Ecotopia

Ernest Callenbach’s novel, Ecotopia, is about a fictional ecological utopia with a focus on recycling and living life with the smallest ecological impact possible. The book was released in 1974 and is set in a futuristic society of 1999. William Weston is the protagonist of the story. The book is written as a series of his diary entries and his professional articles. William is an American international affairs reporter that has been sent to Ecotopia to write a story. He works for the Times-Post in New York. He will be the first U.S. citizen to visit Ecotopia in nearly 20 years. Ecotopia is a relatively new nation that has seceded from the United States. It consists of what was formerly known as Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. There has been no official travel between the U.S. and Ecotopia since the secession. This has caused some tension between the two nations, this tension seems to seep into William’s work. There are rumors of Ecotopians having nuclear mines buried under major cities, and some refer to them as “cannibals” in a hostile manner. The divides between the peoples of the two nations most likely stem from the U.S. economic depression that followed Ecotopia’s secession. The U.S. experienced chronic inflation and shortages of fruit, lettuce, wine, cotton, paper, and lumber. Upon entering Ecotopia, William finds strange public transportation like seatless magnetic trains, battery driven minibuses, and electric taxis. William describes the middle of an Ecotopia city as being strangely quiet. It is surrounded by trees with very few vehicles taking up only two lanes of traffic. There are bicycles littered everywhere, free for the taking. The street is composed mainly of sidewalk were fountains and pavilions line the street. The old skyscrapers have been turned into apartment buildings and there are families gathered everywhere. William describes the Ecotopian people as “secondhand-looking,” as they wear patchwork clothing made up of reused materials. The style of clothing is loose fitting and brightly colored. The clothes are decorated with embroidery, shells, and feathers. This is an interesting look at how the Ecotopians recycle everything they possibly can. The behavior of the people themselves is also very interesting. According to William, they show very strong emotions in public. Couples will have heated arguments in front of crowds of people. One emotional outburst involved a woman kicking her partner out of rage, with no intervention from spectators until the man physically advanced on the woman. Even then, he was only restrained until the fight deescalated and the couple fell into each other’s arms again. William visits the Assistant Minister of Food for an interview. Most of his questions are ignored, but he learns quite a bit about how food waste, sewage, and garbage is handled in Ecotopia. The assistant minister describes their system as a “stable-state” which turns all organic waste is turned into fertilized which will be applied to the land and therefore cycles back into food. This is an interesting concept of an almost “zero waste” society. I am excited to continue reading to find out how “free” transportation is achieved, how the system of recycling is maintained, and if having a 20 hour work week is really sustainable.