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by The National Assembly of The Star Enpire. . 70 reads.

Refugia | Office of Culture: Official Dispatch


General Information


Photo Credit: Refuge Isle

Overview



According to RRS 7(c)(ii), the Councillor of Culture must "Publish regular updates to the Regional Eco Report". Here is the report for May 2023 to August 2023.

Eco-Stats


Eco-Friendliness

Link

RRS 14 states that the goal of Refugia is:
a. Reach an average Environmental Beauty score of 1,100 on or before December 31, 2022, and maintained thereafter.
b. Reach an average Eco-Friendliness score of 2,500 on or before December 31, 2022, and maintained thereafter.

While we seem to have failed to reach that goal by the end of 2022, we did succeed in getting it by the time my term started.

Eco-Friendliness

As you can see in the chart, we started June with a score of 3400 and will be ending August with a score of 3720, with a low of 3300 and a high of 4000. We are meeting our target with a comfortable margin. Eco-friendliness if you are unaware is how much money your government gives to support the environment.

Environmental Beauty

Link

Environmental Beauty

As for environmental beauty, it closely tracks eco-friendliness in a more muted fashion. The regional average started at 1120 and will end at 1200, with a low of 1091 and a high of 1250. The goal is being met, but I would like to see more room for error. Environmental beauty is a measure of how much your environment is thriving, and thus is, in the absence of a carbon output stat, the ultimate beneficiary of your nationstate eco-friendliness.

Eco-Advice


The big environmental crises are not the only problems we face. One of the many, many threats to regional environments, especially in the Americas, are invasive species and human activity destroying and displacing local wildlife.

So if you are lucky enough to own some dirt, consider planting some plant species native to your area. By planting native species, you will be supporting local ecosystems by providing homes and food for local wildlife.

With a little care, you can transform some dismal lawn or concrete lot into a small refuge of your own. And if you don't own any space, consider finding a local community garden, or even an abandoned lot (tho make sure to keep yourself safe from the law). Here are some links I found to help you get started with your own research:

LinkNative Plant Finder
LinkWhat are local ecotype plants and why do they matter to pollinators?
LinkNative, or Not So Much?
LinkPlantnet
LinkWhy More Gardeners Are Growing Native Plants

Editorial


I don't read the news, so here are some idle musings instead.

A few months ago I read a forum thread on nuclear power that made me reflect on how my stance on nuclear energy differs from most environmentalist groups. I believed in saving the planet with nuclear power since I was a small child, while most activists seem to prefer natural gas to the atom. While it is tempting to call myself an enlightened rationalist, superior to all those fossil fuel shills, my 12-year-old self was probably not thinking rationally about his beliefs. So what was the emotional reason for my nuclear fever?

Ruminating on it for a while, I think I found it. You see, I was also a big fan of cities and public transportation. And sure, there's good reason to believe that that stuff is good for the environment. But combined with the fact that my childhood self was a socialist who unironically believed that "socialism is when the government does stuff", one can't help but feel that I had a type. All these things - nuclear power, urban areas, public transit, big government - all these things are examples of big centralized systems. Nuclear power requires a huge expensive reactor, while solar panels for example are affordable enough for the average homeowner to install. Cities are massive concentrations of people and, regardless of being less polluting per person, they are incredibly destructive to the local environment.

It's making me consider more liberatory alternatives. Like, instead of nuclear plants, why not renewable energy owned by the masses? Instead of bus lines, have everyone use electric bikes. Instead of megacities, why not... actually I'm not sure what other alternative there is except sticking your head in the sand and pretending that 8 billion people living in villages is good for the environment. And instead of state socialism, why not, uh, eco-anarchism, I guess? Solarpunk basically.


And that's the report. Before you go, I just like to mention this cute little game I found called LinkGreen New Deal Simulator where you try to create a carbon-neutral America. Peace out.

The Star Enpire

Read dispatch


Our most recent Eco-Report dispatch.

One of the three original Council positions, The Councillor of Culture, currently The Star Enpire, is in charge of orchestrating cultural events and developing the identity of the Refugi culture. They are responsible for keeping people feeling happy and safe, coordinating events, and hosting games. The Councillor of Culture is always available to answer questions or to put a Resident/Member State in contact with another Councillor who can better assist them with their issue. Finally, as of Statute Referendum #3: Guidelines for Environmental Participation and Implication, the Councillor of Culture is in charge of tracking regional environmental stats, and providing regular Eco-Reports informing the region of its progress.


Anita kelly wrote:That they could exist in a space that was all their own, that they could shift and adjust until it felt right. [...] And that was comforting. That each person could choose what brought them closer to belonging, the power in that. Knowing that one day, people might discover even better words for it. That there was only ever freedom in continuing to find new names for who we were, who we could be.

Much like this quote about gender, how the Office of Culture runs depends entirely on the individuals who hold the position, and it may look very different from term to term. Examples of how the Councillors of Culture may promote regional activity and community include:

  • Special Events: The Councillors of Culture may choose to run region-wide events such as Green Week, creative competitions or RP opportunities that any Resident may participate in, encouraging all those within our region to make new friends, to share or discover new talents, and to show off how vibrant and friendly our region is.

  • Calamity Refuge: Refugia is the NationStates side of a much older and wider community known as Calamity Refuge. The Councillors of Culture may encourage integration of Refugi with the wider CalRef community through promotion of the LinkCalRef forum, events such as movie nights or game nights on the Discord, or by simply being a familiar and friendly face to chat to whether in NationStates or another CalRef space.

  • Interregional Events: Working with the Councillor of Foreign Affairs and Officers in Refugia's Embassy Regions, the Councillors of Culture may run events that celebrate shared aspects of regional identity, offering Refugi an opportunity to meet others outside of our region.


Councillors of Culture


Sinvald
May 2019
September 2019


Sylh Alanor
September 2019
February 2020


Refuge Isle
October 2020
February 2021


Sylh Alanor
February 2021
June 2021


Lethodus
June 2021
October 2021


Lethodus
October 2021
Febuary 2022


Djorner
February 2022
April 2022


Tiralta
April 2022
October 2022


Chacapoya
October 2022
February 2023


Lethodus
February 2023
May 2023


Tiralta
February 2023
May 2023


The Star Enpire
May 2023
Present

RawReport