NationStates

Current Draft: 9th

[title] Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

[validity] Medium-High Economic Freedom, Large Mining Industry?
[policy] Possibly No Climate Treaty?

[desc] An all-caps headline took over the newspapers when a huge power failure ground @@CAPITAL@@’s activities to a halt, resulting in dark streets, no TV time, and uncooled drinks. It was then traced back to the power plants not having enough fuel to provide electricity, which turned out to be because they are exported to other countries. You are once again bothered by this problem in your candlelit office.

[option 1] "I've come to talk with you again!" said Simon @@RANDOMLASTNAME@@, your Minister of Energy, "Because now we got the darkness, and only now you all will listen to me!" He cleared his throat before going on, "Anyway, we have the fossil fuel reserves, so we should have the energy. Guess what? All those corporations like Conch and Epsilon Mobil are leeching our natural resources. They have too much of a free rein on our resources! For the greatness of our nation, you should bring nationalization into these depots. It's the only way we can be sure that we got what we have. Plus, think of the positive effects it might have - we only need to mine what we need! The excess can stay excess without selling them for the almighty.
[effect] half of @@NATION@@’s security guards and police are transferred to guarding lonely fuel depots

[option 2] "Oh you fool- friends, you do not know," said @@RANDOMNAME@@, CEO of Conch, his belt about to unbuckle itself, "Those papers are utter bollocks. We promise to pay you back in cash… soon! Gave us more freedom to extract @@NATION@@'s resources. That way, we can abus- err, I mean, give more to your people, see? With that said… how about also giving us more action to freely frack your land? Those drills can only reach so far, you know!"
[effect] all @@NATION@@’s oil rigs are belong to Multinational Companies

[option 3] "This all got me thinking, why haven’t we switched to clean energy yet?" wonders @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ Starlight, cranking a bright and white dynamo-operated torchlight with her hands, "Why do we have to rely so much on these polluting sources of energy when there are other alternatives - solar, wind, geothermal… need I go on? So many options out there that would make these depleting resources obsolete. Bring on the solarpunk!" She then stopped operating the torchlight and cracked her knuckles.
[validity] Only for Low Eco-Friendliness and/or having no Alternative Energy.
[effect] @@CAPITAL@@ gets surplus energy during typhoons

[option 4] "Actually, I have a radical idea," intervenes a random citizen who smells very strongly of diesel, "If we can no longer rely on the government to provide the energy, why don’t we just get our own? See, I have a big generator back in my home, and these are all the rage in my neighbourhood. There were some noise and air pollution complaints for using these diesel-guzzlers, but they quickly shut up when I hook up their homes to my Giver of Power. I think you should give up on a power plant, and instead just encourage the use of generators. Hey, if these corporations love money so much, we might as well give it directly to them for a little power!"
[effect] @@NATIONDEMONYM@@ walked restlessly as the sounds of generators echoes

The Sherpa Empire wrote:The desc is oddly-written and a bit long, but even with how long it is, we still don't find out until the options that the problem is due to exporting natural gas. I think this title and this premise are a good combo, though.

Sacara wrote:I'm wondering how many nations have this extremely specific validity requirement.

Valentine Z wrote:"Anyway, we have the natural gas, and we have the energy, but guess what? You decided to sell this stuff to Brancaland to benefit them AND use that money for yourself."

Trotterdam wrote:

Valentine Z wrote:"Anyway, we have the natural gas, and we have the energy, but guess what? You decided to sell this stuff to Brancaland to benefit them AND use that money for yourself."

This violates player autonomy. I never made such a decision.

Instead, suggest that private companies (where they exist and have enough freedom to operate, of course) decided on their own accord that selling the gas to other countries was more profitable than using it locally. Then ask @@LEADER@@ to intervene and regulate those companies, or maybe end up supporting them instead in the name of the economy.

Paflava wrote:I think it's quite a good idea but I think it needs to be rewritten to be more easy to read.

Chan Island wrote:I've come to talk with you again...

Surely Myanmar's situation with mass blackouts is already a serious enough problem on it's own, and far more intuitive, than this massive charade with the traffic accident? The bonus is that the car validity won't be needed anymore.

Otherwise I like this issue quite a bit. The options make sense (though some of those effect lines need clearing up- except option 3's which is wonderful), which is nice.

Australian rePublic wrote:But can't @@NAME@@ import from a third country?

Alterrum wrote:Some thoughts on making the issue more varied.

Economic freedom should have no bearing on the issue here - a command economy can be undemocratic as well, and there's no reason why corrupt apparatchiks can't export energy for personal enrichment to the detriment of their nation. Therefore, I'd recommend writing another option to reflect this scenario as well, and adding private industry as a qualifier to the first three options only.

Also, there's no reason why this couldn't occur in a nation that runs 100% on renewables (for example, if they were constructed with the help of some outside party which demanded some of the production capacity for itself), so I'd drop the issue-wide mining industry requirement and instead add it to the first 4 options, and then add additional options to reflect this issue in the case of a renewables-based economy. Just to note, option 4 is still valid in the case of a fossil-powered economy, as it simply introduces another avenue for power generation (you might include the inverse in the case of the renewable-based economy, i.e. "We need to bring back extracting fossils to solve our energy crisis!").

Valentine Z wrote:Woo, another issue idea from me!

Context: So for these past decade or so, Myanmar has suffered blackouts rather frequently. Problem was, we have enough natural gas for everyone, but the exports (especially to China) was so excessive that we don't have enough for our OWN people.

Current Draft: 2.1 - Electric Boogaloo

[title] Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

[validity] Strong Mining Industry, Medium-High Economic Freedom, Cars Not Banned?, High Corruption, Computers not Banned.

[desc] A huge headline took over the next morning’s newspapers when a huge power failure has grinded @@CAPITAL@@’s activities to a halt, ranging from failed street lamps and air conditioning, to server downtimes and melted ice-creams. You are once again bothered by this problem in your office.

Valentine Z wrote:[option 1] “Well, so glad I’ve come to talk with you again,” said Simon @@RANDOMLASTNAME@@, your Minister of Energy, “Because now we got the darkness, and only now you all will listen to me! ” He cleared his throat before getting back to the tangent, “Anyway, we have the natural gas reserves, so we should have the energy. Guess what? All those corporations like Seashell and Epsilon Mobil are leeching our natural resources, with leaked documents proving that profits and the gas itself are being transferred to other big countries. You gave them too much of a free rein to do whatever, @@LEADER@@! For the greatness of our nation, you should crackdown on these corporations. We have to send our boys to monitor any kickbacks, to make well sure that they will send their earnings to the government.
[effect] half of @@NATION@@’s security guards and police are transferred to guarding gas extractors

Valentine Z wrote:[option 2] ”Not going far enough!” exclaims @@RANDOMNAME2@@, a local teacher of Geography and History, “The fact of the matter is, our resources are too precious to be in the hands of these greedy corporations alone. Now now, before you harp on me, I am not suggesting that we bring socialism or communism into this, or have the government take over them completely. But surely, we can strike an agreement with these companies? Since this is our land, we will take 50% of the gas and its earnings, while the corporations can get 50% of the remaining pie. We get the energy, they get the cash! It’s a win-win! Wait… make it 60-40. Or 70-30… 80-20… Oh, somebody stop me!”
[effect] it’s not uncommon to see the G-men and the CEOs grudgingly sharing the same office space

Valentine Z wrote:[option 3] “Wait, wait, you don’t want to do that, my friend,” said @@RANDOMNAME3@@, CEO of Epsilon Mobil, who just had his 4th meal of the day, “You gotta see this as stupid and incompetent people not being able to navigate in total darkness. Those papers are utter bollocks, we promise to pay you back in cash… soon! So yes, stick to giving us the freedom to extract the natural gas. That way, we can abus- err, I mean, give more to your people, see? With that said… how about also giving us a discount on those jade that your mines produce?”
[effect] all @@NATION@@’s mines are belong to Transnational Companies

Valentine Z wrote:[option 4] “This all got me thinking, why haven’t we switched to clean energy yet?” wonders @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ Starlight, who navigated through your office with a dynamo-operated torchlight, “Why do we have to rely so much on this pollutanting source of energy when there are other alternatives like solar, wind, geothermal… need I go on? The point is, there are so many options out there that it would make these depletable resources obsolete. Bring on the solarpunk!”
[validity] Only for Low Eco-Friendliness and/or having no Alternative Energy.
[effect] @@CAPITAL@@ has been declared off-limits for planes due to the towering windmills

Frieden-und Freudenland wrote:Hello, Valentine! Nice to see you again!

1) I'd say you should avoid using the word huge twice here. Also, I think the idiom "to grind to a halt" is intransitive, not transitive. But I might be wrong.

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2) I think it is customary to use present tense in options. So instead of "blabla said X" you could say "blabla says X."

with leaked documents proving that profits and the gas itself are being transferred to other big countries.

When did this happen? Such a breach of conduct would have its own issue, I think. Remember, your big issue is the blackout here. Why introduce an additional problem of illegal stuff here?

crackdown --> crack down

And this option should be 2 lines shorter, I think.

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3) Again, this option could be about 1 line shorter.

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4) What is funny about having your 4th meal? You mean this guy is not only greedy, but also gluttonous?

I think you could make a better joke there, though. (Also, if you refer to him as "he" you should also have @@RANDOMMALENAME@@. If you don't want to specify gender, you should also use macros for pronouns, like @@HIS@@.)

Also, overall I find this particular option a bit unfocused, all over the place. What does this CEO want, exactly? Also, why does he bring up the issue of jade mines? Why would he be interested in jade? It's not even that expensive. Uranium or a similar material would make more sense, I think.

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5) As someone also said, such blackouts could also happen in a nation that relies on green energy sources.

pollutanting --> polluting? pollutant?

Australian rePublic wrote:If you want to add a new angle to this, try environmentalists. Australia, for example, Australia has at least 100 years of coal reserves for herself and for overseas, but thanks to unrealistic sustainability targets, we can export coal but not use it for ourselves. South Australia is the worst at this with constant blackouts and 1,000 times the electricity prices of the rest of the country. To the point where Elon MMusk had to go and install a stupid lithium battery which was a colossal investment and produces hardly enough energy. And to make matters worse, the idiots greens, who are a minor political party, who for some reason, the government bows down to, ran an ad about how the rest of the country should be more like South Australia. (And that's before you consider that the whole electrical grid operates as one nationwide, so South Australia's self-rightous lunacy f$$ks up the rest of the country, and other states are also facing the same problems as South Australia, but not to the same extreme). Further, RE: description, I come from a climate where 40°C weather with extreme humidity is the norm, as well as humidity through the roof, and I have experienced extreme cold and snow. Whilst a 40°C degree day feels like an oven when you're outside, and even worse in a non-ventelated un-airconditioned small room, atleast it's not a cold climate where you get in cold climates, and dire consiquences for not doing so.

Valentine Z wrote:

Australian rePublic wrote:If you want to add a new angle to this, try environmentalists. Australia, for example, Australia has at least 100 years of coal reserves for herself and for overseas, but thanks to unrealistic sustainability targets, we can export coal but not use it for ourselves. South Australia is the worst at this with constant blackouts and 1,000 times the electricity prices of the rest of the country. To the point where Elon MMusk had to go and install a stupid lithium battery which was a colossal investment and produces hardly enough energy. And to make matters worse, the idiots greens, who are a minor political party, who for some reason, the government bows down to, ran an ad about how the rest of the country should be more like South Australia. (And that's before you consider that the whole electrical grid operates as one nationwide, so South Australia's self-rightous lunacy f$$ks up the rest of the country, and other states are also facing the same problems as South Australia, but not to the same extreme). Further, RE: description, I come from a climate where 40°C weather with extreme humidity is the norm, as well as humidity through the roof, and I have experienced extreme cold and snow. Whilst a 40°C degree day feels like an oven when you're outside, and even worse in a non-ventelated un-airconditioned small room, atleast it's not a cold climate where you get in cold climates, and dire consiquences for not doing so.

Holy shoot, this all sounds like the problem we are currently having. We have the resources, but guess what? Most of them are being exported to somewhere else...

Dang, let me see what I else can come up with. I think the existing solarpunk option would make it environmentally friendly, but what else can I have?

Valentine Z wrote:

Australian rePublic wrote:If you want to add a new angle to this, try environmentalists. Australia, for example, Australia has at least 100 years of coal reserves for herself and for overseas, but thanks to unrealistic sustainability targets, we can export coal but not use it for ourselves. South Australia is the worst at this with constant blackouts and 1,000 times the electricity prices of the rest of the country. To the point where Elon MMusk had to go and install a stupid lithium battery which was a colossal investment and produces hardly enough energy. And to make matters worse, the idiots greens, who are a minor political party, who for some reason, the government bows down to, ran an ad about how the rest of the country should be more like South Australia. (And that's before you consider that the whole electrical grid operates as one nationwide, so South Australia's self-rightous lunacy f$$ks up the rest of the country, and other states are also facing the same problems as South Australia, but not to the same extreme). Further, RE: description, I come from a climate where 40°C weather with extreme humidity is the norm, as well as humidity through the roof, and I have experienced extreme cold and snow. Whilst a 40°C degree day feels like an oven when you're outside, and even worse in a non-ventelated un-airconditioned small room, atleast it's not a cold climate where you get in cold climates, and dire consiquences for not doing so.

Holy shoot, this all sounds like the problem we are currently having. We have the resources, but guess what? Most of them are being exported to somewhere else...

Dang, let me see what I else can come up with. I think the existing solarpunk option would make it environmentally friendly, but what else can I have?

Australian rePublic wrote:No the problem that we're having is that we have enough for ourselves AND for everyone else combined, and we can easily have enough for us AND for overseas without having to choose, but the environmentalists are metaphorically telling us to go f%%k ourselves. (The environmentalists don't want us to export either)