The International Joint Commission Great Lakes Water Quality Board has transformed its scenario-based Great Lakes Horizons Project report into the interactive online game. In “Choosing Your Great Lakes Future,” players pick actions that create a ripple effect, leading to one of four possible scenarios for the health of the Great Lakes in 2050. The purpose of this game is to educate and inspire people to consider how today’s actions can impact the Great Lakes in decades to come.
The game and the Horizons project reflect ecological, economic, social, political, demographic, technological and cultural factors that drive changes and trends that impact the water quality and health of the Great Lakes.
“The health of the Great Lakes today largely reflects our past choices,” said Chris McLaughlin, board Canadian co-chair and executive director of the Bay Area Restoration Council in Hamilton, Ontario. “Today’s major investments in the Great Lakes are repairing expensive damage to water quality created decades ago by decisions made without regard to their implications for the health of the Great Lakes.
Hindsight is 20/20, and we should learn from this history to shape our legacy for future generations. The board’s Great Lakes Horizons project is about looking ahead beyond the visible horizon and aligning today’s actions to set the Great Lakes on a sustainable path into the future,” McLaughlin said.
After players make choices for each of 13 drivers, the game reveals which of four scenarios result from the choices, with short, animated videos outlining different possible futures.
“This game is about champions, but not about winning,” said Jon Allan, board US co-chair and senior adviser at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability. “We want the game to influence the real world by changing the way we think about our influence on the future, fostering conversations and inspiring people to champion decisions that align with a healthy and sustainable vision for the future of the Great Lakes,” Allan said.
Play “Choosing Your Great Lakes Future” by going to https://static.ijc.org/wqb/horizon/.
Provided information
