SAM BLEICHER: THE PLOT TO COOL THE PLANET
Environmental lawyer turned author Sam Bleicher talks with Big Blend Radio about his new novel, “The Plot to Cool the Planet,” that puts global warming at the center of a gripping speculative fiction story that involves a murder mystery, a daring secret plot, and dangerous international controversy and conflict.
In “The Plot to Cool the Planet,” author Sam Bleicher draws on his broad knowledge as an environmental lawyer, academic, and government official to craft a narrative around real-world threats to the human species.
But the story isn’t just about an abstract future danger. When an outspoken climate scientist is murdered in 2020, the Canadian investigators are convinced the motive lies in her push for a controversial, untested method to slow global warming. They are determined to find not only the murderer but also those who paid for her assassination.
With each passing year, the world she has left behind suffers from more extreme storms, disappearing polar icecaps, recurring floods, and falling agricultural and fishery yields. These changes disrupt modern coastal cities and undermine national economies everywhere. But the world’s leaders are unwilling to act, as short-term economic gains come head-to-head with the long-term well-being of humanity. In desperation, a handful of small-state diplomats pursue a rogue plan to implement a solar geo-engineering experiment, disregarding international procedures and institutions in an attempt to save their island nations and the world at large.
While the book’s storyline is fiction, Bleicher marshals scientific fact to convey the urgent need to avoid the irreversible impacts of global warming. He watched over the decades as the scientific community grew increasingly alarmed about the disastrous consequences of climate change. Bleicher hopes his novel will bring these abstract dangers to life and make them more accessible to people not already plugged into the scientific conversation.
“In the absence of a guaranteed cheap, easy, and reliable fix, most of the world continues to plan and build new infrastructure for fossil fuel energy, transportation, and commercial activity,” Bleicher says. “If we don’t abandon this ‘business as usual’ path, we may soon cross the line to uncontrollable, irreversible destruction of civilization as we know it.”
SAM BLEICHER is an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. From June 2014 to November 2018, he was a member and vice chair of the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board. He is an active Member of the League of Conservation Voters and its Climate Victory Council.
He holds a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School and B.A. degree from Northwestern University, Phi Beta Kappa with honors in economics. His novel, “The Plot to Cool the Planet” draws on his experience as a senior official in the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Department of State; a law firm partner and lobbyist; and a law professor in the United States, China, and Russia.
For more information about the author, visit https://www.strategicpathllc.com/.
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