New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

If you want to make things worse, have the New Madrid Fault kick off a Richter 9.5 earthquake as the seal level rise hits its designated peak.

That would devastate the Midwest and force refugees from conservative communities where their families have lived for at least a century into the more liberal urban regions.

It would also trigger a global recession as U.S. investment money got pulled back to fund the reconstruction at home. Moreover, the investors would simply decline to fund reconstruction of many poor rural town, making displacement permanent for a demographic already inclined toward apocalyptic world-views.

I like this better than the Yellowstone idea. The USA would come back after a period of crisis. The USA being out of the picture and struggling at home would make it darker over much of the Earth with only the cheap fusion power ( see the post were I started this idea) and similar tech as good news.

Although many would call it the beginning of a new Dark Age there would still be hope during a crisis.