Oh shit man. I thought that this is alive again. Such bumbings are not allowed. If TL is dead it is dead.
You realize @Mac Gregor has often put the TL on hold for various reasons, right? Don't be so hasty in assuming that TTL is dead.
Oh shit man. I thought that this is alive again. Such bumbings are not allowed. If TL is dead it is dead.
It seems like their government loves palace coups though, on the other hand it’s when the top dog screws the pooch so it’s justified.Considering what nasty clusterfuck’s wars in Africa tend to be, I’m both surprised this ended so easily and certain that ‘bushfire wars’ will continue on for years.
On another note, it seems like Technocracy is much more effective an ideology than Communism, as China seems to be remarkably rational and capable in its foreign policy as well as internal stability. To be fair, we haven’t exactly gotten a close look at them thus far.
How’s the climate doing in TTL’s 2020s?
Plausible.Good question. Overall it’s pretty close to OTL but there are some differences. Ecoist parties, especially in South and Central America have made important progress. Africa is slightly worse due to greater industrialization.
Good question. Overall it’s pretty close to OTL but there are some differences. Ecoist parties, especially in South and Central America have made important progress. Africa is slightly worse due to greater industrialization.
There seems being greener technology and more of other energy forms instead fossil fuels. And there seems being lesser of nuclear plant problems so Ecoists might not be so fiercely anti-nuclear as OTL Greens. And at least in USA politics seems much lesser divided as in OTL so I would imaginate that there is too lesser of climate denialism and it is easier issue to deal.
This is all really good, but I can , on the other hand, totally see the Technate having a Soviet-style “progress cult”, with all the reckless disregard for the environment that such a fixation entailsI agree US politics seems less ripe for the emergence of science denialism ITTL. The biggest potential hiccup to global cooperation on climate change is that the Technate of China is probably ALL ABOARD on combating climate change, and its frosty relationship with the rest of the globe could lead to distrust and skepticism towards any initiatives and tech coming out of China. I could certainly see some right-wing, anti-intellectual factions in the West embracing a similar sort of rhetoric to that which we see today OTL but from an anti-China perspective ("You can't trust a thing that comes from the egg-heads in Peking!").
I'd guess that the Technate has been sounding the alarm on climate change for decades, developing and adopting tech to move away from fossil fuels probably as early as the 1970s. We know from the TL that the rest of the world is still very dependent on fossil fuels in the 2000s and smuggling oil in the Middle East remains lucrative in the 2020s. It may be that the world ITTL is "better" overall with carbon release, but I figure that it's not appreciably better, even with the increased nuclear power use. If China is one of the leading voices of combating climate change (and I can't imagine it's not in this timeline), then the other power blocs may well be less willing to engage.
Given what Mac Gregor said about South American ecoist parties being relatively powerful, I wonder if the the LAR is moving in that direction as well. Certainly the oil interests in the USA, Canada, and Venezuela would make those governments somewhat resistant to radical change. Globally, Arabia and Mesopotamia are likely still heavily invested in their oil resources, although in a more liberal and peaceful ME, there could be a strong movement in those countries to transition to solar-electric, though how feasible solar electricity is as an export is unknown. Likewise I could see the French and Italians leveraging their Saharan possessions into solar power as well, at least for domestic consumption.
Part of this equation also comes down to how prevalent automobile ownership is across the globe ITTL versus rail transportation. We know that the US developed somewhat similarly to OTL, allowing the rail system to decay in favor of cars, but what about Europe? Does the less integrated Europe have the sort of rail network that our EU has? German engineering may well have produced some pretty advanced train designs, as well as alternative fuel autos (i.e. hydrogen, electric battery, etc.), but if the rail and re-fueling networks aren't universal across the continent, the environmental benefits would be limited to greater Germany.
I'd guess that a major political question in the US in the 2010s and 2020s is whether to re-invest in modernizing the National Highway System or going big into refurbishing the US rail network. I wonder if Latin America via the LAR would be a major source of international pressure to link more of the Americas via modern rail.
I agree US politics seems less ripe for the emergence of science denialism ITTL. The biggest potential hiccup to global cooperation on climate change is that the Technate of China is probably ALL ABOARD on combating climate change, and its frosty relationship with the rest of the globe could lead to distrust and skepticism towards any initiatives and tech coming out of China. I could certainly see some right-wing, anti-intellectual factions in the West embracing a similar sort of rhetoric to that which we see today OTL but from an anti-China perspective ("You can't trust a thing that comes from the egg-heads in Peking!").
I'd guess that the Technate has been sounding the alarm on climate change for decades, developing and adopting tech to move away from fossil fuels probably as early as the 1970s. We know from the TL that the rest of the world is still very dependent on fossil fuels in the 2000s and smuggling oil in the Middle East remains lucrative in the 2020s. It may be that the world ITTL is "better" overall with carbon release, but I figure that it's not appreciably better, even with the increased nuclear power use. If China is one of the leading voices of combating climate change (and I can't imagine it's not in this timeline), then the other power blocs may well be less willing to engage.
Given what Mac Gregor said about South American ecoist parties being relatively powerful, I wonder if the the LAR is moving in that direction as well. Certainly the oil interests in the USA, Canada, and Venezuela would make those governments somewhat resistant to radical change. Globally, Arabia and Mesopotamia are likely still heavily invested in their oil resources, although in a more liberal and peaceful ME, there could be a strong movement in those countries to transition to solar-electric, though how feasible solar electricity is as an export is unknown. Likewise I could see the French and Italians leveraging their Saharan possessions into solar power as well, at least for domestic consumption.
Part of this equation also comes down to how prevalent automobile ownership is across the globe ITTL versus rail transportation. We know that the US developed somewhat similarly to OTL, allowing the rail system to decay in favor of cars, but what about Europe? Does the less integrated Europe have the sort of rail network that our EU has? German engineering may well have produced some pretty advanced train designs, as well as alternative fuel autos (i.e. hydrogen, electric battery, etc.), but if the rail and re-fueling networks aren't universal across the continent, the environmental benefits would be limited to greater Germany.
I'd guess that a major political question in the US in the 2010s and 2020s is whether to re-invest in modernizing the National Highway System or going big into refurbishing the US rail network. I wonder if Latin America via the LAR would be a major source of international pressure to link more of the Americas via modern rail.
This is all really good, but I can , on the other hand, totally see the Technate having a Soviet-style “progress cult”, with all the reckless disregard for the environment that such a fixation entails
The transport stuff looks really solid.
Thanks.Sorry for the delay in responding to this. Believe it or not, the Technate of China is not considered a friend of the environment. Chinese cities have some of the worst air pollution in the world. As an authoritarian state China is not very responsive to the health/comfort of its people. This coupled with a large population and heavy industrialization has, as in OTL, produced some regrettable environmental results. An important caveat though is that the Technate of China is a champion of geo-engineer and maintains that this will be the solution to climate change and not reduced production and consumption.
"Mutant 59:The Plastic-Eaters"Japanese researchers at Keio University unveiled a new polyethylene terephthalate digesting enzyme. This mutated enzyme breaks down plastic molecules faster than the ones found in nature. Scientists hope that enzymes such as these could be used to help fight the growing tons of plastic waste plaguing the world’s oceans and landfills.