Tree
A Hack UTD Game about Sustainability
A Hack UTD Game about Sustainability
Our goal in creating this is to call attention to deforestation.
Our generation is acutely aware of the threat climate change poses to our livelihoods. We have the worst sense of climate anxiety as compared to our predecessors, and many of us feel betrayed and hurt by the world we have been left to inhabit (1). While we are all familiar with small changes we can make as individuals to help slow climate change (eg. eating less red meat, walking instead of driving, and recycling correctly), we felt it would be more impactful to discuss systemic problems as they impact both the individual and the climate. It was for this reason that we chose deforestation as our topic.
Deforestation is an issue with both immediately tangible and more nebulous long term effects. In the long term, the amount of forest lost to deforestation between 2010 and 2030 is estimated to be 656,000 square miles (2). For comparison, this is just under the size of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California combined (3). This level of deforestation not only prevents otherwise healthy forests from participating in carbon exchange and cleaning our air, but actively releases greenhouse gasses (4). This, in turn, deepens the effects of climate change of which we have already grown familiar: rising sea levels, more intense hurricanes, heat waves, and droughts, longer and more damaging wildfires, and rising temperatures worldwide (5). While we are already dealing with these issues, the worst may be yet to come. On an more immediate and localized level, the destruction of habitat brought about by deforestation can be devastating. The decrease of safe and easily accessible food or water can lead to species loss (4). For the approximately 1.25 billion people who depend on the forests for survival needs, deforestation can lead to migration, social conflict, and modern-day slavery (as it has in Brazil, among other places) (4,6).
In our game, we wanted to emphasize how challenging it is to fight deforestation on a local level. Just as the capitalist profit incentive results in deforestation in spite of legality or public good (7, 8), we added a random tree slashing mechanic that cannot be avoided. The user's goal is to, in spite of this, maintain a biodiverse forest.
We hope that this game inspires people to see the difficultly communities, especially Indigenous communities, face in maintaining the forests that all of us depend on. If people feel compelled to help contribute to the cause of protecting the earth against deforestation, we kindly implore them to do more research, especially towards the Stop Line 3 movement. The Stop Line 3 movement was created in response to Enbridge, a Canadian oil company, wanting to build an oil pipeline through Anishinaabe land in Minnesota (9). At present, the pipeline has been completed, which has violated treaty rights, resulted in ecological damage, and imprisoned ethical protesters (10). They have a very informative website with actionable items that we implore people to look at.
Schiffman, Richard. “For Gen Z, Climate Change Is a Heavy Emotional Burden.” Yale E360, 28 Apr. 2022, e360.yale.edu/features/for-gen-z-climate-change-is-a-heavy-emotional-burden.
World Wildlife Fund. “Living Forests Report Chapter 5: Saving Forests at Risk | Publications | WWF.” World Wildlife Fund, 27 Apr. 2015, www.worldwildlife.org/publications/living-forests-report-chapter-5-saving-forests-at-risk.
Calculation preformed with data provided by the US Census Bureau. “State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates.” The United States Census Bureau, 2010, www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2010/geo/state-area.html.
“Deforestation and Forest Degradation | Threats | WWF.” World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation-and-forest-degradation#:~:text=Deforestation%20and%20forest%20degradation%20are.
NASA. “The Effects of Climate Change.” Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet, NASA, 13 Jan. 2022, climate.nasa.gov/effects/.
Le Breton, Binka. “Modern Day Slavery in Brazil: A Report from the Field | Global Policy Journal.” Www.globalpolicyjournal.com, 13 Aug. 2021, www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/13/08/2021/modern-day-slavery-brazil-report-field.
WWF. “Logging in the Amazon.” Panda.org, 2020, wwf.panda.org/discover/knowledge_hub/where_we_work/amazon/amazon_threats/other_threats/logging_amazon/.
Jones, Benji. “Earth’s Future Depends on the Amazon. This Month, It’s up for a Vote.” Vox, 29 Sept. 2022, www.vox.com/down-to-earth/2022/9/29/23373427/amazon-rainforest-brazil-jair-bolsonaro-lula-deforestation.
Stop Line 3. “Stop Line 3.” Stop Line 3, www.stopline3.org/#intro.
Floodlight, Alexandria Herr for. ““They Criminalize Us”: How Felony Charges Are Weaponized against Pipeline Protesters.” The Guardian, 10 Feb. 2022, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/10/felony-charges-pipeline-protesters-line-3.
Go to the .io page to download the game and play it for yourself.
Click on each plot of dirt to plant a tree
Each tree has a certain seed cost associated with it
Once a tree has reached maturity, it will start producing seeds which you can manually collect.
Your objective to to keep the forest biodiverse and healthy.