Flag of Ecotopia

This is the flag of Ecotopia.  It comes from a world where man-made climate change were not reversed.  Rising sea levels and changing weather patterns took their toll on many nations, but in particular the United States.  Climate change, resource wars, civil unrest and general strife strained America's resources to their limits.  Eventually, it got to the point where various regions began to declare independence, with the federal government being powerless to stop them.  A rump United States still exists, and some regions still claim to recognize its authority.  However, these regions are mostly self-governing and are independent in all but name.  

That brings us to Ecotopia.  It was one of the first nations to declare independence.  It comprises Northern California, Oregon, Washington state, British Columbia and the Alaskan panhandle.  As its name would suggest, it was founded to be a more sustainable and environmentally minded society.  Almost all of Ecotopia's energy is produced by sustainable and renewable resources; such as solar, wind, geothermal and hydro-electric.  It's capital city, also named Ecotopia, was built to serve as an example of the sustainable cities of tomorrow.  

Ecotopians eat a largely pescatarian diet, with meat being reserved as more of a luxury and treat.  Insects are also a staple of the Ecotopian cuisine.  Hunting is allowed, though tightly regulated, and cattle drives have made something of a comeback.  Most buildings have rooftop gardens and poultry roosts built into them.  Those that don't usually have solar panels or wind turbines instead.  Most cities have plenty of parks and other green spaces.  The prevailing architectural philosophy is to work with nature, not against it.  Most Ecotopians drive electric cars, though most cities have plenty of public transportation options.  Cities are also built with walkability and biking in mind.

Secularism is rather prevalent, but Buddhism remains the most practiced religion.  However, Ecotopian Buddhism tends to place more emphasis on environmentalism than it does on breaking free from the cycle of reincarnation.  There's also a rapidly growing neopagan movement underway.  In fact, all religions are legal in Ecotopia...within reason, that is. For example, Christianity is legal, but the Bible has been banned due to promoting violence and bigotry.  Recently, the Koran has also been put on the list of banned books.  

Ecotopia has a thriving art scene, but all works of art and literature must be submitted to government boards for approval.  After all, wouldn't want any "problematic" themes infiltrating the artistic world and corrupting the youths.  Hate speech is considered a serious crime, and there are harsh penalties for any caught perpetuating bigoted opinions.  There have been grumbling about the definitions of hate speech getting broader and broader.  Though, officially, the Ecotopian government maintains that it supports free speech...within certain boundaries.  

It's not all fun and games, however.  Ecotopia has a large standing army, and they're certainly not afraid to use it.  In their early days, they got into quite a few skirmished with the Mormon Republic of Deseret.  These days, both nations have something of an uneasy truce with each other.  Ecotopia's biggest foreign intervention, however, hardly required any military action.  The Republic of SoCal gets most of its water from North California.  Therefore, whenever SoCal gives them trouble, Ecotopia just has to turn off the tap until they come around.  SoCal, much to its chagrin, is also quite dependent on Ecotopia to supplement its food supply.  This has, effectively, turned SoCal into an Ecotopian colony. 

The SoCalians are splits about what to do.  Some favor formally joining Ecotopia, while others suggest going to war over the former Northern California.  Still others suggest slowly working to find solutions, such as desalinization plants, that would reduce their need for Ecotopia.  In more friendly relations, the Republic of Hawaii is quite close diplomatically with Ecotopia.  The two nations share similar philosophies, and there is talk of a possible merger of the two nations.  Admittedly, many are skeptical that it will get off the ground, but hope springs eternal. 

Despite these problems, Ecotopia is looking towards a brighter future.  Despite their isolationist beginnings, in more recent times Ecotopia has begun to open itself to the wider world.  Trade relations have been established with several nations of East Asia.  Ecotopia is quickly become a hub of trade, bringing to goods of Asia to the North American continent.  A sea wall project is currently underway to reclaim coastal lands lost to rising sea levels.  Ecotopia hopes to learn from the mistakes of the past to build a better tomorrow.  Let's just hope they don't become the monsters they seek to fight.  

The flag reflects Ecotopia's environmentalist philosophy.  The brown stands for earth, the blue stands for water and the green stand for plant life and sustainability.  The phoenix represents Ecotopia rising out of the ashes of the old world to build a better tomorrow.  

Flag of the Commonwealth of California

I'm back with another flag.  So without further ado, let's dive into it:

This is the flag of The Commonwealth of California.  It comes from a world where the Constitution was never ratified, and the Articles of Confederation remained the primary governing document for the United States.  Unfortunately, this meant that the federal government remained weak and ineffectual.  The states soon began to question why they needed to take orders from Washington, and regionalist movements began to spring up.  By the early 19th century the United States had completely collapsed.  Each state became its own nation, with smaller states joining bigger ones either willingly or by force.  Though the United States had failed as a nation, the idea of the United States inspired other colonies to rebel against their mother nations and seek independence.

The ideal of Manifest Destiny never really became a thing, but there was a general westward movement among the peoples of North America.  However, how they got westward was considerably different than in our world.  That brings us to California.  It was primarily settled by British colonist from the Oregon Territory.  This had multiple effects on California's development.  For example, California is governed by a parliament, led by a prime minister, and the Queen's Birthday is a national holiday.  California is also a proud member of the Commonwealth of Nations.  Just as in our world, California has a significant Mexican minority, and most Californians are bilingual. 

California is one of the most prosperous nations in North America. It has a booming tech sector, and it's farms help feed people across North America. In the past, California had a history in intervening in wars, but it has backed off from that in more recent times.  The big focus now is space exploration.  California has launched multiple missions to the Moon and now there's talk of a possible Mars mission.

California's British heritage is very much reflected on its flag with the blue background and St. George's canton.  The seal hearkens back to the early days of British settlement, all under the watchful eye of Britannia herself. The tree in the canton is a California Redwood. 

The Dustbin of History

My latest map set in an alternate 1990s were among other things:


Following the assassination of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 the United States suffered a second civil war which ultimately tore the nation apart. The Northeast became the communist United American Commune, the Mid-Atlantic and Upland South there about became a fascist military dictatorship, the black belt states became the socialist-leaning Republic of New Afrika and Texas is once again a republic with fascist leanings. Something of a rump United States exists in the upper Mid-West, but it's been many years since elections were last held and its increasingly falling under socialist influences. Meanwhile, most of the West Coast states were conquered by the Japanese during World War II.

Speaking of World War II, it dragged one for a few years longer, but ultimately ended in an Allied Victory, albeit with considerably more dead Soviets. Following the war the Soviets were able to bargain for a bigger piece of the post-war pie thanks to their added contributions to the war effort. Before long Germany, Greece, Turkey, Austria, Finland and large portions of Italy and France fell to Soviet occupation. The nations of Western Europe banded together, but in a very Finlandization kind of way.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Empire emerged from the war stronger than ever. Their East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere has become more of a Pan-Pacific Co-Prosperity Sphere with the addition of the American territories. The Japanese are the primary rivals of the Soviets and have funded several right-wing juntas to combat Soviet expansionism.

Alaska is a bit of buffer territory between the Soviet Union and Japanese North America. Over the years it has become homeland for the Jews. Skirmishes with Native Alaskans and old settler Americans are still common occurrences, and the threat of invasion remains an ever present possibility. Still, for many Jews having a place to call home make all of that worth it.

As decolonization moved forward during the 50s and 60s it created several new trading partners for the Soviets. Prominent African socialists include the United States of Latin Africa and the East African Federation. Destalinization occurred much more smoothly, Soviet republics were given greater autonomy and non-Russians were able to move up the ranks of allowed to ascend to positions of authority. The Soviet Union also emphasis infrastructure and consumer goods; adding to the overall quality of life for the average citizen.

Meanwhile, Japan also experienced reforms and changes to its empire. Japanese society began to liberalize and the rights of non-Japanese citizens were expanded. Japan also focused on building up its infrastructure and consumer goods. Japan lent aid to the right wing juntas of Brazil, Argentina and Chile after much of Latin America formed the Soviet sponsored Republic of Latin American Socialists. Support was also provided to South Africa to counter the Soviet Union's African allies.

Pan-Arabism is in full bloom. Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq has formed the United Arab Republic. The UAR was originally a close Soviet ally, but in recent years has begun to move away and form a Third Party power block. Islam still plays a major role in daily life, but the UAR is much more laid back and liberal than in our world.

The few non-communist nations of Europe banded together into a European Union-esque organization. However, as the years went on these nations failed to compete with the Soviet Union economically. By the 1980s several popular fronts were established throughout Western Europe and communist governments were soon established. Many of these now communist nations are now considering merging with the Soviet Union. The British, Dutch and French governments have fled to their holdings in South America.

By the 1990s the Cold War is more or less over. As far as the Western world is concerned the Soviet Union has emerged as the clear winner. Communism is triumphant while democracy and capitalism have been sentenced to the dustbin of history. Economist throughout the world are scratching their heads as to how the Soviets managed to solve their economic woes, but clearly they did something right.

Still, all isn't entirely lost. The Japanese, and their sphere of influence still provide plenty of competition for the Soviets. Slowly but surely the fascist nations are beginning to liberalize and granting more rights to their citizens. Perhaps one day democracy will see a revival. For now, everyone is looking towards the skies. Following the Japanese victory in the Moon Race it is now Mars that is next great target. Meanwhile, Soviet and Japanese orbital stations and lunar bases are being constructed with increasing frequency.