Migration Crises

From Acw

Revision as of 02:22, 9 October 2006

Commencing with the Prague Sit-in of 2114 but not becoming a serious threat to world political stability until the early 2120s, the Migration Crises were a series of mass population movements away from the equator as Global Warming seriously kicked in in the early 2100s.

Global Warming

research into global warming again did not really become an issue until the late 20th century. However, with both Russia and Germany racing for Mars, the issues of global warming was continually sidelined in order to meet the immediate challenge. Inudstrialisation continues unchecked across the globe and repeated attempts to table the issue with the super powers almost universally fail.

The Creeping Desert

By 2050 most of Earth's deserts had measurably grown in size and average temperatures around the world have all increased. Global powers are forced to finally acknowledge that Global Warming is indeed occuring and meet in Quebec Canada to agree upon measures to alleviate further degradation of the environment.

• Carbon trading begins and quickly makes several undeveloped countries considerably richer as the superpowers compete for the limited resource.
• all nations agree to halt growth in greenhouse emissions, with developing nations given someleeway to allow them to continue economic growth.
• funds are promised to aid further research into monitoring global warming and developing viable solutions.

Famines and Crop Failures

However despite more than two decades of worldwide efforts to curtail greenhouse emissions, the damage already inflicted continues to take it's toll. Over 2076-78 crops worldwide fail due to historically unprecedented low rainfall worldwide. Food prices soar and famine strikes many developing and poor countries who simply cannot afford to feed their people when bidding against more developed nations. The humanitarian crisis is previously unseen as hundreds of thousands suffer brutal starvation all across the globe.

Skin Cancer on the Rise

• By 2083 research into the impacts of global warming conclude one in ten people living near the equator will get skin cancer. This rate is forecast to grow as global temperatures continue to rise.
• By 2114 it has hit its peak at a measured one case in four people living along the equator.

Massive Migrations

As the 21st century nears an end, global sea levels are noticeably rising as the ice caps slowly melt. The growth of the worlds deserts continues with most deserts experiencing a 10-25% growth in area in comparison to earth 21st century measurements. Further, large swaths of fertile terrain has increasingly become arid or even completely unfertile. The end result is forced migration.

Slowly at first but in increasing amounts individuals, then families and whole communities are forced to move away from land that can no longer support them. A prcess which begins in the early 22nd century and continues for the better part of fifty years.

The Tyranny of Geography

It was a horrible coincidence that at the turn of the 22nd centry, the territories soon to be made unlivable by Global Warming were populated by poor and developing countries. It is an equally cruel chance that the powers that occupied the small percentage of landmass that would still support life on Earth were at this point accepting no immigration at all. The results of the movement of over a billion people away from the Equator, towards the First World was messy at best, horrendous at worst.

Border Violence

• The Prague Sit In

Slaughters

• in 2121 Australian ships sink a convoy of 117 unarmed vessels killing an estimated 15,000 individuals many of which women and children in an attempt to stem the influx of people migrating south towards Australia. Whilst by far the worst, it is in no way the only such occurence as Australia attempts to secure it's borders. Yet despite such massacres, it is estimated more than ten times this number of migrants make it to Australian shores.

Internment Camps

The German Solution

Most nations allow a small portion of suitable migrants into the country to operate as ultra cheap labour boosting economies.

Resettlement Programs

The Alaskan Boom, A new Siberia

Effects

Apart from anything else, the massive influx of refugees into the major powers territories kick started the Ark Shp building programs in the UISA and the SBE. Grossdeutschland and the USSR had Mars to fall back on, thanks to the Treaty of Voskhod and terraforming being completed in the 2030s.

With the development of FTL travel and advent of Colony Ships, the Migration crises abated somewhat. Toward the end of the 2160s, colonisation and terraforming provided new worlds for these people to be re-settled on. The period 2120-2170 still remains one of the most turbulent of Human history.