Earth
No One Enters, No One Leaves
In the Space Age, Low Earth Orbit is filled to the brim with space junk and debris that hasn't been disposed of properly. This phenomenon is known as Kessler Syndrome, and though it's not as severe as it could be, launch windows are heavily determined by how safe it is to get into orbit and not collide with debris. Many of the people who regularly go to space are actually junkers, spacers whose job is to operate and monitor spacecraft that safely dispose of high-speed debris left in orbit by de-orbiting it or collecting it. If a war were to break out in LEO, the resulting debris would pretty much completely prevent anyone from entering or exiting Earth's atmosphere. In 2131, shuttles heading to and from space have to go during rather specific time intervals in order to avoid getting hit by debris. The high costs imposed by Parlowe-Helix and other corporations don't help either, which leads to the 18 billion people on Earth staying on the planet. The people living in orbital habitats do so in high Earth orbit, since getting any closer to Earth would spell doom.Geography
Earth has changed quite a bit since the 20th century, and as of 2131, the situation is quite dire. Overpopulation is quite a problem, seeing as there's 18 billion people there. The geography has been changed drastically as a result, with the shining gleam of many cities that sprawl for dozens of kilometers being seen from orbit. Many places that used to be covered in land are now flooded, and much of what used to be grasslands or prairie has turned into a steppe or even a desert. Certain parts of the world even experience hazy red skies on a regular basis. It is estimated that in a century, climate change will wreck the planet so hard that it becomes completely unrecognizable and barely hospitable to humans. Life will still exist, but only just barely.
Ecosystem
In 2131, 70% of the animal species that used to exist two centuries ago are now completely extinct. Purchasing an authentic Earth animal is extremely difficult, usually being illegal, unaffordable, or both. Most ecosystems are not very biodiverse, and raising animals on the remaining plant life is unachievable in a significant number of places. Efforts to fix the hell that Earth has become have almost ceased completely. 9 in 10 animals whose species originates from Earth that you see are synthetic creature, machines with only a semblance of life.
Alternative Name(s)
Terra, Old Earth, The Old Homeland
Type
Planet
Included Organizations
Owning Organization
Contested By
Related Tradition (Primary)
