In this chapter, we break down what we believe would happen in a world with limited resources. Getting into the mindset of being in that reality we did ‘a day in the life as a student’. Often this turned into an overview/story with a darker theme. After we tried thinking of positive outcomes of this world, in this chapter we have two perspectives from two different students. We then tried to imagine what school would look like, in this world we decided to take a positive take and have a school dedicated to bettering the world. We called this school ‘Bloom University’. As we dove into the school we thought of possible classes and advertising the school might have.

Destruction of Natural Resources

A Day in The Life of a Student (End of the World Edition)

The “Institute at the End of the World” has many students. What might a day in their life look like you ask? Well, due to the rising population, cities have gotten a lot denser which means a lot more students attending the same size school. This sometimes makes it harder for the students to feel recognized when they are simply one of the thousands. Teachers don’t always have the time nor the capacity to tend to every student’s individual needs, therefore a lot of those needs go unresolved. The Earth’s current climate is on the brink of collapse and makes it almost impossible to go outside without any protective gear, therefore most of the learning has transitioned online making it even harder for students to connect to their teachers and peers. However, not everything is so gloomy, because of the world’s current state most of the academic focus is on the repair and future of the planet, giving everyone a clear goal to strive for. The science majors are by far the most popular at this school. Mathematics, chemistry, and biology reign supreme, as they are the best hope to cure the planet. The drawback, however, is that the courses like art, language, astronomy, etc.. are all sacrificed for the greater good. Eventually, this will render the world colorless. When faced with such a disaster, sacrifices must be made.

A Positive Outcome – Not the End of the World Edition

While going through this process we noticed that a lot of our stories lead toward the dystopian type novel. We noted that this was most likely due to the exposure we have with that type of writing and storytelling. Movies and books have a strong plot to bring the watcher/reader along which was projected in our writing style since most of the plots end up on the darker side. To counteract our writing styles we decided to add a positive section where we brainstorm positive things that could come out of our story or trend. This was completed individually on a future that we didn’t write about to refresh ourselves and gain a different perspective.

• Alternative eco friendly resources were found
• Discovered symbiotic and mutualistic relationships with nature
• Lab-grown food to make room for growing population
• Scientific discoveries for increasing plant and animals’ life cycle – increasing food production
• Ties into online to everything online to reduce the impacts of climate change
• Farms were created vertically to reduce space
• Large Corporations are required to produce their own renewable energy
• New technology for breaking down plastics and alternatives to lithium batteries
• Algae farms are created to increase food production
• Genetically modifying trees to increase photosynthesis and undo carbon footprints
• Advancements in technology allow for humans and nature to live mutually and “the end of the world” is no longer dependent on humans (more likely due to asteroids or supernovas)

 (Another Perspective)

This was a second perspective isolated from the first done by a different coop student. Each brainstorm is unique but may have some similarities which both students independently brainstormed.

• Unites/unifies the world to a single goal (saving the planet)
• New carbon capture on eco friendly Technologies are invented
• In our attempts to save the planet we end up creating new technologies that yield more energy and more natural resources than before (Dyson sphere)
• Education becomes more centralized and hopefully more focused
• Future biological research might lead to human ability to survive in a hostile climate
• We get to explore a new world! (moon/mars)
• Countries and governments adopt green initiatives
• The world goes Electric
• Hydroponic research development improves
• Breakthroughs in reducing the cost of energy required to desalinate water
• A truly scientific future

Courses at The Made-up University: “Bloom University”

The university created during this future was called “Bloom University”, the goal of this university is to be self-sustaining and better the environment. This activity was completed to connect our imagined futures to the education program. The goal was to get in the mindset of the school/pretend you attended this school and discover what kind of classes were offered and what classes you could take. As we imaged this scenario we thought this schools courses would focus on new technologies and advancing current technology. A lot of the classes that were imagined are science fiction-related topics that make this university very proactive, unique, and perfect for countering the effects of our negative future.

Eco-engineering

• Fundamentals of air flows
• Fundamentals of filters
• Green engineering
• Plastic decomposition research
• Fundamentals of Microplastics
• Plant-based alternative
• Thermodynamic applications
• Evolution of technology
• Battery recycling
• Battery alternatives

Marine life

• Intro to algae farms
• Intro to animal farming
• Fundamentals of water currents and distributions
• Natural environment simulator
• Intro to ocean waste removal
• Fundamentals of human, specifics cohabitation
• Mutualistic relationship in controlled environments
• Fundamentals of restoration
• Application of restoration

Biology

• Fundamental of Genetic mutations (supporting)
• Fundamentals of Genetic modifications
• Application of genetic modifications
• Intro to reducing carbon emission through genetically modified trees

Chemistry

• Intro to Seawater desalination
• Intro to energy conversion
• Combustions of water as an energy source
• Combustion of helium/hydrogen as clean energy sources

Business

• Ethical practices
• Corporate effects on global health
• Ethics and the environment
• Fast fashion consequences and alternatives

Fashion

• Ethical sourcing
• Fundamentals of Renewable materials

Potential Advertising in this Future

The first advertising created for this future was created for a negative outcome. It is an advertisement for a news channel about an upcoming segment where they talk about the health implications of the mass pollution in the air.

The following advertisements are positive outcomes and focus on what we believe could be published by the school.

This advertisement is one created by Bloom University, this is the university in our future that is dedicated to research, advancing technology, and bettering the environment. It is an article or blog post about an (artificial) scientific discovery that a professional made during her research at the school.

The following picture is not an advertisement but a description of what the school would look like/incorporate into its design. The main objective of this image was to show a self-sustaining environment that incorporated nature and encouraged eco-friendly alternatives (such as biking). The university included areas such as natural ponds, rooftop gardens, research facilities with vertical farms, and more. Lastly, it incorporated a lot of new (from our imagination) technology such as man-made CO₂ to O₂ converters, study pods, and sol panel windows .

The final advertisement relates to the positive outcome. It is an ad by the envisioned university promoting their programs and their dedication to improving the enviroment.