimistic about where our world was headed, and (most) science fiction faithfully reflected that optimism, describing a society where the "engineer's fantasy" of flying cars and smart homes had become reality. (Think The Jetsons.) Starting in the 1980s, however, sci-fi renounced this sunny vision in favor of a more dystopian take on our prospects. (Think cyberpunk). Now, Robinson says, if you say you believe we can survive the next century, some people label you a utopian. Think of that! it's utopian to say we can make it, we can survive.

On April 19, on the Australian radio ABC, Robinson appeared in "The Book Show" and talked about his favourite recent sci-fi novels for the 'Off the Shelf' segment:
- Newton's Wake by Ken MacLeod
- Life by Gwyneth Jones
- Air by Geoff Ryman
- Yellow Blue Tibia by Adam Robertson
- Red Plenty by Francis Spufford

Speaking of reviews of other science fiction novels, Robinson participated in a Guardian article with various genre writers offering their views on past favourites: Robinson chose Ursula K Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness. Lots of other good reviews on that article too.

The above article was made on the occasion of the opening of the British Library's exhibition on the history of science fiction, 'Out of this World', where apparently Robinson's works are also featured. The exhibition runs from May 20 to September 25 2011.

Robinson was featured in Rick Kleffel's Agony Column interviews site along with fellow writer Rudy Rucker. Apparently the interview ("Seeing the Future with Kim Stanley Robinson and Rudy Rucker") was done as a 'live' session, from Santa Cruz on June 4, however only a preview from May 31 is online.

Kim Stanley Robinson also made various appearances in California as of late:
- At the Whole Earth Festival at UC Davis on "The Invention of Permaculture", on May 7
- With Terry Bisson on "The Politics of Science Fiction and the Left" at Sacramento, on May 9
- At the John Muir Institute of the Environment (UC Davis) for the Education for Sustainable Living Program, on May 25: "Imagining Post-Capitalism"
...but not much surfaced on this on the internets.

Finally, like last year, Robinson is participating in this year's Clarion UCSD's Write-a-thon, from June 26 to August 6. With the writing of 2312 presently completed (more on that later), I wonder what he is writing there!...

More odds & ends coming soon...