Seasteading – Benefits of Living on the Water

Our generation has brought about significant changes in the way that we live, and it is now expected that whatever we do will enhance the lives of those that come after us. Seasteading is just another one of these opportunities for change which may lead to a better future. While we wait to see where and when the first floating city will arise, we continue to examine the possibilities for improvement. As with any new venture there are unpredictable changes that will occur, but the initial gains that these new cities will bring are:

  1. Personal Freedom – Pioneers in change, the first residents of any seasteading nation will be in charge of themselves. As the only unclaimed territory on our planet, the water provides Seasteadingthe chance for a clean start, and occupants will need to find ways of redeveloping government and collaboration to benefit the limited population. It is imperative that they learn from the mistakes that other nations have made before, and improve on all their strong points.
  2. Chance to Increase Wealth – Whenever humans expand their colonisation, there is always the opportunity for many to gain a significant monetary advantage. The new seasteading nations will need goods and services, and ways in which they can continue to exist outside regular society. This close proximity to the ocean will also allow for further exploration into harvesting its strength for energy.
  3. An Alternative to Continued Destruction of Land Masses – Our disregard for the planet has led to a serious depletion of natural resources, resulting in the breaking down of the earth itself. Instead of destroying more land masses in an effort to accommodate our ever expanding population, creating one that will sustain itself while floating on the sea may help the earth to heal and, over time, rebuild necessary resources.
  4. Expanding our Horizons – Living on the sea will give us more of an understanding of the obstacles presented in occupying a different type of habitat. This may be the first step into furthering our knowledge enough in order to branch off into living in the unknown.

Even though seasteading is a relatively new phenomenon, the building of an independent nation in the middle of the ocean has been attempted before. In 1971, a wealthy real estate mogul, Michael Oliver, began setting up his dream of a self-sufficient territory on a small land mass situated in the Pacific Ocean, about 250 miles away from Tonga. Oliver’s idea was to eliminate taxes and economic intervention, and create a nation whose main source of income was tourism. The people who lived there were expected to support themselves by fishing, trading and agriculture. His dream was becoming a reality after he extended the land mass, to build The Republic of Minerva with its own declaration of independence and currency. Unfortunately, before the island became acknowledged worldwide, Tonga declared their ownership and the project had to be abandoned.

In the science based fiction ENDLESS FIRE FUTURE FURIES, the corporate state of SPEA establishes the seasteaded city-state of Venus in the Pacific Ocean Kiribati island chain. The seasteaded state is established to acquire intellectual freedom, escape onerous US immigration and religious laws and to achieve fiscal, energy and environmental self-sufficiency. Due to advances in engineering, communications and food production, a seasteaded city-state such as SPEA’s Venus is now possible.

Seasteading – Cities Riding the Waves

A combination of the sea and homesteading, which is a self-sufficient lifestyle; seasteading is the idea of creating permanent accommodation at sea. The idea originated with modifying cruise ships in order to create a home on the water. The first one that was adapted to facilitate living in this way cost in excess of USD$10 million to transform. One of the things that is the most appealing about these cities is the fact that they would be outside of any government’s control, and the residents would choose to be under the rules of the country that the ship displays its flag.

The Seasteading Institute

Founded on April 15, 2008 by Wayne Gramlich and Patri Friedman, after a USD$500,000 contribution by Paypal founder, Peter Thiel, the institute has undertaken the task of facilitating the creation of affordable living conditions at sea.

In 2013, the floating city project was launched with the idea of setting up the cities within shallow waters controlled by a nation. The calm waters and the close proximity of the shore would make it easy to get necessary deliveries. The goal of the institute is to have the first floating city established by 2020.

The founders have approached three (currently unknown) nations to offer to develop the construction near their shores and, therefore, under their jurisdiction. The value that this would have to these nations is undeniable, in terms of setting up a separate economy where new political structures and laws can be tried out.

Each city would be made up of 10-15 platforms each housing 20 people. This would mean a total of 200-300 people per city. The cost to set up these structures has been estimated at USD$15 million per platform and $150-165 million per city. Fortunately, the project will be privately funded and there are already many people interested in the prospect.

The concept has been supported by several architects and different designs have been entertained. One example of a unique concept was developed by Belgian architect, Vincent Callebaut, who designed a floating aquatic home, made of algae and garbage. One can only imagine the advantages of building cities out of the waste of the rest of the world. This is not the only concept that has been presented, however, and most of us will have to wait until closer to the year 2020 to see which one will prevail.

Humanity is always searching for new horizons and ways to expand our territory. Seasteading, and the idea of living outside of the jurisdiction of a specific country will continue to have its appeal, and more than likely there will soon be other projects similar to The Seasteading Institute’s that will follow the same intention.

EndlessFire8In my science based fiction, Endless Fire Future Furies, I employ the seasteading concept with the Society Preserving Endangered Agriculture or SPEA establishing itself as an independent state through seasteading. SPEA constructs its city-state on a forty acre platform above the Pacific island of Kiritimati, or as we pronounce it – Christmas Island. As a totally independent state SPEA engages the most advanced technologies to ensure that is completely self-sufficient as regards to energy and food. I see it as a very possible and probable future.

For more information about seasteading:  http://www.seasteading.org