201.Youarrivehomefromworkoneevening,onlytodiscoveryourbiosphereisdead.Whatawaytostarttheweek!Onlookingbackthroughtherecords,thereasonisnothardtodiscover.Aclassicgreenhouse-effectproblem.Nextti
me,winddownthefossilfuelsalittlemoresoyourglobedoesn'tcookitselftodeathwhileyou'reout.Fortunatelythebiosphereinquestionisonlyagame,orsomethinglikeagame.Youhavethisprogramrunningonyourhomecompu
tercalledSimEarth,whichletsyoumodelallkindsofbiosphereconditionsoveranumberofdifferenttimeframes:geological,biologicalandsociological.Theoneyouthinkyou'regettingalittleobsessedwithisamodelofpl
anetEarthfrom1990onwards.Sothisweekyoudecidethatyouwillsetupthismodeleverymorning,selectingtypesandquantitiesofenergyuseandexpenditure.Youwillcomehomeeveryeveningandseeifyourworldisstillrunnin
g.Sometimesitis,sometimesitisn't.202.There'ssomethingalittleeerieabouthavingafunctioningbiosphereinyourhome;somethingrathermoredisturbingaboutfindingthethinghasgonebellyupwhileyouwereoutatwork
.SimEarthletsyouchoosefromanumberofenergysources,includingbiomass,hydro-electric,solar,nuclearorfossilfuelled.Italsoletsyouprogramarangeofenergyuses,includingscience,agriculture,medicine,andth
earts.Eachofthesehasdifferenteffects.Ifyouexpendenergyonagriculture,populationincreasesrathermorerapidly.Ifyoudevotemoreresourcestoscience,technologicalchangeaccelerates.Someoftheassumptionshe
reareofcoursecrude,butnotunreasonable.Naturally,ahomebiospherehastorunarelativelysimplealgorithmcomparedtotheheavydutymodel.203.Thecuriousthingaboutitishowfiddlingaroundwiththesecrudevariables
givesyouafeelfortheglobalimpactoffundamentalchoicesaboutwhateconomistscallresourceallocation.Forinstance,youstartituponemidweekmorningwithsettingswhichdevotealotofresourcestoagriculture.Thisse
emsareasonableapproachtocreatingaminimalistatopia.TheodorAdorno:"Thereistendernessonlyinthecoarsestdemand:thatno-oneshouldgohungryanymore.Everyotherseekstoapplytoaconditionthatoughttobedetermi
nedbyhumanneeds,amodeofconductadaptedtoproductionasanendinitself."Andyetitdoesn'tquiteworkout.Whenyoucomehomefromworkyoufindthepopulationshotthroughtheroof.Thatonewaspredictable.Whatyouhadn'tc
ountedon,though,wasthatincreasingagriculturepumpedoutmoregreenhousegasses.Thetemperaturewaseversoslowlyrising,threateningtotoasteverything,unevenlybutverycrisplybrown.Andallbecauseofthattroubl
ingphrase,'humanneeds'É204.Likeanypatientconfrontedwithaterminaldiagnosis,youwantedasecondopinion.SoyousetSimEarthrunningathomebeforedrivingofftowork,whereyoustealalittletimetofireupyourbrowse
randgowebsurfing.Theurgentproblemistofindoutwhyincreasingtheamountoffoodbeinggrownhasthislethaleffect.Theprognosisisnotgood.Itseemsthatmethaneisoneofthegassesthatcausesglobalwarming.Abittoomuc
hmethaneintheairandheatgetstrappedintheatmosphere.Bydialingupmoreagriculture,youalsouppedtheamountofmethanegoingintotheatmosphere.Ricepaddies,forinstance,areoneofthesourcesofmethane.Itseemstha
tdeepinthemuckatthebottomofricepaddiesarelittlebacteriathatproducemethaneasabyproduct.Great!Thereyouwere,onlythismorningtryingtoseetoitthatallthepeopleonyourbiospherearegetenoughtoeat,andbythe
timeyoucomehomefordinneryou'recookingthebiosphere.205.Thisisallabittoomuch,butfortunatelythenextdayistheendoftheworkingweekandyouaregoingouttodinnerafterwardswithfriends.Youimaginethismighttak
eyourmindofSimEarth,butallthatfoodonthetablemakesyoulooseyourappetite.Thatbigsilverydishwithallthatriceinitsmellslikeover-cookedbiosphere.Thebeef,deliciousthoughittastes,onlymakesthingsworse.I
tseemsthatoneoftheothersourcesofmethaneintheworldis,ofallthings,cowfarts.Yes,cowfarts.Itneveroccurredtoyouthattherewastheslightestglobalsignificanceinthefactthatcowsareabitgassy.Theproblemis,t
heyfart(andbelch)methane.Well,notthecowsexactly,butthebacteriaintheirstomachsthatbreakdownallthatgrass.Thosebacteria,liketheirteeminglittleprokaryoterelativesinthericepaddies,alsomakemethane.2
06.Theweekendcomes,sonowyoucanreallyspendsometimeonthisbiospherebusiness.Whenyouprogrammedyourlittlebiospherewithlotsoffoodproductionsothatnobodywouldgohungry,youalsoselectedahigherrateofmetha
neoutput.Itjustgoestoshowhowyouhavetothinkaboutalloftheconsequencesofanythingyoudo.Thatnobodyshouldgohungryisaworthygoal,but,allthingsbeingequal,itmeansmorepeople,andmorepeoplemeansmorelandund
ercultivation,andthatmeansmoremethane,andthatisabitofaproblem.SothenexttimeyousetupSimEarthyoudothingsabitdifferently.Ratherthanconcentrateonexpandingfoodproductionintheshortterm,whynotputmore
resourcesintoscienceandtechnologyinstead?Thisisabitofagamble,youthinktoyourselfasyoudriveofftothemallinyourhightechhybridcar,thekindAlGorerecommends.Whatifsciencedidn'tcomeupwiththeanswersinti
me?Whatifburningupfossilfuelsatarateofknotsdidn'tkickprogressalongfastenough?Whatifpeoplegohungry?Whatthehellisprogressanyway?207.Bythetimeyoureturnhome,SimEarthhadrevertedtowhatitcalls,withac
ertaindrollery,'geologicaltime'.Thereisnothingleftalive,soyourplanetisjusttickingover,waitingquartzeonsforlifetomysteriouslysparkagain.Whathappened?Checkthecharts.Letssee:pollutionup,oxygenlev
elsdown,carbondioxideup,temperaturesskyhigh.Itseemsthetechno-gambledidn'tquiteworkout.Crankingupthewholeglobaleconomytothemax,pumpingoutandburningupeverysourceofenergyasfastaspossiblecertainly
didincreasethepaceoftechnologicalchange,butinthisscenario,itincreasedtherateofglobalclimatechangeevenfaster.208.Theproblemwasn'tthemethanethistime.Bykeepingpopulationandfoodproductiongrowingab
itmoreslowlyitseemsyoukeptyourlittlegreenearthfromspinningoutintothatfate.Theproblemthistimewasthecarbondioxide.Thereitisonthegraph-shootingupatadevilishlysharptack,takingtemperaturesupwithit.
Burningfossilfuels-oilandcoal-producescarbondioxide,amongotherthings,andwhenyouincreasetheamountofcarbondioxideintheatmosphere,youturnthetoasteronagain.Likemethane,ittrapstheheatfromsunlight.T
hereallysadpartisthatallthewayhomeinthecarfromyourtriptothemall,loadedupwithorganicvegetables,biodegradabletoiletpaperandthenewslim-linemodelPlaystation,youhadbeenreallyeagertoseeifyourlittleg
amblehadpaidoff.209.Youhadnotquiteabsorbedtheideathatdrivingispartoftheproblem.Marxshowedhoweachactofconcrete,specific,particularlaborismadeequivalent,bythewagerelation,toeveryother.Concretela
borisalsoabstractlabor.Ingamespace,everyconcrete,specificactionofanykindisalsoanabstractaction,theconsumingofagivenresourceforagivenresult.Andyetgamespacedoesnotencompassandaccountforeveryacti
on.Onlythoseinputsthattaketheformofanagonbetweencompetingforcesinthemarketcanbecalculated.Butbehindtheagonliesahostofcontraryterms,shadingoffintotheimperceptible,thatcomebacktotauntgamespacewi
ththeircumulativeeffect.WhatsetsSimEarthapartisthattheunintendedconsequencesofagon,alltheexcludedandcontraryoutputs,receivedatleastanapproximateaccounting.210.Youhadalwaysthoughtthatiftheecono
myintherealworldcrankedalongatmaximumefficiency,thentechnologywouldalsobobblealongataratesufficienttodealwiththelittleproblemsthatmightoccuralongtheway.KarlMarx:"Mankindthusinevitablysetsitsel
fonlysuchtasksasitisabletosolve,sincecloserexaminationwillalwaysshowthattheproblemitselfarisesonlywhenthematerialconditionsforitssolutionarealreadypresentoratleastinthecourseofformation."Well,
maybe.WhattheSimEarthallegorithmpointstoisthatlikemostpeople,youhadalwaystakenthisonfaith.Whathappensifthelittleproblemsaren'tjustaccidentalbyproductsÑalittleoilspillthere,atoxicwastedisastert
hereÑwhatifthemilitaryentertainmentcomplexitselfwasmuckinguptheglobalconditionsofitsownsuccess?GamespaceisjustlikeyourPlaystation.Itappearstoitselfasarigorousgame,witheveryactionaccountedfor,a
ndyetitreliesonahugepowercordpokingoutthebackthatsucksinenergyfromanelsewhereforwhichitmakesnoallowance.Thatthegameisnotreallyruledofffromtheworld,thatitreliesonanexternalsourceofpower,didnotr
eallyoccurtoyouuntilyouplayedyournewPlaystationforhoursandhoursonendanditoverheated.Tantalum,liketherestofplanetearth,isonlygoodwithsomuchheat.ThereissomethingoutsideTheCave(tm)afterall.Gameov
er.211.Alright,somaybethirdtimelucky.Letseaseupontheagriculturaloutputandtheuseoffossilfuels.Here'sanidea:let'sgonuclear!Maybethisisthewaytohavethebestofbothworlds,sotospeak.Lotsofenergytokeep
industryandtechnologycooking,butwithoutturningonthebigheatofthegreenhousetoaster-oven.Runitovernightandtestyournucleargambit.Sundaymorningcomes.Well,thistimethereisgoodnewsandbadnews.Thegoodne
ws:yourbiospheredidn'tcookthistime.YouhadwellandtrulysolvedthegreenhouseproblemÑpermanently.Thebadnews:Ratherthanoverheatit,youaccidentallyshoveditintothedeepfreeze.Itscalled'nuclearwinter'Ñan
ditresultsfromlettingoffafewtoomanythermonucleardevices.Thedustcloudfromthatkeepsthesunlightoutaltogether.212.Byclickingonthenuclearoption,yougaveyourlittleSimEarthlingsnotonlyagreatsourceofpo
wer,butadangerousweapon.Itwasnotasifyouhadtakenawaythesourcesofpotentialconflict,however.Conditionswerenotexactlyripe,itseemsforglobalconsciousness.A.A.Bogdanov:"Thestrugglebetweenclasses,grou
ps,andindividualsprecludesboththeideaofthewholeandthehappinessandsufferingimpliedbythenotion."Theyjuststartedblastingawayateachother.Perhapstheydidn'tinventgametheory,andfigureoutthatdeterrenc
eonlyworksifnobodyshoots.Andperhapsthat'syourfault-youreducedinputsforscienceandculture.Theradioactivepatchesonthesurfaceofthisdigitalearthburnthroughafeweons-worthofthesubsequent'geological'p
hase.Youcanseelittlenukesigns,carvedonthebrownstumpofaformerlygreenplanet,likevandal-carvedgraffitiontreesthatannouncestonobodyinparticular:wewerehere.Howdidthishappen?Whilethenowquitevisibleh
andofagonwithingamespacemetesoutresourcesaccordingtoitslaw;aninvisiblefoot,composedofallthatshades</