“Asset Supervisor Quest” Sport Targets Idiotic Fossil Gas Investments

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A gaggle of “severe individuals,” together with somebody who calls himself Oli Frost, have devised a easy laptop recreation referred to as Asset Supervisor Quest that makes use of a Raspberry Pi laptop to spoof the actions of Abrdn, a wealth administration firm primarily based in Scotland that’s closely concerned in funding the fossil gas trade. Above is a screenshot of the opening screens within the recreation, which is manner simpler than Pac-Man and about as complicated as Pong. (Should you have been born after 1972, we’ve got included a useful Wikipedia publish that explains that recreation.) In an odd twist, the creators of Asset Supervisor Quest styled their recreation console to resemble the one utilized by Pong.

Humor is a superb option to expose pomposity and stupidity on the highest ranges. The historical past of literature is chock stuffed with satire that pokes enjoyable at individuals who take themselves manner too severely. William Shakespeare set most of his performs in international nations like Denmark (Hamlet) or Italy (Julius Caesar and fairly just a few others). Within the Bard’s time, saying disparaging issues in regards to the royals was punishable by having your head lower off within the Tower of London. Jonathan Swift and Lewis Carroll lampooned the monarchy in Gulliver’s Journeys and Alice In Wonderland, whereas Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado had nothing in anyway to do with Japan and every little thing to do with Jollye Olde Englande.

Oli Frost took his transportable recreation console to Abrdn headquarters, the place he was rudely dismissed with all of the pomp and circumstance we might count on from individuals who assume they’re manner smarter than anybody else and didn’t need to be proven why they’re blithering idiots and fools. The group made a video of their adventures. That is one thing you positively need to look ahead to your self.

In keeping with We Don’t Have Time, a local weather advocacy group that we maintain in excessive regard right here at CleanTechnica’s posh world headquarters excessive atop Mount Olympus, “Oli Frost, recognized for his quirky local weather disaster songs, has taken his creativity to the following degree along with his newest undertaking — a online game about asset administration. However don’t let the subject idiot you — this isn’t your common finance simulator. In typical Oli vogue, he’s made managing belongings enjoyable, whereas additionally elevating consciousness about local weather change.”

The sport challenges gamers to make choices that steadiness revenue with sustainability, exhibiting how managing sources could make or break the planet’s future. It’s a contemporary and entertaining option to get individuals fascinated by the function that companies, investments, and even on a regular basis selections play within the local weather disaster. Oli’s recreation is one other instance of how he takes severe matters and makes them participating. It’s a intelligent option to get individuals concerned in conversations about sustainability whereas conserving them entertained — and it simply may make asset administration the following large factor within the local weather battle!

On his web site, Frost says, “I’m Oli Frost, the man who makes novelty songs in regards to the local weather disaster. Greta Thunberg did the macarena to considered one of them. My work has been featured all over the place from UK Parliament to Britain’s Obtained Expertise, BBC to Fox Information, in music festivals, artwork exhibits, and on bins. Most not too long ago: I’ve been mesmerizing individuals, gained a local weather track contest, and made a online game to bother fossil gas financiers.” Should you go to his website, you may take heed to a number of of his songs, which have been downloaded tens of millions of instances. Right here’s an instance:

Frost has additionally created a pretend advert company to lampoon the stalwarts within the advert world who shamelessly shill for fossil gas firms as they wrestle to make them cute and cuddly as an alternative of the rapacious surroundings destroyers they are surely. These individuals go to work each day with their heads held excessive to allow them to money their huge paychecks on the finish of the week whereas exhibiting no regard for the results the pollution related to extracting and burning of fossil fuels have on actual individuals. The Asset Supervisor Quest recreation was performed by over 600 workers at Abrdn till administration banned its workers from enjoying it. Folks usually haven’t any humorousness when their fats compensation packages are beneath risk.

When Is A Subsidy Not A Subsidy?

Final month, Michael Barnard addressed the problem of fossil gas subsidies. The Worldwide Financial Fund says direct and oblique subsidies — poorer well being is one such oblique subsidy since society as a complete has to pay the prices of well being take care of these affected by fossil gas air pollution — whole greater than $7 trillion yearly.

Let’s begin with what are subsidies? There’s plenty of arguments about this, Barnard says. Lots of people attempt to fake that courses of subsidies aren’t precise subsidies, they’re one thing else. However Michael prefers to go together with the Worldwide Financial Fund definition. From 2010 to 2015, they normalized what they thought-about to be subsidies, and it’s an enormous bag. They discuss direct subsidies, that are those all people thinks about — giving cash to the fossil gas trade.

They discuss oblique subsidies, which is placing a cap on retail costs or under-pricing fossil fuels on the fuel pump or paying customers a payment to allow them to purchase extra fossil fuels. Additional, we’ve obtained foregone income the place taxes are lowered on fossil fuels, so the federal government isn’t accumulating cash. These are all fiscal preparations which might be instantly associated. Lots of people attempt to exclude oblique. That’s an inappropriate selection.

And, in fact, there’s the massive kicker within the room, the destructive externalities. A few seminars in the past, we talked about carbon pricing and carbon pricing schemes all over the world. That could be a course of that costs destructive externalities for the financial, human well being, and environmental impacts they trigger.

The Takeaway

Humor can lower the largest stuffed shirt all the way down to measurement, one thing Kamala Harris and her workforce are utilizing to their benefit. So mess around with the Asset Supervisor Quest recreation and see how simple it may be to truly do one thing about fossil gas air pollution as an alternative of hiding it within the pantry together with your cupcakes. Tell us if the sport has any influence in your world view. It ought to, however then once more, some individuals are simply not teachable. Have enjoyable!