 The novel condemns the people of the period it calls "the Dithering", from 2005 to 2060, for failing to address climate change and thereby causing mass suffering and death in the future.Robinson and his work accuse global capitalism for the failure to address climate change.In his 2017 novel "New York 2140" Robinson explores the themes of climate change and global warming, setting the novel in the year 2140 when the New York City he imagines is beset by a sea level rise that submerges half of the city.