In my current sci fi WIP, set several hundred years in the future, the population of Earth has been decimated due to food shortages, catastrophic flooding and other weather events, and the resulting violent reactions of desperate people. A good chunk of the remaining population has been evacuated to outer space colonies and stations, though the powers-that-be have currently run out of the fuel and food supplies needed to evacuate the rest of the population.
For the people remaining on Earth - what will their planet look like?
I've done a fair bit of research on this. Currently I have the temperate zones much narrower and further north/south than currently, which leaves the current southern temperate zone right in the middle of the ocean. The northern temperate zone, much smaller due to rising sea levels, is now the only place left where large-scale agriculture is still possible and, thus, is greatly over-populated.
I originally had the torrid/equatorial zone as much wider, with the world's deserts expanding rapidly. But now I'm thinking that, if the Earth is a warmer and wetter place, this might not be the case. I'm toying with the idea of the equatorial zone being gradually taken over by a super-jungle too aggressive to be tamed by man. But how likely is this? The WIP is soft sci fi but I do want my premise to be somewhat tenable.
I'm also having conniptions out which animal species would survive such climate changes. A wipe out of large mammals seems likely and I originally had insects, amphibians and scavenger types increasing their numbers quite rapidly, but the more I think about it the more likely it seems that all animal life would become extinct or close to it. Warm and wet might seem ideal for a massive explosion of mosquitoes, but if they have little to feed on, wouldn't they die out too?
I'd be very grateful if folks could throw out other things I need to be thinking about, as well as possible answers to my questions. Humanity's survival is assured. Earth's remaining humans are charged with doing what they can to assure the planet's survival.
For the people remaining on Earth - what will their planet look like?
I've done a fair bit of research on this. Currently I have the temperate zones much narrower and further north/south than currently, which leaves the current southern temperate zone right in the middle of the ocean. The northern temperate zone, much smaller due to rising sea levels, is now the only place left where large-scale agriculture is still possible and, thus, is greatly over-populated.
I originally had the torrid/equatorial zone as much wider, with the world's deserts expanding rapidly. But now I'm thinking that, if the Earth is a warmer and wetter place, this might not be the case. I'm toying with the idea of the equatorial zone being gradually taken over by a super-jungle too aggressive to be tamed by man. But how likely is this? The WIP is soft sci fi but I do want my premise to be somewhat tenable.
I'm also having conniptions out which animal species would survive such climate changes. A wipe out of large mammals seems likely and I originally had insects, amphibians and scavenger types increasing their numbers quite rapidly, but the more I think about it the more likely it seems that all animal life would become extinct or close to it. Warm and wet might seem ideal for a massive explosion of mosquitoes, but if they have little to feed on, wouldn't they die out too?
I'd be very grateful if folks could throw out other things I need to be thinking about, as well as possible answers to my questions. Humanity's survival is assured. Earth's remaining humans are charged with doing what they can to assure the planet's survival.
