Most of the class discussion focused on unknotting the potential different perspectives to be found in Kingsnorth's (fairly general) idea of giving the earth back its lively voice. Where the lines were to be drawn between the animate and the inanimate was of special importance; what can, and should, be given its own identity? The consequences of this to climate change fiction, which Kingsnorth just began to touch on, were also looked at. We need to combine our abilities and intelligences with those of the natural world in order to combat the catastrophic changes we are facing.
In the same way that Le Guin's "Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction" invites us to find new forms for our stories, Kingsnorth invites us to find new forms for the environment as a character in our stories. As climate change becomes more urgent, this becomes less of a choice and more of a responsibility.
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