Iain Banks interview - Friends of the Earth Scotland

Iain Banks interview

North Queensferry resident Iain Banks is famous for novels such as The Wasp Factory, and his series of science-fiction books. Never afraid to weigh in to the political arena, we tracked him down to talk gas guzzlers and climate change denial. Interview by Bruce Whitehead.

What on Earth: A character in “The Steep Approach to Garbadale” describes the effects of climate change in his own back yard; what made you write that scene?

Iain Banks: It was a scene I'd had in my head for a few years; one of those just waiting for the right book to come along. I'd imagined somebody sitting looking out over a Scottish west coast view of hills and sea lochs, thinking that no matter what the struggles and stupidities of humankind, the land, the geography would stay the same, then realising that this wasn't true. We were starting to affect something as profound and disaster-inducing as sea level change. It's still not a scene or theme central to the book but the novel is various enough to accommodate it, it is something that needs to be said and repeated with some urgency, and so it found its way in.

WoE: You’ve recently disposed of a number of thirsty cars; how are you coping with just one?

IB: Remarkably well. We had a transitional car in the shape of a Lexus hybrid - and I thought seriously about a Prius but went for a Toyota Yaris diesel instead (119g CO2/km). If I did more city driving I might have gone for the Prius, but most of my journeys are on the open road and often fairly long distance. We live across the road from a railway station and 95% of our journeys into Edinburgh are by train. I enjoy not worrying about speed cameras and radar guns because I'm travelling at lower speeds and I find slower driving in the Highlands especially means you have more time to admire the scenery. I'm reserving the right to become a two-car household, mind; my long term plan is to fit our south facing roof with photo-voltaics and have a wee purely battery-powered open-top car. Something between the size of a Suzuki Cappuccino and a Mazda MX5 would be cool (there's a car called a Tesla available now but it's a bit specialised - I'm looking for something I can get serviced locally). The only hydrocarbons would be the plastics and lubricating oil. There's still the environmental cost of manufacture of course, and this may remain a fantasy, but it's a comforting one.

WoE: Before you became concerned about the threat from climate change, what were your environmental views?

IB: Just the same - New Scientist has been making the case for decades - but like most of us I was dragging my feet because I'm selfish and I liked the life I had, especially the cars.

WoE: Do you think it’s OK for public figures to get involved in controversial issues like protecting the environment? Shouldn’t they just stick to their art, or their craft?

IB: On the contrary, I think you have a duty to express opinions on matters you feel strongly about.

WoE: What’s your opinion of petrol-heads like Jeremy Clarkson and politicians who drive and fly everywhere?

IB: I understand the motivations: simple denial - especially when your job is all about motoring; the feeling that my individual contribution's too small to make a difference anyway (though of course you could argue that about voting, and that still works when people do it en masse); and even that of “We're all screwed anyway, so why not enjoy oneself?” - this is the “When On The Titanic, Why Travel Steerage?” argument. But denial in the face of an overwhelming and growing scientific consensus is just stupid, and selfishness and despair are both ugly and ignominious. So, you just have to hope the penny drops eventually. Maybe their kids will argue them round.

WoE: What are your other environmental achievements apart from cutting down on motoring?

IB: Not flying, except in genuine emergencies, not having children (I know that's hardly an achievement, but trust me - they'd have been indulged, spoilt, pampered and bought untold energy-guzzling presents and holidays had they existed), and all the little things: replacing the bulbs in the house with greener ones, choosing food more carefully to reduce energy wastage, buying A-rated white goods when old units need replacing, recycling packaging and so on. I'm still looking for ways to reduce energy usage in the house. Also, I have to balance my latest-gadget-chasing instinct. This would probably have me changing the car every year or so for the newest, greenest one - instead I need to keep the current one until it falls apart. Current plans are to keep the Yaris for three years and then re-think.

WoE: And your remaining bad habits?

IB: We have a wee boat we keep on Loch Shiel during the summer, with a 30hp motor. It replaced our old boat which had a kind of laughable 4hp outboard, but sails and oars too. The boat burns relatively few litres over the summer - especially over a summer like last year's - but I anticipate replacing it with something more like the one it itself displaced sometime over the next few years.

WoE: What single piece of environmental legislation, or amendment would you like to see enacted?

IB: Right now, one that rejects biofuels for motor vehicles. Specifically, overturning the EU legislation that says all fuel has to contain a proportion of biofuel, and that this proportion must rise. This was a seemingly good idea that has had unforeseen negative effects and threatens to have catastrophic ones in the future. However you cut it, the most profound effect of climate change is going to be poor people starving by the hundreds of millions and biofuels, as they exist at the moment, are already helping to accelerate us down that road.

WoE: You live in the shadow of the Forth Road Bridge; do you think we need another one?

IB: I don't know. If the current one is really going to fall down, then yes. By the way; why is the road surface on the 1964 bridge so uneven? Every time you transit between one section and the next over an expansion gap, you get this distinct thump. It's bad enough in a two-tonne car, but 44-tonne trucks must deliver a tremendous battering to the whole structure with every axle, shaking the bridge to bits; it's been like this for decades but is it really beyond the wit of humankind to engineer an expansion gap that provides a smooth transition? I'm sure I've been on other bridges where you hardly notice this effect... However, I digress.

WoE: How about nuclear power; are you persuaded that we can reduce energy demand enough to avoid having to use it?

IB: Yes. I'm sure I don't have to rehearse for you or the people likely to read this the vast disparity between the research budgets and subsidies available for the nuclear and alternative energy industries. There's an alternative universe where the Clyde and indeed the British ship-building industry was saved by building thousands of kilometres of Salter Ducks, rendering the UK effectively self sufficient in green energy forever...

WoE: When will you write a story about a twisted environmentalist?

IB: Probably never!

WoE: Who was the best Dr Who?

IB: Tom Baker, followed by Christopher Ecclestone. Though of course the Golden Age of Science Fiction is well known as being whenever one personally was fourteen, and the same effect probably applies here.

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