Bane’s Gotham Dystopia
Salient Points
Accelerated pace of natural space destruction forces drastic changes to governance and civil society
- Changes are local but gain momentum globally - Responses to new protections become exaggerated
Mid-term effects begin to be felt by the majority particularly in health
- Efforts to mitigate further climate change stalls
Continued stagnation pushes women to be more pro-active
Tide starts to turn but slowly
Scenario
What structure should the resource allocation and wealth distribution take in order to guarantee fairness?
Who would have ever thought that in 2022, despite agreements reached the previous year at COP26, the systematic destruction of the world’s natural spaces would continue at an increased pace. This practice continued to push indigenous people and other vulnerable populations closer to the breaking point. At the beginning of 2023, more frequent and worsening wildfires throughout the Amazon has drastically changed air quality in large swaths of South America. Likewise, the heavily forested areas of Africa such as the DRC, and large parts of Southeast Asia are affected as well. This is further worsened by rapid urbanization of deforested land, and the start of an ambitious infrastructure program that was promised to be the next step in progress. In North America’s Northwest, the more frequent wildfires have changed the landscape to the point that Napa Valley’s residents have started to migrate out, leaving the wine region permanently. As a result, a coalition of various environmental and philanthropic organizations have finally managed to gather sufficient public support and funds to pressure governments to reallocate resources towards a purely decentralized structure. Indigenous people are finally allotted small, scattered parcels of forested land as protected land. This precedent from the Amazon progressively gathers steam as more and more countries emulate the example set in this region. However, the damage is already done, and the newly installed protections have driven many indigenous tribes and disenfranchised citizens such as farmers to become more militaristic, slowly pushing government oversight and settlements out of protected areas. Access to resources like medicine, wood, water, and alternative energy becomes more expensive due to safety and security issues, and inaccessibility to protected lands.
By 2025, natural carbon sequestration has largely been unaffected due to the slow progress of reforestation efforts that are being financed purely by NGOs and philanthropy, and recent urbanification efforts that have paved over part once fertile regions. Urban structures that have already been built have started to decay slowly due to the relative inability of governments to oversee upkeep and repairs. Air quality is unchanged as well, leading to worsening health issues in the locals who choose to remain in these urban areas. Primarily affected are young children who develop frequent respiratory infections and asthma, and stay-at-home women due to worse air quality inside the houses and apartments. There is a spike in the incidence of chronic respiratory issues, urinary tract infections and breast cancer in this demographic.
The year 2028 ushers in the highest percentage of women and indigenous people who have begun to seek positions of power in different organizations, but most importantly, in local government posts. This is largely due to frustration with the lack of legislation aimed at improving their lives, as well as the lag in progress with regards to education and technology outside of urban centers of activity. More and more women who have to stay at home start to realize that they can get online education and still be able to do house activities, inspired by stories on social media from other countries.
By 2030, there is a mild increase in women in positions of power, largely fueled by internet examples set by other countries with women leaders. As a result, more educated women have started to come forward to try to represent a more varied set of issues. Men still occupy majority of the decision-making roles, albeit to a more balanced degree. Technology has improved slightly more than in previous years, and even more women at home are able to access the internet to educate themselves and their children. However, computers are still shared, and majority of learning happens via mobile phone.
Sources
https://www.norvillerogers.com/the-politics-of-the-dark-knight-rises/
http://modernmedievalism.blogspot.com/2015/09/gothams-reckoning.html
https://www.spglobal.com/en/research-insights/articles/how-gender-fits-into-esg
https://www.iisd.org/articles/gender-lens-sustainable-investing
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=81762e0d-f867-4582-a0cc-013379a6fd49
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10653-015-9720-1
https://www.statista.com/statistics/748549/africa-households-with-computer/
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