Earth

Geography

Earth is a terrestrial planet. The only planet in the solar system that has tectonic plates. On Earth's surface, there are 6 continents (Eurasia, North America, South America, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica), and 5 oceans (Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Antarctic Ocean, and Indian Ocean). Earth is also very diverse in climate, which ranges from tropical in the equator to arctic at the poles, with many zones in between.

Fauna & Flora

Earth is one of the few known planets where life emerged naturally, without being seeded by intelligent beings. The biodiversity of Earth is comparable to that of other inhabited worlds but only because the planet is currently recovering from a mass extinction. Had this not being the case, Earth would have been the most lively of all the inhabited celestial bodies.
Because Earth is protected by humanity, there are very strict rules as to what animals, plants, or microbes one is allowed to carry to the surface of the planet. Any artificial lifeforms, or any organisms that have gone extinct on the planet, are not allowed past the terminus station of Earth's space elevator.

Natural Resources

Exploiting the natural resources of Earth is illegal and viewed as a sin by most people. That is because in the past, the overconsumption of Earth's resources lead to a major environmental disaster that wiped out many of the planet's organisms. The only natural resource people are allowed to use when on Earth is the oxygen in the atmosphere, and even that is for breathing only (no industrial uses, no export).
There is however an unnatural resource that exists on Earth and that is extracted in large quantities. That is plastic from Earth's oceans. This material was introduced to the oceans by humans hundreds of years ago. For that reason a loophole has been created that allows its extraction. Indeed, strip mining plastic from Earth is not just allowed, but actually encouraged. It is seen as humans making up for the damage their ancestors had caused.
Finally, like all the inner planets, Earth gets plenty of sunlight. That sunlight is the main energy source for the people, as well as for the natural ecosystems of the planet.

History

Being the birthplace of homo sapiens, Earth has the richest history of any celestial body. Here rose and fell the great empires of the past. Here lived and died the various historical figures that influenced the course of civilization. And it was here where the most famous historical conflicts took place.
When humans started colonizing space in the late half of the 21st century, Earth was still divided into many independent nations. As time went on however, it became apparent to those nations that they had to cooperate in order to maintain control over the rapidly growing colonies.
In 2130, the Global Union was formed. This was a unified Earth government where representatives of all nations would come together and make decisions for the common good. Even though that organisation was derived from the United Nations, there was little in common between the two. It was more like a global version of today's European Union in many ways.
The relationship between the nations of Earth and the space colonies became worse and worse with time until the year 2182, when the two factions went to war. A war that lasted almost 16 years, and that the colonies eventually won.
After the end of the war, the new government made Earth into a protected area. Basically a planet wide national park. All effort was put into preserving and restoring the natural ecosystems. The people that lived on the planet were sent to other parts of the solar system.

Tourism

Earth attracts a lot of tourists. Maybe more than any other world. That's because there's a lot of reasons why someone would want to visit Earth. Many scientists go to study the natural environments and/or the archeological sites. A large number of religious people visit Earth's holy sites, with the cities of Jerusalem and Mecca being the most popular. There's also a large number of people who want to see their place of origin.

Type

Planet

Included Locations

• Luna

Owning Organization

Humanity