This is the first of a series on the Blue Revolution. Visionaries have of course dreamed of something similar, as for example, Homer's Odyssey from the 8th century BC describes the floating island of Aeolus. Jules Verne advanced his Self-Propelled Island in 1895, inhabited entirely by millionaires. Today, they would be billionaires. He mentioned submarines, and global adventures (like Around the World in 80 Days), even suggesting the use of hydrogen. But these were elemental topics, a few linking to our ultimate concept of a real Blue Revolution.
Nicolaus Copernicus in the early 1500's formulated a model of the Universe that placed the Sun, rather than Earth, at the center. He had connections and was careful not to seriously offend the Church. He lived to a ripe old age of 69. Scholars like Fillipo Bruno of the Dominican order had a belief in other worlds. That was around 1600, and he was convicted of heresy by the Inquisition and burned at the stake in Rome. He got to the age of 52.
It is safer today to think so boldly, for Elon Musk similarly challenges society by beginning his quest for Mars. He will be 50 in June. He envisions a self-sustaining city could take shape on the Red Planet as early as 2050. He safely covers himself, estimating the effort to cost somewhere between $100 billion and $10 trillion. He is worth around $200 billion, so theoretically could pay the whole check at the lower end.
Alas, I too have a dream. Mine is focused on Planet Earth on the open ocean. I have written about a floating city hosting the 2050 World Expo at a cost of $150 billion. Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of money, and need to find an imaginative billionaire, or team of them, to proceed with my inspiration.
- A few months ago, my Huffington Post article on “The Dawn of the Blue Revolution” reported on the potential the ocean provided for humanity. The world has been wrestling with the economic collapse and worried about the dual hammer of Peak Oil and Global Warming. Almost never is the ocean recognized as part of the solution. The surface of our globe has two and a half times more water than land. Surely, then, greater consideration should be given to this largely ignored and mostly protected portion of our planet.
In my 2003 Bruun Memorial Lecture to UNESCO in Paris, I proposed that the United Nations take a leading role in galvanizing Project Blue Revolution. There are important Law of the Sea and international political issues to be considered. There are today only 192 countries forming the UN. Someday, perhaps, a thousand OTEC-powered Blue Revolution platforms, each a nation in itself, could well be plying our oceans, providing clean and sustainable resources for Humanity in harmony with the ocean environment.- Well, the thought of a thousand new nations is disarming at best, but noteworthy because of the potential immensity of the promise.
- Not too long ago we had the romance of space with Star Wars and the Apollo Project. But each NASA shuttle shot costs about a billion dollars, the same amount as the U.S. Department of Energy has annually spent over the past decade to develop renewable energy. We can keep contemplating the sky, but the reality is on Earth, and, more specifically, our seas.
Where else can we turn to for next generation clean energy technologies, green materials, exciting new habitats and more seafood? The ocean, of course, and three recent developments have particularly caught my attention.- Formation of the Seasteading Institute.
- Legal trademarking of the Blue Revolution.
- Japanese Ocean Sunrise Project.
Add to the above the potential for preventing hurricanes and remediating global warming, and you have the ideal concept for the entire world to work together to create a self-sustaining society in harmony with the natural environment. Over the next couple of days I will provide details on what exactly is the Blue Revolution, how much work has gone into establishing the fundamental principles and how you might yourself want to be a contributor.
To answer the question at the top, the combined answer is NO! Humanity can support both Musk's vision and mine. I wish him well on his Mars enterprise, and also hope that the 2050 World Expo will be hosted on a floating city. He will see his dream come true, while I would be 110-years old if mine happens, so, almost surely not.
