Alliance of Fuel Developing and Exporting States

The Alliance of Fuel Developing and Exporting States, commonly abbreviated to AFDES, is a CJ union that was created on September 10, 2008. It is a confederal union with 11 member states (2 inactive) and 4 observer states. Its aim is to develop new forms of energy and fuel, and to foster cooperation between members. AFDES can now be found at its own site.

History

In Summer 2008, Franklin County and Virgin Shores entered into an oil refining agreement. Virgin Oil would refine Franlinite oil from the Forest Basin Oil Field for a fee. Diplomacy and cooperative endeavours soon followed. Franklin and Virgin Shores were considered to be in an informal alliance.

Expansion of the Alliance

Virgin Shores also had an informal alliance with the Follomer Chancellery, then known as the New Follomer Republic. Patricius Maximus, the creator of Franklin County, had an early interest in Follomer, and formed an informal political triad between Virgin Shores, Franklin, and New Follomer. Later, four city council members called Ntq$310, TimeMaster, Psander5, and Sim-Al2 and frequent visitors MrWacko, Un1, and GreekMan Also became intrested in starting a alliance.

Formation of a Union

On September 10 After Ntq$310 Suggested the creation of a alliance , Deathtopumpkins created a private topic for formal discussion. At the time, the union did not have a name. After a vote of prospective members in the following days, the name 'Alliance of Fuel Developing and Exporting States' was chosen. The union was now formal.

Early Days of AFDES

Through September, business was conducted informally, in the absence of a charter. The rotation order and timeframe of Summits were determined. The order of rotation would be in descending order of population, and summits would be held once a month. This was only an informal agreement, but all members felt it was a good one. On September 28, the first AFDES Summit was initiated in Calder City, and the basic framework of the Alliance was agreed on.

AFDES Summits

Main article: AFDES Summits

AFDES Summits are hosted once every month by a member of the AFDES and are used for formal discussion between member states. Summits are often used to debate issues and pass Resolutions.

The first AFDES Summit was held in Calder City by Psander5 and, by most members' accounts, was a success.

Membership

Each member in AFDES is called a 'member state', and member states are treated as equals. There are also observer states, who participate and observe AFDES discussions, but are not members. Membership is currently capped at 15, although the cap is not formal, and may change soon as the Alliance improves. The current members are:

• Ntq$310: Flint
• Patricius Maximus: Franklin County
• TimeMaster: Yepatilla Archipelago
• Archean: Follomer Chancellery
• DTP: Virgin Shores
• Psander5: Calder City
• GreekMan: Halifax
• Sim-Al2: Banff
• SirUnger: Manhilton
• Spore415: Cities of Auria
• WishfulAnthony: Molowaku

Current observer states are:

• Mother of Invention: Federal Casablancan Republic
• kj3400: Commonwealth of Paradise
• rawr APPLES: Republic of Portage
• balkair: Shalman Empire

Administration

As a confederal union, all member states are treated equally, and Alliance business is decided democratically. Ntq$310 put out the idea of departments, but it was rejected by the member states, although some expressed desire to consider it in the future.

Charter

The AFDES member states have ratified the AFDES Charter, which provides for regulation and management of the Alliance.

The charter was originally predicted to come in later summits, but thanks to Patricius Maximus, the AFDES Charter was started much earlier then expected, he not only provided a good basic form of the Charter, he was able to get the discussion about it on full speed.

Although it took two days for the final version to come into play and to be accepted by a majority at the summit, it was already generally accepted by most of the members in attendance.

AFDES Statement of Intent

"The Alliance of Fuel Developing and Exporting States exists to strengthen the member states' energy production capabilities and sustainabilities. The Alliance believes in responsible energy production and management, both environmentally and economically. Technology, trade and co-operation are at the centre of the alliance's plan to achieve these aims.

AFDES promotes peace and diplomacy between member states and the wider international community, and intends to set an example of responsibility to all other nations and states.

AFDES supports economic Development of all cities and nations in the alliance. It supports efficient buildings and good business practices that increase the productivity of all nations.

The scientific and engineering communities of the member states have agreed in principle to launch an alliance led space programme to further push the boundaries of human development and advancement, with its mid-term aim in developing an alternative to rocket based launch systems."

AFDES Programs

Alliance Airline

Alliance Airline is an airline that is currently in discussion. The Airline is a program open to all AFDES members, but is not part of the Alliance itself. The Airline will serve all AFDES members.

AFDES Space Program

At the First Summit, four AFDES states expressed support for a joint space program. Franklin County, Calder City, and the Follomer Chancellery are the states that are organizing the program, and Virgin Shores signed on to help finance it.

Follomer and Franklin are currently working on antigravity propulsion for expansion into space. On October 1, Franklinite scientists developed a method of electromagentic propulsion using diamagnetic superconductors. They are testing the idea in North River, Franklin County.

Follomer has its own form of antigravity propulsion, currently being utilized by its military in the form of vertical take off Dropships and Fighter Aircraft, and is also working on extending it to spacecraft. Currently both groups are organizing a conference to examine the two ideas.

Agonus Missions

The first target of the space program is the planet Agonus, which was discovered by Franklinite astronomers after a meteor from that planet spontaneously fused in a laboratory, killing more than 10 scientists. A coventional probe is currently at Agonus exploring it from orbit. An orbiter/lander probe is also at Agonus, and is a joint effort between some the of the alliance members, with Franklin and Calder city heading up the main efforts with Flint and Virgin shores helping with financing.

Currently the Agonus lander has discovered that the Agonite "spontaneous" fusion is actually caused by beta particles impacting a virus intrinsic to the planet. An aluminum shield can be used to control the fusion process. AFDES scientists are currently working on applying this discovery to fusion power research.

Energy Programs

Present Programs

Most AFDES members produce some sort of energy-yielding material, whether that be a fossil fuel or renewable energy technology. Virgin Shores has some heavy oil reserves, and an oil refinery. Franklin County also produces oil, and sends it to Virgin Shores to be refined. Banff also has oil reserves. Nipigon Island is proposed to be a strong oil producer and refiner. Flint, IL is right in the middle of it all, it plays a important place in storage of oil, and also has a major role in wind energy. Yepatilla Archipelago is currently working on using clean biomass, and has a few light natural gas reserves. Calder City is one of the first nations expanding to exporting renewable energy and technology, and the city exports mostly Wind and Solar Technology. Calder City is also now expanding into geothermal energy.

Future Programs

Many members of AFDES are oil producers, and as such have large amounts of capital avaliable for energy programs. Franklin County has initiated a program to get itself completely off of oil. A long-term goal of AFDES is to produce cleaner, more efficient energy for export.

Calder City as well as Franklin are developing technology for fusion reactors. The spontaneous fusion observed on Agonus naturally interests the two states, and is one of the reasons they are in the AFDES space program.