Total War

The Total War was a worldwide conflict that ravaged the earth for roughly a decade. It included the States War  and the European War, among others.

History
A nearly simultaneous explosion of dissent across the globe, the Total War led to changes that not only affected government, but also changed the earth itself.

Causes
The immediate causes of the war varied from region to region. The one common cause worldwide was the Tipping Point, the time when the weather had grown so hot that many regions were no longer habitable due to a lack of water which led to food shortages. Accompanying the drought and famine were hurricanes, blizzards, heat waves, and locust plagues that forced many people to leave their homes for safer areas. Otherwise, the sources of disagreement differed. In the United States, for instance, disagreements over economics, religion, and human rights resulted in fighting. The European Union fought over somewhat different issues. While the Total War was fought on a global scale, it was more a spontaneous combustion of civil wars than it was one unified conflict.

Course
The individual conflicts of the Total War were fought with extreme ferocity. In some areas, boys as young as twelve joined local militias in order to protect their regions from destruction. The violence led to devastation of the environment as well as of numerous towns and cities, including the capital of the United States. Strong leaders such as Chancellor Dominic Cylis of the European Union and General Lamson of the United States eventually put an end to the war through force.

Consequences
The environmental destruction caused by the war was massive. When added to the devastation left by the Tipping Point, people worldwide had to change their lifestyles. So much formerly arable land was rendered unfit that farmers no longer had room to raise livestock. As a result, meat became an extravagant luxury, affordable for only those very rich who had close government ties. People in the Americas reverted to manufactured vegetarian alternatives for protein; people in the European Union, to insects. With the need to save all arable land for farming, added to the unstable weather situation between large cities, most people moved to urban areas.

That seemingly simple disagreements had caused so much destruction made most people eager to accept stronger and more centralized government, even a worldwide government. The European Union changed from a loose confederation to a unitary state, while the United States became the American Union, erasing state lines and encompassing much of Mexico and Canada, as well. Some people opposed the newly powerful methods of governing, but they remained a minority. The environmental destruction alone was simpler to deal with if a powerful government was in place. As a result, people eagerly accepted programs that once would have caused worldwide indignation.