Quote:
Originally Posted by ericthered
Question 33 [STG]
[B]What is the world population, how is it growing, and where are they housed? Has the population leveled off? Are we looking at a malthusian scenario, a birthrate implosion, or something else? Has urbanization continued, or do suburbs compete with farmland? Are people building new cities, swelling up old ones, or spreading out
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The population of the world is floating around twelve billion about five hundred million down from it's peak. As a result of global warming, biofuel/biomaterial competition and pollution traditional food production can't easily feed this number of people and as a result vertical farms are a common feature in population dense areas.
The poorest segment of the population eats a largely algae based diet. While the next financial strata of society can eat a wider range of food it is generally prepackaged and made from GM crops developed for indoor factory farms or industrial outdoor mega-farms. Their diet also features vat grown meat and farmed fish. The 0.01% however can enjoy a range of organic and exotic foods that are only limited by their personal tastes.
The combination of vat food and microfacs has led to "Mankind has reached the ability to be post scarcity, it's only those in power holding us back" being a common theme in conspiracy theories and political movements.
The urban spread that had stalled during the middle of the century started up again in the 2080's. Gated communities with their own private or contracted security are common in and around population centers.
Many areas have also seen an influx of climate refugees. Regular "century" storms, rising sea levels and other environmental imbalances have driven many from their homes. These people generally fill the societal niche of poor immigrants but there are places where literal refugee camps exist. It goes without saying that these places produce many angry people.
The changing environment has seen some cities and suburbs virtually abandoned due to plummeting local populations and the debts relating to environmental rehabilitation. Many non-coastal or otherwise unaffected cities experienced surges of urban renewal and energy efficent arcology like buildings. Various governments have encouraged new city developments in areas that they considered safe enough from climate change, these have had mixed results.
Question 38 (A-F) [STG]
What weapons and guns are common for the different groups within society and why?
- Street level violence
- Military
- Armed corporate security
- Police
- Organized criminals
- Well equipped independent agents
- any groups I've forgotten