The Cathedrals of the 21st Century
Available at: Amazon
The Cathedrals of the 21st Century is an unprecedented novel which takes us from “the world as it is”—battered by the climate crisis, devastated by unrelenting wars—to “the world as it could be”—green, peaceful and prosperous, as the world was meant to be.
We follow two young Ukrainian soldiers as they move from the constant threat of death in the war zone, to the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where the Renaissance of the 21st Century has already begun. Their job is to learn a profession, then return to their home country—when the war finally ends—as experts who can help to rebuild a new Ukraine.
Krystiyan, 18 years old, explores the offshore wind turbines which will wrap around Scotland’s coast, as he prepares to rebuild Ukraine with 100% green energy, provided by offshore wind turbines in the Black Sea, and solar energy in the vast wheat fields on the Ukrainian steppes.
Larysa, his sister, a young woman of 20, works toward degrees in both marine biology and environmental law. She will defend the rights of her Ukrainian people, but she will also defend the rights of biospheres around the planet.
Oleksandr, a former math teacher of 25, now captain of his infantry squad, wants to become the Director of Education for Ukraine, so that every school will teach 21st Century courses, including “The Madness of War, and the Architecture of Peace.”
During a warm summer, when temperatures in the Siberian Arctic reach a record high, thawing permafrost releases planetary levels of ancient carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. This additional blanket of greenhouse gasses threatens to warm the planet at an accelerating rate. Shock, and deep hideous dread, are shared by people in every country. Suddenly, their future is measured in decades.
The tipping point which scientists had long predicted triggers a second tipping point on the battlefields of Ukraine, where Russian soldiers, desperate to return home to their families, move in an unstoppable throng eastward across the bridge between Crimea and Russia. The war is over, but the great battle to restore the health of a dying planet has now begun in earnest, even in Russia.
The story moves to Ukraine twenty-five years later—the span of an industrious generation—in 2047.
Krystiyan announces at a gathering in the Odesa Opera House that Ukraine has just reached 100% green energy. Ukraine, once utterly devastated by war, has become a leading country in the Clean Energy Renaissance.
Larysa has established the Black Sea Marine Sanctuary, with six shoreline nations, including Russia, working together to protect the flourishing dolphins.
Oleksandr has developed courses in “Negotiation and Peacekeeping” for all students in grade schools to universities throughout Ukraine. Along with wheat and sunflower seeds, and green energy, expertise in peacekeeping has become one of Ukraine’s major exports.
Larysa and Oleksandr have two children. Dmitro, 20, a university student, works with a team of researchers, including Russian scientists, monitoring climate progress in the Arctic. As global carbon emissions have diminished, temperatures have begun to fall and the Arctic ice cap has at last begun to increase in size.
Elyzaveta, 18, who has inherited her father’s talent at the piano, is a gifted composer. In the Odesa Opera House, she presents to the world her first piano concerto, honoring her country. She is a child of the Renaissance of the 21st Century, showing us who we could be, on our long human journey.
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Book categories: Climate Change and Clean Energy