 Robinson's scientists often emerge as the best people to direct public policy on important environmental and technological questions, of which politicians are often ignorant.Related to Robinson's focus on the environment is his themes of the imminent catastrophe of global warming and the need to limit greenhouse gas emissions in the present day.His 2012 novel "2312" explores the detrimental, long-term effects of climate change, which include food shortages, global instability, mass extinction, and sea level rise that has drowned many major coastal cities.