Wow. There are lots of great ideas here...where to start?

So I definitely agree that the WorldSim should be longer. Not terribly so, but enough longer so that interactions can develop a little more complexity. I think one of the major problems with the "game" is that people act in ways that they would not act in real life because it is "only a game". That said, I think the video game idea would be really interesting to explore: it would allow the simulation to be longer and more complex. However, I feel the face-to-face personal interactions are an important component of the simulation.

I also agree that some sort of slavery system should be included, as well as natural disasters, religion and its affect on internal and external strife (the Crusades, many nations that have conflict because there is not one dominant religion), mult-national corporations (Coca-Colonization is becoming increasingly prevalent), different types of hard power, and disease/famine. The disease/famine aspect could play out as a card that reads "Your country just experienced a flu epidemic. 50% are dead. Next round." However, in today's global age, it seems important to look at the affects of different types of pandemics: such as the AIDs situation, bird flu/SARS, and more regional afflictions such as malaria.

I also like the idea of some sort of moral factor governing individual decisions. And, there almost certainly has to be some sort of multi-national governing body, such as the UN, WTO, NAFTA, EU...
Finally, what about tourism? Americans visit almost every country, and do "missionary" work of some sort in nearly every country, but how often does one see a Nicaraguan touring the Statue of Liberty or helping the homeless in Central Park?

Second largest chemical manufacturer in the world, and largest producer of plastics. Responsible for 20,000 deaths in the Bhopal disaster in India, was the sole supplier of napalm to the US in  the Vietnam War, and manufactured Agent Orange. The Human Element indeed.

"The Yes Men agree their way into the fortified compounds of commerce, ask questions, and then smuggle out the stories of their hijinks to provide a public glimpse at the behind-the-scenes world of business. In other words, the Yes Men are team players... but they play for the opposing team."

Interesting way of doing business-incriminating evidence straight from the horse's mouth?  The evidence against Dow is pretty substantial.

I think passive solar power is one of the most powerful, and yet most simple and subtle, energy sources we have available. It's neat to see a multi-disciplinary firm working toward a focused, yet multi-faceted, goal. As a landscape architecture major, this is a field that I could see myself pursuing.

I didn't realize that there are three types of geothermal power plants. I have heard that this is a very intensive process, and the site even states that this process is not renewable in the traditional sense of the word. Nonetheless, it seems that this could be a very viable power source for many parts of the world.

I wonder if fusion as an energy source does not make the news as often as other alternative fuel because it is harder to grasp by the general public. Scientists seem to think that it is a safe, sustainable, powerful fuel source. However, I would like to research more into this process. I would also like to find out how similar this process is to that used in the nuclear power plants that are in use today.

This is another idea I have never heard of. It seems that using the geothermal energy stored by mine water to heat and cool buildings could be a viable energy source. However, is it safe? And couldn't it be considered a non-renewable resource?

This is something I have never heard of! In some ways it seems very futuristic and sci-fi. However, if this could be implemented without major reconstruction of infrastructure and consumption goods, it could be a very exciting source of energy. I'm curious to find out more about this topic.

I think this is very exciting. Wind generators that can be used at a household scale for those already plugged into the grid could revolutionize energy production. It will be interesting to see if these wind generators become prevalent across the nation, or if they are blocked by the Not In My Backyard effect and other challenges. It would be nice to see these wind generators at a smaller, more manageable scale.

This site seems like a pretty clear overview of the process of building strawbale homes. I'm also interested to check out the links to other traditional green building practices on the left side of the page.

It is very interesting to see how GE has benefitted from the US's war on terror. 90 percent of GE's nuclear power plants could discharge radiation into the atmosphere. It is responsible for polluting 78 Superfund sites, and is pushing the government to overturn Superfund legislation. Fraud and poor safety for workers are also issues. Why don't we see this on the ecomagination commercials?