UbeOne
Daydreaming CPU
- Location
- Philippines
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Missing a " [ " there. Please make the correction.
Fate of the World: A Climate Change Quest
- Thread starter mouli
- Start date
- Original
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
[X]Blame the Budgeting: Mention that it's legally needed for security compliance, and hint at needing more money or regional assistance for fast progress since the EPA had to divert funding for security and expertise. This hints that the blame is on Congress and not on you, which endears you a little to the Administration but angers some Republicans. Not much, though. You're not significant enough.
- Location
- Moscow
- Pronouns
- He
[X]Blame the Budgeting
I don't see it as our organization's fault at all. The country was hit hard and the transfer of the budget to security issues did not lie with our agency.
Moreover, it is clear that the nuclear issue and the threat of a "dirty bomb" in general would clearly frighten the country's leadership, which would only increase funding for the growth of securitization of nuclear test sites, warehouses, burial grounds and similar materials in general.
Against this background, chemical pollution and similar phenomena are certainly not so dangerous, simply because the explosion of a chlorine bomb is certainly terrible, but no matter how cynical it sounds, it is not too pretentious. A bomb explosion with radioactive sludge that infects dozens of people and creates a negative reputation for the place and the city for decades? Well, Pripyat is still remembered, although there are almost no radioactive foci to be found in the air, only the metal and the premises are essentially radioactive.
Returning to our problem, I see some prospects in the growth of relations with oil companies for the banal reason - the available fields in developed countries are running out. Mexico, the former British Dominions, Indonesia and a number of other countries, including Saudi Arabia, they see an increase in the cost of oil production.
IRL the war in Iraq and the nuclear issue of Iran, as well as any instability in the Middle East region, will allow prices to break through the ceiling of $ 100 per barrel, but now oil companies do not see this. Who could have guessed that the market would not be oversaturated at the expense of the Arabs, Venezuela, Africa, Norway and Russia? OPEC was in a panic in September 2001. Because of the stock exchange stops, the market is in a recession, and there is a surplus of oil on it.
By offering them some small alternatives, we guarantee that they can temporarily preserve the most expensive oil fields and play with the market. The peak of opportunities ends in the spring of 2002, because prices will return to the level of January 2001. Then, of course, they will see the growth of the Chinese economy and global oil consumption in general, but for now, against the background of essentially a year of price stabilization with unclear prospects for consumption growth, they can spend money on reducing the role of oil to maintain a high price.
I also wanted to point out that for the market, "environmental pressure" is a great way for the world to play with OPEC prices, partially stopping the growth of oil production in developed countries "because they do not meet environmental standards."
It is clear that this will be done by the old oil countries in order to maintain a high price for production, against the background of rising costs, but in general, this, in theory, can become a convenient tool for them, which is also beneficial to us. Win-win situation. (in addition to the development of shale production, but I have already described this before, there is already a question of how we will weaken the market in the United States)
Therefore, the next vote should also be given to the oil companies at least 1 negotiation dice.
I don't see it as our organization's fault at all. The country was hit hard and the transfer of the budget to security issues did not lie with our agency.
Moreover, it is clear that the nuclear issue and the threat of a "dirty bomb" in general would clearly frighten the country's leadership, which would only increase funding for the growth of securitization of nuclear test sites, warehouses, burial grounds and similar materials in general.
Against this background, chemical pollution and similar phenomena are certainly not so dangerous, simply because the explosion of a chlorine bomb is certainly terrible, but no matter how cynical it sounds, it is not too pretentious. A bomb explosion with radioactive sludge that infects dozens of people and creates a negative reputation for the place and the city for decades? Well, Pripyat is still remembered, although there are almost no radioactive foci to be found in the air, only the metal and the premises are essentially radioactive.
Returning to our problem, I see some prospects in the growth of relations with oil companies for the banal reason - the available fields in developed countries are running out. Mexico, the former British Dominions, Indonesia and a number of other countries, including Saudi Arabia, they see an increase in the cost of oil production.
IRL the war in Iraq and the nuclear issue of Iran, as well as any instability in the Middle East region, will allow prices to break through the ceiling of $ 100 per barrel, but now oil companies do not see this. Who could have guessed that the market would not be oversaturated at the expense of the Arabs, Venezuela, Africa, Norway and Russia? OPEC was in a panic in September 2001. Because of the stock exchange stops, the market is in a recession, and there is a surplus of oil on it.
By offering them some small alternatives, we guarantee that they can temporarily preserve the most expensive oil fields and play with the market. The peak of opportunities ends in the spring of 2002, because prices will return to the level of January 2001. Then, of course, they will see the growth of the Chinese economy and global oil consumption in general, but for now, against the background of essentially a year of price stabilization with unclear prospects for consumption growth, they can spend money on reducing the role of oil to maintain a high price.
I also wanted to point out that for the market, "environmental pressure" is a great way for the world to play with OPEC prices, partially stopping the growth of oil production in developed countries "because they do not meet environmental standards."
It is clear that this will be done by the old oil countries in order to maintain a high price for production, against the background of rising costs, but in general, this, in theory, can become a convenient tool for them, which is also beneficial to us. Win-win situation. (in addition to the development of shale production, but I have already described this before, there is already a question of how we will weaken the market in the United States)
Therefore, the next vote should also be given to the oil companies at least 1 negotiation dice.
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Gladsome
The Sky will be as it was meant.
- Pronouns
- She/They
Is the Gore administration likely to commit to that?
- Location
- Minnesota
[X]Blame the Budgeting
- Location
- UTC+0
- Pronouns
- He/Him/They
I don't think so, they'd have to fabricate a casus belli like the Bush administration did, I don't think he'd sign off on that. Afghanistan is a possibility, since Bin Laden is there, so there is a justification. Maybe sanctions to individuals in Saudi Arabia too, and the government will put pressure on them to clamp down on terrorism.
- Location
- Moscow
- Pronouns
- He
Sanctions against the support of terrorists by the Saudis would be funny, because with the simultaneous pressure on Iran and Afghanistan, they would greatly change the structure of terrorism and radical Islam in the world. The structure of the "Arab Spring" is likely to change, the second Chechen war in Russia will be much easier without Arab money and mercenaries, and the policy of Iraq can do without the future foundation of the Islamic State, because dictators do not really like anarchic Wahhabis except as a tool.
- Location
- Toronto
[X]Blame the Budgeting: Mention that it's legally needed for security compliance, and hint at needing more money or regional assistance for fast progress since the EPA had to divert funding for security and expertise. This hints that the blame is on Congress and not on you, which endears you a little to the Administration but angers some Republicans. Not much, though. You're not significant enough.
Huh, did not think that neocons could potentially become our allies in environmentalism, but politics makes for strange bedfellows I suppose.
mouli
Terrible QM
- Location
- United States
They'll fight you on solar and wind and other such things. The leverage you have is energy security post-9/11, it's by no means a friendship or alliance. Just...cooperation. For now.
Politics, I suppose.
The Sandman
So Zetta Slowpoke
- Location
- Wherever I am, which isn't where I'm not
I mean, Congress is presumably having to do business elsewhere and the President had to find a new house, since with that roll I'd assume the planes aimed at DC hit their original targets of the Capitol and the White House rather than diverting to the Pentagon and a field in rural Pennsylvania. So that might be impacting their thinking some for the foreseeable future.
- Location
- California
Thinking on it, I would say they got 1/2 of these targets because colliding with both cultural locations would result in worse action, or maybe, more rubble from the Twin Towers traveled to the buildings around it.
Environmental Security, Energy Security, National Security
mouli
Terrible QM
- Location
- United States
Environmental Security, Energy Security, National Security
"Project MEDEA...intends to measure the impacts of the changing climate on the security of the United States by utilizing surveillance records held by the Intelligence Community (IC) and the Department of Defense (DoD). Begun in 1990, MEDEA has completed its initial stages as of December 2000, and we anticipate further funding in the wake of the 2000 election…"
-Internal memo, RAND Corporation, 2001
"Project MEDEA...intends to measure the impacts of the changing climate on the security of the United States by utilizing surveillance records held by the Intelligence Community (IC) and the Department of Defense (DoD). Begun in 1990, MEDEA has completed its initial stages as of December 2000, and we anticipate further funding in the wake of the 2000 election…"
-Internal memo, RAND Corporation, 2001
Washington D.C.
September 19th, 2001
The Ronald Reagan Federal Building is the same dismal place that Albert Sears remembers it being, and he isn't at all surprised. The end of history happened in 1991 and the non-military parts of the government got a bonanza – but the EPA got damn near nothing from that. Sears' own bunch at RAND got more than the EPA did in terms of funding increases. Or at least Sears thinks so. It's funny to think that. It gives Sears a nice friendly smile on his face when he checks in with the overworked receptionist and gets Director Harper's door number.
Harper himself is the same bland-senator-handsome-elderly that most retired Southern politicians are, with the same sort of noncommittal politeness that every lobbyist learns to expect when paying a visit. He's as polite as Sears can hope for in the one-hour appointment that Sears' staff at RAND had booked, waving the think-tank man into a chair and asking after his health. And then, as if switching off the pleasantries, Harper steeples his fingers on the table and asks more bluntly than Albert Sears expected, "So what brings the RAND man to the EPA? I'd have thought we're a bit beneath your notice."
Sears takes a moment before smiling politely at the jibe, well aware that the former senator in front of him probably resents the posting to some extent. The smart money at RAND is that Harper was pushed into the EPA as a sinecure of some kind, him having been ousted from Georgia at the end of the millennium – and so Albert Sears smiles politely with white veneers flashing in a dark face, seeking to defuse any resentment that might linger. "The EPA is the one agency in the administration that has been pushing for energy independence from the start of Gore's term. In the wake of recent events, we at RAND feel that the view has some weight."
"More weight than it had before, you mean." Harper's voice still has a trace of Georgia drawl, even here in Washington when taking pains to suppress it. It makes the comment seem amused, the senator's eyes betraying damn little to Albert Sears. "We at the EPA have been trying to get America off its addiction to Middle Eastern oil, Mr. Sears. We've pushed the biofuel program past Congress just for that, and the events of September 11th just vindicate that. We're not in it for more federal funding, we're in it for the good of America." The senator's spiel is something that Sears has heard before, in more than one senator's office before talks led nowhere. The same sort of polite stonewalling and noncommittal facade.
Of course, that just means that the lobbyist has to take out the stick as well as the carrot.
Sears smiles, "Of course, Director. But in the meantime, I'll note that most of the spending has been concentrated in states that might flip. Iowa, for instance. And the energy independence push has seen more funding go to Superfund sites than to energy development. There are holes in the EPA's strategy, and Congress wanted at one point to know why."
"I'm sure that the think-tanks have explanations for it, whether or not we at the EPA give one."
"Maybe." Sears nods when he sees Harper get the gist of it – nobody wants a fight now, and the EPA doesn't need to pontificate to someone who's been a long-term lobbyist on the Hill. "We at RAND have a proposal – to make sure that the government continues to make energy independence a priority and through that ensuring national security, we want a partnership."
Harper straightens in his chair, eyes intent and politician's facade cracking for a moment to reveal more than a little interest. "Tell me."
"You've got Congress interested in the idea of environmental science scholarships, get the EPA to pay college tuition for students who've done the right sort of project." Harper nods slowly, clearly waiting for the offer, and Sears continues with a self-satisfied note in his voice. The former senator is interested, at this point. Excellent. "Now, the Republican party's already screaming about the EPA funding hippies who don't do anything more than smoke pot and build a windmill. You know as well as I do, Director, that the national security side of energy independence is probably a better bet."
"So – what, a partnership? We pay for a RAND fellowship?" Harper's moving through possibilities, feeling out the lobbyist on the other side of the table, "We don't have the mandate or funding to manage that. Not favoring a private corporation that much."
"We don't suggest any such thing, Director." Sears takes a file from his briefcase, laying it on the Director's table, "Instead of that, we know that the current legislation is still working its way through the committees. All that we suggest is tying EPA scholarship funding more to the national security space and less to the hippies. Makes it easier to continue funding it."
"How would you do that?"
"Simply add in a proviso that the studies are to encourage U.S. energy independence and environmental security. Use the DoD's MEDEA program. Cast it as a natsec problem. And when the Congressional representatives ask where the graduates will work, just point at us." Sears grins, "A list of accredited national security consulting and policy think-tanks will do. We can pay the interns on our own dime, the researchers the same way. And when you tie yourself to DoD, it's a bit harder to move you."
Harper puts one hand on the folder, sliding it towards himself and looking at the contents without a glance at Albert Sears. His tone is entirely noncommittal, "I'll think about it. Thank you, Mr. Sears."
Sears smiles and whistles a little jingle on the way out. This one's in the bag, Sears is sure of it.
Pick one:
[]Go It Alone: Set up the EPA scholarships as planned, the funding locked in for eight years. This allows you to slant the direction of U.S. environmental education projects to some extent, and you're beholden to nobody.
[]Cooperation: Accept the RAND proposal, and thereby allow the Department of Defense to fund the scholarships in part, establishing a secure funding stream that ought to last anything barring a Second Depression. The catch is that the public-awareness angle will gravitate towards energy security and independence rather than pure climate-change awareness. The different means from this path might lead to the same end, though. Perhaps.
Guilliman
Lord Protector
- Location
- Jakarta
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[x] Cooperation: Accept the RAND proposal, and thereby allow the Department of Defense to fund the scholarships in part, establishing a secure funding stream that ought to last anything barring a Second Depression. The catch is that the public-awareness angle will gravitate towards energy security and independence rather than pure climate-change awareness. The different means from this path might lead to the same end, though. Perhaps.
- Location
- Eugene OR US
[x] Cooperation: Accept the RAND proposal, and thereby allow the Department of Defense to fund the scholarships in part, establishing a secure funding stream that ought to last anything barring a Second Depression. The catch is that the public-awareness angle will gravitate towards energy security and independence rather than pure climate-change awareness. The different means from this path might lead to the same end, though. Perhaps.
- Location
- California
We'll now, I got to be illogical.
[X] Go It Alone: Set up the EPA scholarships as planned, the funding locked in for eight years. This allows you to slant the direction of U.S. environmental education projects to some extent, and you're beholden to nobody.
Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
- Location
- Behind You
[X]Go It Alone: Set up the EPA scholarships as planned, the funding locked in for eight years. This allows you to slant the direction of U.S. environmental education projects to some extent, and you're beholden to nobody.
Rockeye
Plausible Engineer
- Location
- Midwestern U.S.
[x] Cooperation: Accept the RAND proposal, and thereby allow the Department of Defense to fund the scholarships in part, establishing a secure funding stream that ought to last anything barring a Second Depression. The catch is that the public-awareness angle will gravitate towards energy security and independence rather than pure climate-change awareness. The different means from this path might lead to the same end, though. Perhaps.
Uhh, it irks me ao much how all this corps and politicos scoff at EPA. We are trying to save humanity here, you fucks!
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
[x] Cooperation: Accept the RAND proposal, and thereby allow the Department of Defense to fund the scholarships in part, establishing a secure funding stream that ought to last anything barring a Second Depression. The catch is that the public-awareness angle will gravitate towards energy security and independence rather than pure climate-change awareness. The different means from this path might lead to the same end, though. Perhaps.
——
DoD buy-in means this program survives even a hypothetical Trump administration. If our people are on the right evaluation committees and working groups, we can get most of the benefits of going it alone anyway - and we should be looking at locking in our achievements as much as possible, in case the 2002 and 2004 dice don't go so well.
——
DoD buy-in means this program survives even a hypothetical Trump administration. If our people are on the right evaluation committees and working groups, we can get most of the benefits of going it alone anyway - and we should be looking at locking in our achievements as much as possible, in case the 2002 and 2004 dice don't go so well.
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- Location
- Academy City
- Pronouns
- They
[x] Cooperation: Accept the RAND proposal, and thereby allow the Department of Defense to fund the scholarships in part, establishing a secure funding stream that ought to last anything barring a Second Depression. The catch is that the public-awareness angle will gravitate towards energy security and independence rather than pure climate-change awareness. The different means from this path might lead to the same end, though. Perhaps.