Climate Change and Human Technology

Through his scintillating descriptions of a submerged, post-apocalyptic world, Ballard summons to mind the question not only of whether human technologies can combat the inevitable shifts in global climate, but also of whether they should. Though Ballard's protagonists remain tethered to a familiar, if adapted, humanity, the kinds of research they endeavor to perform throughout the novel call into question whether this tether is valuable, useful, or, indeed, ethical.

Bodkin's assertions that the human mind is naturally predisposed to travel backwards through its evolutionary functions in order to accommodate the newest resurgence in reptilian / amphibian supremacy are the most direct confrontation the novel has with the value of technology. The implicit assumption of Bodkin's research is that Riggs' efforts to return society to a recognizable pre-apocalyptic version of itself are as futile as they are damaging. The slow shift in attitude that...