How do people make decisions when their every material want can be met with a push of a button? How does society organize itself in a post-scarcity world? What are the incentives for people to work hard and contribute if they don‰Ûªt get paid? Would this world be a utopia or a dystopia? These are some of the questions we are going to ask and try to answer in this class as we imagine a world, as in Star Trek, in which food and objects are available at the push of a button and the society no longer uses money (with the occasional exception of gold-pressed latinum). We will explore whether or not we think we are headed in a direction that would lead to this post-scarcity world and what would be the steps along the way. We will read both fiction and non-fiction from authors who have imagined this type of future and explore the firms and people outside the classroom who may give us clues as to how we get there from here.

What are the most critical threats to your future as defined by the generally accepted line in the sand of 2050 and global mean temperature of the 1.5 to 2.0 degrees Celsius stabilization? What will climate change mean in global environmental change? We will discuss species extinction, food deserts, projected extremes in weather patterns, the impact of world population, and other concerning projections‰ÛÓmany of which we are already seeing. The first portion of the class will focus on developing a common vocabulary and scientific understanding of climate change with class discussion and exercises augmented by guest speakers, films, and readings. We will then switch to the promise of technology and an exponentially evolving application of carbontech, AI, city design, the management of human and species migration, new methods to address scarcity of food and water, policy and technology of coastal management, and the potential for positive change and an optimistic future. Guest speakers, films and reading will augment this portion of the class as well. The final project will be student-designed and embrace optimistic potential as well as political, economic, and social change essential to accomplishing that vision.