Ecotopia

The May 29th article, “Race in Ecotopia: Apartheid of Equality” kicks off this section of the novel, in which Weston discusses the relatively few people of color he’s encountered in Ecotopia. After Independence, many minority groups, so long controlled by largely white governments, wished to self-govern, and have thereby congregated in cities with distinct cultures, effectively self-segregating (the majority black portion of Ecotopia being known as “Soul City” [99]), and there are movements to form independent “city-states within Ecotopia” (98). The article also discusses the prison system in Soul City, in which, while prison sentences are harsh, the prison system is decentralized with low populations and little to no guards, generally continuing to exist in society as normal. The denizens of Soul City also participate in a variant of the Ritual War Games, albeit with clubs rather than spears. The journal entry that follows describes Weston’s continuing struggle to adapt to Marissa’s strong will and independence.

Weston’s files his next article, “Energy from Sun and Sea,” from the site of a “massive thermal-gradient power plant,” one of Ecotopia’s main sources of energy (102). After Independence, one of Ecotopia’s main goals was to transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy, created by temperature differences in