Earth

Earth is the 3rd planet in the Sol system and the evolutionary birthplace of humanity. As the cultural and biological source of all humanity, it has seen thousands of years of progress, conflict and development. Today, it is a world much recovered from its turbulent history, and is maintained by the Federation of Xah in an almost pristine condition.

Geography

About 29.2% of Earth's surface is land consisting of continents and islands. The remaining 70.8% is covered with water, mostly by oceans, seas, gulfs, and other salt-water bodies, but also by lakes, rivers, and other freshwater, which together constitute the hydrosphere. Much of Earth's polar regions are covered in ice. Earth's outer layer is divided into several rigid tectonic plates that migrate across the surface over many millions of years, while its interior remains active with a solid iron inner core, a liquid outer core that generates Earth's magnetic field, and a convective mantle that drives plate tectonics.
Earth's atmosphere consists mostly of nitrogen and oxygen. More solar energy is received by tropical regions than polar regions and is redistributed by atmospheric and ocean circulation. Greenhouse gases also play an important role in regulating the surface temperature. A region's climate is not only determined by latitude, but also by elevation and proximity to moderating oceans, among other factors. Severe weather, such as tropical cyclones, thunderstorms, and heatwaves, occurs in most areas and greatly impacts life.

History

The world was environmentally damaged during the later parts of the 2nd millennium, and despite impressive recovery efforts in the mid 21st century, it was not until the Great Diaspora, when a sudden reduction in the global population allowed for a greater scope in recovery efforts. By the early 21st century, population centres had coalesced into giant conurbations, allowing for widespread repair of the natural environment around it and a lot of industry and food production had moved off world. 
From an ecological perspective, Earth was in a better place than it had been since the mid 20th century. Standards of living for most inhabitants of Earth improved also; despite widespread poverty and unemployment, the corporate and localised entities who picked up the pieces from the collapse of the Global Government were socially progressive by many standards, providing a basic income for those without.
All this came to an end with the Amnesiac Virus event; the population of Earth was decimated by famine, war and technological collapse. Almost all the systems of government vanished overnight and the survivors were left with a hard struggle back to civilisation. By the time the Federation of Xah's crusade arrived, Several rival yet cooperative factions had arisen on Earth, making contact with a number of other factions across the Solar System.
With the arrival of The Xahian Crusade, a hasty alliance sprang up, but to no avail. The Xahian military machine rolled across the system and eventually targeted Earth itself. The conflict was intense, but brief, and saw many urban centres on Earth suffering large amounts of damage, both accidental and deliberate. With the Federation of Xah now effectively in charge, the planet was to see its greatest social changes so far.

Tourism

During the pre-Amnesiac years, tourism was an important aspect of Earth's economy.

Planet Type: Rocky, breathable atmosphere
Distance from primary: 1.0 AU
Mass: 1.00 EQ
Surface gravity: 1.0 G
Surface Pressure: 1.0 atm
Surface Temperature: 14.0 ºC
Radius: 1 EQ
Density: 1 EQ
Atmosphere: N 78.1%, O2 21.0%, Ar 1.0%
Axial tilt: 23.4º
Year length: 364.25 EQ
Day length: 24 hours

Alternative Name(s)

Terra, Tɛra (Xahian)

Type

Planet

Location under

Sol

Owning Organization

Federation of Xah