Just some thoughts on my visit to the University of Stavanger Asia-Norway Environmental Storytelling (ANEST) Conference.

I’m flattered to be out here all the way from CUHK-SZ to attend this conference, where I am on my usual future-studies environmental beat. For this paper, I am going to propose a new genre of science fiction. Sure we have Sci Fi. We have Cli Fi (climate fiction). We have Chi Cli Fi (chinese climate fiction, or the next class I intend to teach). But what do don’t have yet is SILLY FI.

And by “silly fi” I mean “sili fi” — “silicon valley science fiction.” This is, genre-speaking, near-future climate fiction written by silicon valley nerds who genuinely believe in the power of private capital, just-in-time-technology, various geoengineering futures, etc., to save us all from the coming climate apocalypse. Such stories are usually thinly-veiled libertarian wet dream speculative futures. The major novum is Global Warming and its effects in the near future. The secondary novum is the technologies they play with. These stories are always highly suspicious of the ability of any centralized government to help in any way whatsoever. And usually, some plucky, independent, self-sufficient hero who certainly doesn’t pay taxes and needs no free health insurance is right in the thick of it. SILI-FI.

On a less cynical note, I’d like to write some observations on Norway here. What a country! The moment I stepped off of the plane into the dry, cool air, the sunshine, the green, the unhindered wifi, the drinkable tapwater–oh wow, we aren’t in Shenzhen anymore. Beers here are about 16 dollars a pint. Hard to buy a meal for fewer than twenty dollars. 150 dollars will get you a decent sheepskin. Public transportation is very good. These people put their high taxes to good use: downtown Stavanger is beautiful and fun.

Norway was basically one of the poorest countries in Europe until 1969 when they discovered a massive oil deposit under the North Sea. They shipped in a bunch of American oil engineers, and we taught them how to drill (thanks Texas!). The economy of Norway flipped from being mostly dependent on textiles, farming, salmon, and sardines to — OIL OIL OIL OIL. Everything you know and love in Norway is built on oil. Almost everyone was employed either directly or indirectly in oil. Every person I’ve met over the age of 45 was in oil. Prosperity = oil. And this is still the case.

Norway is slightly smaller than California. It’s population is 5.5 million to California’s 40 million. The vast majority of them live in the south of Norway (you get tax breaks to live in the north!). 140k of them live in Stavanger, and half a million live in the county of Stavanger (Rogaland). Most cities in China have greater populations than Norway.

If you average the coastline, Norway has about 2,500 of land on the sea. However, if you include all the fjords, the coastline of Norway is 27,000km long.