Why can global warming save humanity?
Human ingenuity and resilience are at an all-time high.
We are increasingly hearing about melting glaciers and major coastal cities like New York, Tokyo, and Mumbai. These cities are at risk of being submerged as they face increasingly aggressive floods, hurricanes, and tsunamis.
Without a doubt, climate change is a reality that threatens, in the short term, to cause the largest human migration and displacement in history. But it doesn't stop there; if we don't control it in time, it can escalate to unimaginable levels, get out of our hands, and ultimately cost us our lives. Therefore, the fury and vehemence of this call from nature can be strong enough, timely, and eloquent to shake us from our indifference, motivate us to act, and save humanity.
The first thing we need to understand is that we ALREADY have at our fingertips the solution to face climate change and contain the temperature rise to only 1.5ºC. And to do this, we must educate and inspire civil society, governments and institutions, and business people so that together we can take advantage of the mess we've gotten ourselves into to unite, and emerge victorious with a better economic, social, and human model. One that is sustainable in the long term. One that models and capitalizes on the natural processes that promote and foster life.
One of the most vocal groups in this regard is the Seasteading Institute (https://www.seasteading.org/), founded by Patri Friedman, son of the renowned writer and Nobel laureate Milton Friedman, and Peter Thiel, who was also a co-founder of PayPal with Elon Musk. They are developing a revolutionary proposal to create floating cities that embrace sustainability at the highest level and, in passing, offer a new social order that is more just, inclusive, and productive.
Your city proposal foresees floating housing units that cost less than a traditional house and are capable of withstanding the harshest climate attacks. Your floating city model also considers the creation of a micro-ecosystem that provides residents with energy, water, food, and well-being.
For example, they have water purification systems that transform saltwater into freshwater. A good, nice, and inexpensive example of this technology is the “Slingshot,” created by the genius Dean Kamen. It takes saltwater from the sea and does with it what nature does: it heats it, evaporates it, and captures it before it becomes contaminated again, transforming it into freshwater so clean that it can be used for dialysis. Wow.
Another innovation is floating seaweed farms, which capitalize on the base of the food chain. A mechanism that not only cultivates one of the most nutritious foods in existence but also cleans up pollution in the sea and generates oxygen.
Let’s put this in context. Today, 70% of freshwater is used for agriculture. An algae farm is a completely different model. It doesn’t require freshwater. It doesn’t require fertilizers or pesticides, and there’s no limit to how large it can grow. Furthermore, these farms provide the perfect environment for raising fish, shrimp, and oysters. On land, we run the risk of depleting the water we need to live and produce food. Out at sea, it’s a different story.
Likewise, these floating cities are equipped with multiple renewable energy generation systems. When there's sun, they are powered by solar energy, and when there's bad weather, they harness the wind. Additionally, they have tidal systems that use the movement of the tides to also generate energy and electricity.
And as a final point I want to discuss today, is the political and social vision that Peter Thiel and Patri Friedman attribute to the creation of seasteads. They say that through this model, we have the opportunity to revitalize life on Earth. They point out that today 193 governments hold the seven billion citizens of the world hostage, and that seasteads would allow the citizens of the world to gather freely by having the possibility to move from one community to another in search of equity, opportunity, and development. This would forever change the principles of tax power that operate in the world today. They say that when citizens can vote with their homes, this will lead governments to compete to retain them, allowing the development of a new economic model that is more just, productive, and vital.
And what do you think about all of this?
I invite you to share your opinion and become a protagonist driving new models that advocate for coherence and sustainability. Undoubtedly, they contain powerful engines for wealth generation, as well as important sources for job creation. And finally, we must never forget that we have an obligation to create a sustainable future for our children's children.
As always, I'll sign off by reminding you that you are great and that life, now more than ever, demands your greatness.
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