Jane McGonigal
๐ค SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
As a futurist, I think the two most dangerous words in the English language are unimaginable and unthinkable.
So I want to invite you to think creatively and courageously about some hard-to-imagine possibilities.
Let's play a game of What If.
I'll describe three hypothetical future scenarios.
You try to imagine how you would feel and what you would do if you woke up in these strange new worlds.
Future number one.
It's 2033.
Extreme heat, wildfire and droughts have been worse than even the most dire climate predictions, so now geoengineering is up for a global vote.
Nine billion people are eligible to vote yes or no on a 10-year plan of aggressive solar radiation management, injecting sulfate particles into the atmosphere to block some of the sun's rays.
The election is called Sun Exit.
They're saying a yes on sun exit could bring about a 10-year winter, but it could also solve some of our biggest climate challenges.
Is it worth the risks, the unintended consequences?
How would you vote?
How would you educate yourself to be ready to vote?
Scenario update, sun exit passed, we're doing it, solar radiation management starts in 10 days.
Now how do you feel?
What do you do in the next 10 days to get ready?
OK, it's one year later.
The geoengineering is working, yes, but paradoxically, trust in science is now at an all-time low.
People are saying there are mental and physical side effects.