Patricia was talking about the Californian fires. I wanted to say this in response, but I used too many words: "This is exactly what I have tried to do in my novel, The Panopticon Experiment. The future does look bleak but I wanted to create a post-apocalyptic world in which we have learned from our mistakes, where there is hope. One of my readers said it was a nice alternative to all the alt-right madness of today. But as for politics and whether or not we should discuss it, I agree when it comes to party politics, but the environmental crisis goes beyond politics. It is a humanitarian/global crisis that should not be ignored. If we ignore it we are complicit in the whole tragedy. But then, having said that, people need escapism too, just like they need beauty and art (in whatever form) in the world because those things feed the soul. So create works that do not fuel the negative!"
