GAIA IN PLAY



As a result of completing the compulsory Introduction to Earth System Science course, the CCST Graduate students of the 2017 class created a board game that proposes the dynamic construction of knowledge about the human being’s performance on the planet. There is reason to suspect that the planet’s resilience in the face of the impact of anthropogenic activities on the functioning of the earth’s system, notably greenhouse gas emissions, has surpassed bearable limits, bordering on collapse. Several strategies and forms of action have been developed to face the situation, but still insufficient or with uncertain results. Gaia’s motto at stake is to encourage reflection on how to act and respond to threats from global change in a playful and fun way. To survive is to win the game. To this end, each player strategically walks through the squares of the board and chooses alternatives that can ensure their permanence until they reach the center of the board, where their survival will be guaranteed. Such a condition allows all players to win, or none at all. Gaia in Game is to reflect on living on planet Earth. Currently, the project, entitled “Gaia in Game”, has a website on the Internet (http://gaiaemjogo.ccst.inpe.br) and was presented at various Institutions and events in Brazil, among them, at the Expo T&C of the 70th Meeting. Annual Report of the Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science (SBPC) 2018, which took place from July 22 to 28, at the Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL), in Maceió. This participation was highlighted in INPE according to news published on the Internet: http://www.inpe.br/noticias/noticia.php?Cod_Noticia=4830. In 2018, the new students who joined the course were invited to learn about this project and participate in its evolution as a way to broaden their education and, especially, to encourage scientific dissemination and integration with society.