Symbiocene

Symbiocene

Key ideas:

• Money converted into inflexible energy exchange (?)
• 120,000 population
• works within the existing system
• Capitalization provided by coop structure (not bank, not ROI)

Discussion:

• Scrapping "money" for an "inflexible energy-based" unit is extremely radical
• This goes back to the Marxist economic theory that explores the "intrinsic or fair" value of things
• Government (if any) has no role to play in controlling the currency, which is seen as a good thing
• This implies a strongly negative view of "government" in general
• Coops are assumed to scale up to cover all aspects of the economy, which may make sense since Symbiocene is basically a big Kibbuz
• This type of money has never been tried, but it was proposed by HG Wells in "Modern Utopia"
• To cite one of a thousand problems, the value of the currency would change wildly as it tracks the "real" cost of energy.  It would be like basing the currency on a barrel of oil or a KW hr. Avoiding Inflation/deflation is a major task if the government. We want a stable, convertible currency. How a nano-culture would somehow interface with the rest of the world is left to the imagination. Currency based on gold would make more sense, but we know how that turns out. In this world, the currency is created by corresponding debt - mostly by banks.
• The idea that a nano-economy of 120,000 people can declare its own currency is nonsense on its face. Such an economy must rely on trade with the outside world for almost everything. While we are at it, what does Symbiocene export? Ironically, if it supported a decent size nuclear plant, it could export power.
• A population of 120,000 is interesting but at least an order of magnitude too low
• Guam (population 168,000) would be a good way to visualize the size of this Utopia, its economic significance, and its dependence on the outside world.
• Red Deer, Alberta (Population 103,000) would provide another sense of scale. Red Deer supports a huge "catchment area" that includes agriculture and the fossil fuel industry. Red Deer College would be a good way to picture the educational resources in Symbiocene.
• People from Red Deer must travel to Calgary or Edmonton for serious medical needs. 
• Symbiocene is small enough to be "flat," with everything within walking distance or "energy efficient" transport. The real world supports multi-million concentrations of populations by building three dimensions. You can visit downtown Calgary today to see how that works.
• The "Virtual" world is ignored by the scenario. For a tiny community, interfacing with the entire world through the "cloud" (or AGI) makes sense for a tiny physical world with a tiny population.
• There is "hand waving" about the climate issue, assuming that a mid-sized town will be in the business of "atmospheric repair." Just what level of decarbonization is assumed? On what time scale? In Utopia 2022, we are not at "net zero" yet (but 90% "decarbonized," mostly due to nuclear energy.)
• The nanoscale of this Utopia would be perfect for a small-scale, modular nuclear power plant of less than 300 MW. Such a plant could indeed be financed and built by a co-op and paid for by the electric bills. Ironically, this would involve phasing in and out of a natural gas plant waiting for such power plants to become available and cost-competitive.
• 120,000 people would need a 192 MW power source at today's consumption levels. It is not clear in this scenario how that requirement would be reduced. A more realistic mid-sized town (say, 240,000) is perfect for small nuclear or any significant power source contributing to the grid.

Generally speaking, Symbiocene could not realistically provide "Utopia" for a significant portion of the population of Alberta, let alone Canada or the world. I suggest this may violate the terms of the project, namely that the project be "practical." In my own hopeful scenario, I chart a scenario from the present to the year 2200 in Alberta. For this, it makes sense to know Aberta in 2023. 

Symbiocene supplies some hints for mid-sized communities which would still exist in Utopia 2200. It is interesting that their economy may be based on a nuclear plant. Power plants are a major economic activity in Alberta. Here is a list of plants currently installed. The number and variety of projects is impressive, including a 300 MW wind project in Blackpring Ridge. As mentioned, 300 MW would be a good power source for a mid-sized town, provided it can keep the lights on when the wind doesn't blow. In my own scenario, I simply assume that the evolution of the power grid will track technology and economics.