SESYNC

Welcome to the year 2043. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the president of the United States. Everyone's very excited about the upcoming nuptuals of Prince Archie. You are the American director of the world's most popular and trusted news channel: Buzzfeed. You have the enviable power to set the news agenda, and thereby shift the zeitgeist. It's a bit like being God. [[Use your powers wisely!->UBI choice]] -- //This choose-your-own-adventure story came out of an attempt to imagine the ways that climate engineering might interact with the politics of universal basic income. It was created by Sam Beckbessinger, Valentina Aquila, Juan B. Moreno-Cruz1, Simon Nicholson and Katharine J. Mach during as part of the 'New Scenarios and Models for Climate Engineering' working group at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) in Annapolis, Maryland in May 2019. We also thank/blame Laura M. Pereira and Christopher H. Trisos for their input. For more information on the project, please see (link: "http://ceassessment.org/")[(goto-url: 'http://ceassessment.org/')] and (link: 'https://climaterisklab.com/')[(goto-url: "https://climaterisklab.com/")] //

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is up for re-election next year. The big issue being discussed around everyone's kitchen table is universal basic income (UBI). Since the tech bubble burst in 2038, most of the world has been in a recession. Unemployment remains high, and people are struggling. The rich, however, are doing just fine. There's plenty of money in America; it's just not being distributed to the 99%. Universal basic income has become the most popular idea across the political spectrum, but there's a lot of debate between the three major political parties about how it should be implemented. Who are you going to give the most airtime to? 1. The Purple Party, who wants UBI to be [[funded on a state and city level->City UBI]]. 2. The Yellow Jacket Party, who wants a [[national UBI->National UBI]]. 3. The Sparkle Party, who believes that UBI should be [[privatised->Multinational UBI]]. 4. Activist groups outside the political system, who argue that [[UBI should be global->Global UBI]], with poor people receiving a basic income funded by the rich, regardless of national borders.

Various cities and states around the US start rolling out UBI programmes. Inequality in those places decreases, but inequality within the US overall, and between the US and the rest of the world, increases. More and more people try to move to states with UBI programmes. With so much pressure on these nascent systems, states and cities start to pilot citizenship cards. But hold up. You're getting an alert about something happening in [[Bangladesh->Bangladesh (City UBI)]].

America joins Sweden, Italy, Chile and Japan in launching a national UBI programme. Inequality within the United States decreases massively. This is a huge boon to the economy, which starts to grow. International inequality, ironically, increases. More and more people try to move to countries with UBI programmes. With so much pressure on these nascent systems, immigration becomes harder. But hold up. You're getting an alert about something happening in [[Bangladesh->Bangladesh (National UBI)]].

A coalition of billionaires led by Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and America's favourite bad-boy billionaire Colin Carlson agree to fund a private UBI for citizens of regions that offer them tax cuts and lifting of regulations. After long, heated argument, Elon, as the group's worst egomaniac, gets his way, and the programme is launched under the name Muskbucks, although everyone informally calls it the Tycoon Tax. Multinationals become more and more powerful, absorbing a number of functions that used to be done by nation states: everything from policing to education. But hold up. You're getting an alert about something happening in [[Bangladesh->Bangladesh (multinationals)]].

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Your audience thinks you're crazy. The vast majority of Americans are way above the global median income line. No way are people in rich countries going to give up a chunk of their income to pay for poor people on the other side of the world. [[Try something else.->UBI choice]]

# Disaster strikes! Bangladesh experiences three 500-year floods in three years. Most of the country is destroyed. 100-million refugees have to flee their homes. India reinforces their borders. Riots lead to attacks on the local Muslim population. China reluctantly accepts a few million people, but places them in isolated refugee camps. Some make it to Europe, leading to a xenophobic backlash there. What's your focus, after this disaster? 1. Despite the president saying that the US simply can't afford to accept refugees, individual cities agree to act as [[sanctuary cities.->Fires (city)]] 2. Close the borders! Keep them in camps! Presidential hopeful Greg Bannon makes a speech saying, [["They are coming for your UBI!"->Fires (city)]]

# Disaster strikes! Bangladesh experiences three 500-year floods in three years. Most of the country is destroyed. 100-million refugees have to flee their homes. India reinforces their borders. Riots lead to attacks on the local Muslim population. China reluctantly accepts a few million people, but places them in isolated refugee camps. Some make it to Europe, leading to a xenophobic backlash. Two major leaders give a speech about this. Who are you going to give airtime to? 1. [[Grassroots activist Greta Thunberg->Fires (national)]], who argues the US should accept as many refugees as possible. 2. [[Presidential hopeful Greg Bannon->Fires (national)]], who argues we should close the borders, saying, "They are coming for your UBI!"

# Disaster strikes! Bangladesh experiences three 500-year floods in three years. Most of the country is destroyed. 100-million refugees have to flee their homes. India reinforces their borders. Riots lead to attacks on the local Muslim population. China reluctantly accepts a few million people, but places them in isolated refugee camps. Some make it to Europe, leading to a xenophobic backlash. Two major leaders give a speech about this. Who are you going to give airtime to? 1. [[Jeff Bezos->Fires (multinational)]], who makes a speech saying "Bring us your tired, your poor! Your highly educated! (some restrictions apply)". He describes his plan to build work "campuses" to house the better educated of the refugees and denies that he's just looking for a source of cheap labour. 2. [[Presidential hopeful Greg Bannon->Fires (multinational)]], who argues we should close the borders, saying, "They are coming for your Muskbucks!"

# Stop the news! Before you can wrap up your report on Bangladesh, you receive reports of a disaster much closer to home. Fires are ravaging the American West. Not only is Los Angeles ablaze, but rural communities throughout California, Colorado and Washington State struggle to evacuate in time. The smoke from the fire causes massive hospitalisation. Fires in the boreal forest in Alaska spread. The oil pipelines throughout the state catch on fire. Fire tornados light the sky. What's your angle? 1. We need to petition the [[federal government to act.->Non responsive government]] 2. [[Blame the immigrants!->Walls]]

# Stop the news! Before you can wrap up the piece about Bangladesh, you receive reports of a disaster much closer to home. Fires are ravaging the American West. Not only is Los Angeles ablaze, but rural communities throughout California, Colorado and Washington State struggle to evacuate in time. Thousands are hospitalised from smoke inhalation. Over the next few days, fires spread across the boreal forest in Alaska. The oil pipelines throughout the state catch on fire. Dramatic fire tornados light the sky. What's your angle? 1. We can no longer deny that urgent action is needed against global warming. International organisations and the federal government have taken too long, it's time for [[communities to take matters into their own hands.->Small city movement]]. 2. We need to petition the [[federal government to act.->Non responsive government]] 3. [[Blame the immigrants!->Walls]]

# Stop the news! Before you can wrap up your report on Bangladesh, you receive reports of a disaster much closer to home. Fires are ravaging the American West. Not only is Los Angeles ablaze, but rural communities throughout California, Colorado and Washington State struggle to evacuate in time. The smoke from the fire causes massive hospitalisation. Fires in the boreal forest in Alaska spread. The oil pipelines throughout the state catch on fire. Fire tornados light the sky. We can no longer deny that urgent action is needed against global warming. What's your angle? 1. International organisations and the federal government have taken too long. [[Multinationals->Small city movement (multinationals)]] are the only ones who can stop climate change. 2. We need to petition the [[federal government to act.->Non responsive government]] 3. [[Blame the immigrants!->Walls]]

Some of the benefits of UBI are starting to be felt in an unexpected way: more people are participating in local government. Particularly, more women. Cities are newly emboldened with their ability to make radical change. Freed from needing to work only for an income, more people choose socially beneficial jobs like caring for the elderly, and educating the young. Around the world, we see stronger cities made up of highly connected people with strong bonds with each other. More people value connection and solidarity over profit. More food is grown locally, and breakthroughs in technology mean we can grow food more cheaply and densely even on a local scale. A circular carbon economy is flourishing. People are actively removing carbon from the atmosphere and selling it as a commodity. Some of the revenues are being used to support UBI. But it's still really hot. We need [[a more radical solution.->SRM deployment]]

People petition the federal government to act, but nothing happens. Everyone is too focussed on the upcoming election, and the royal wedding. Affected regions [[appoint resilience officers->Small city movement]] to deal with the damage, and hope to be better prepared for future disasters.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez loses the election. She is replaced by populist strongman Greg Bannon. Canadian Prime Minster Ivanka Trudeau III makes a speech blaming America's poor climate policy for the fires. Canada signs off on a bill to build an enormous wall along the southern border. Chants of "BUILD THAT WALL!" start ringing out at Canadian political rallies. America retaliates by [[blocking all immigration->Crush cities]] and imposing a massive tariff on maple syrup imports. As a final insult, it also bans hockey.

# Amazon: FUCK YEAH All this weather is bad for business, but this carbon removal stuff is expensive and slow. Luckily, a group of smart, charismatic scientists from SpaceX approach 80-year old Jeff Bezos with a proposal: by releasing a swarm of self-guided reflective nano-bots into the upper atmosphere, they believe they can cool the earth by 2 degrees C and save the planet, motherfuckers. But it's risky. There's a possibility that the cooling will be experienced more in some places than others, and the scientists can't predict how this will effect regional rain patterns, and possibly disrupt key factories in some regions. Deployments have only been small scale to date. Also, the skies will turn purple. Jeff asks if they can make the skies yellow instead. Bemused, the scientists agree to have the bots release saffron powder into the skies as they are launched. Jeff nods and says, "Sweet." What's our angle? 1. These boys are over-reaching their user agreements and we should [[boycott their businesses until they back down.->Small city movement no-UBI]] 2. Yipee-kay yay! [[LET THE BILLIONAIRES SAVE US!->Corporate control]]

The emissions reduction and carbon removal efforts of cities are helping, but a lot of damage has been done. The planet is still warming and climate crises continue. Grassroots activists of the 1,000 Cities Project realise that instead of waiting for a large-scale international commitment, they can co-ordinate around a ambitious plan to buy the planet some time while they try to stabilise the climate. They meet (virtually) and agree to pass the world's first decentralised deployment of solar radiation management, building on the great ocean shinyness project in Australia that restored the Great Barrier Reef. Each city does its part: some release balloons, some brighten their oceans and clouds, others paint their roofs and streets white. In small ways around the world, the cities commit to making their contribution to a 100 year period of planet sparkletude. A central group of volunteer scientists (the Inter-city Programme on Climate Control) track and oversees the efforts to ensure that temperature targets are maintained. [[Whee!]]

# Reports of war Activist movements around the world organise a demonstration demanding action against climate change. In the US, local government leaders actively support these movements and are seen as figureheads for change. President Bannon doesn't like this. He doesn't like this one bit. He sends the military into New New Amsterdam, the site of the largest movement, and [[arrests the mayor for treason.->Climate meeting]]

People are fed up with these multinationals who think they control the world. More people start moving into local politics and grassroots activist movements. Unable to turn to leaders to save them, people turn to each other. Around the world, we see stronger cities made up of highly connected people with strong bonds with each other. More people value connection and solidarity over profit. A circular carbon economy starts to emerge. People begin actively removing carbon from the atmosphere and selling it as a commodity. But it's still really hot. We need [[a more radical solution.->SRM deployment]]

It works, sort of. Large regions of the world are damaged due to unexpected consequences, but our corporate overlords believe this has just streamlined the efficiency of the planet. The literal survival of the human race is now down to a few billionaires. But who needs human rights, freedom, equality or dignity when you [[have Amazon Prime?->Meh]]

# News alert! The monsoon rains have not arrived in India for the third year in a row. The crops fail. Another billion people are near starvation, trying to migrate into China and Europe. Both regions respond by shutting their borders. More people are forced into refugee camps in Laos and Cambodia. Food prices spike sending ripples through the global trade system. A number of conspiracy theories are flying around blaming this on everything from Chinese climate engineering to feminists, but the world scientific community is clear that climate change is responsible. A global meeting is convened to try to agree to salvage the Paris Agreement. In the climate (haha) of rising nationalism around the world, an agreement is impossible. Which angle do you want to take on this story? 1. Leaders of a new activist movement called the 1,000 Cities Project are talking about [[passing their own climate agreement.->Small city movement]] 2. United States: you are on your own. You'll have to [[make your own climate change plan.->Unilateral SRM]]

#'Merica: FUCK YEAH America decides it's going to need to find it's own way to deal with climate change. Luckily, a group of smart, charismatic scientists from a group called SESYNC approach President Bannon with a proposal: by releasing a swarm of self-guided reflective nano-bots into the upper atmosphere, they believe they can cool the earth by 2 degrees C and stem the fires that have become near-continuous across the US. But it's risky. There's a possibility that the cooling will be experienced more in some places than others, and the scientists can't predict how this will effect regional rain patterns. Deployments have only been small scale to date. Also, the skies will turn purple. Fringe religious groups say that this may encourage homosexuality. Your opposite number from Buzzfeed China says that there is talk of a similar project there. It's likely that unilaterally deploying the bots might escalate global conflict. What angle should we take on this? 1. Let's do it! [[SPACE BOTS!->Counter geo-engineering]] 2. [[It's too risky.->Small city movement variation]]

China is PISSED. As a counter-geo-engineering tactic they launch a co-ordinated hack through their APT3 Advanced Persistence Group to change the timing and distribution of the drone launch, to favour rainfall in China, and increase the likelihood of drought in the U.S. At the same time, you're hearing from Buzzfeed Russia that they have begun injecting CFCs into the atmosphere to rapidly increase temperatures, so that their ice and permafrost melt and they can experience their first summer, and advance Siberian beach tourism. They also think that this might allow them to access new oil reserves in the arctic. It's all looking pretty scary for the planet. [[Fuck it->Bruce Willis Scenario]], just play a video about ice-skating kittens until it all ends.

People are fed up with governments doing nothing. More and more people get involved in local politics, especially more women. Some of the benefits of the national UBI are starting to be felt in an unexpected way: freed from needing to work only for an income, more people choose socially beneficial jobs like caring for the elderly, and educating the young. Around the world, we see stronger cities made up of highly connected people with strong bonds with each other. More people value connection and solidarity over profit. A circular carbon economy starts to emerge. People begin actively removing carbon from the atmosphere and selling it as a commodity. But it's still really hot. We need [[a more radical solution.->SRM deployment]]