The Problem

This is a critical time for humans on earth. Specifically:

We are polluting the air and changing the climate.
We are running out of the energy we use the most (oil and gas)
We are running out of jobs for the coming generation.

We are gradually using up our retirement funds (social security, for example), so workers cannot count on being able to retire as planned.
We are running out of fresh water and land to grow food on.

It used to be thought that if mankind left the natural ecological systems alone (i.e. reduced its footprint), nature would maintain a balance beneficial to the maintenance of mankind and its civilization. Many people-collectively referred to as “The Environmentalists”-still believe this idea to be true. However, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the population density of earth is high enough to require a deliberate feedback control mechanism governed by mankind to ensure a balance in the natural ecology of the earth, provide food, water and energy for mankind and maintain the social systems of mankind. This feedback control mechanism is difficult to achieve, considering the complexity and the size of the systems involved. Mankind has shown that it is not capable of either coming to a collective conclusion (a consensus) as to the nature of the emergency, or of achieving a collective response in terms of conservation efforts to prevent further deterioration.

Because of this lack of understanding of the nature of this emergency, it will be shown in AP2.3 that we appear to be heading toward a runaway Global Warming condition where reducing carbon dioxide emissions will not be enough to halt the warming trend and more must be done. Also, AP2.4 will describe the difficulties we face in creating enough energy, jobs, food and water for the coming generations. Thus we may be heading toward a situation that will be very difficult for our current civilization to control. In fact, as I have shown before (see AP1.1, AP1.2, AP1.3 and AP1.5), mankind has no choice but to address these problems in the next 20 to 30 years because ignoring them will probably cause serious damage to our civilization and possibly also cause serious damage to the ability to sustain humanity at its current population density on the earth. It is believed by many observers that clear evidence of this breakdown will be obvious to all by 2050, and some observers believe that a good deal of evidence is clear now.

In response to this emergency, a program was started to build a vessel (the SEMAN) that can counter these five problems for individuals and families (see AP1.0 et. al.). It was found that it is possible to provide a good living for families with the SEMAN. It is natural to ask if enough SEMAN can be launched and operated to overcome these problems for all mankind and thus to maintain a sustainable civilization with good opportunity and the necessities of life for its citizens and even provide a feedback mechanism to maintain the environment of earth in such a way as to be suitable for all life on earth including mankind. We ask here if it may also be possible to do this feat in such a natural way as to be relatively painless to implement. If so, it may turn out to be the beginning of a new sustainable civilization that will replace the old one that seems to be breaking down by destroying earth’s environment and exceeding the earth’s resources. It is important to ask finally if this task can be completed in time to avoid a possible 2050 breakdown deadline. We will see that the SEMAN has excess capability to gather energy, and this excess can be used to make “green” oil or alcohol for sale on the land as fuel. The SEMAN can also use this energy to sequester carbon dioxide to limit global warming. The SEMAN can further provide excess food and fresh water for sale on land. The excess energy can finally be used to provide employment and retirement for the expanding population. Thus the key to the easy method to combat the five problems is to convince enough people to live on the oceans to accomplish this task. About 200 million SEMAN (~550 million people) will be required. Also, these SEMAN must be spread out over the critical areas of the ocean to provide the proper impact. There will, of course, be the incentive of lack of jobs on the land to drive people to sea, so there is a good chance that the required number will go. If too few go to sea, however, it will be necessary to develop an automated version of the SEMAN to provide this service. The following series of papers (AP2.1 through AP2.6) is written to address these issues.

The Solution

Through years of research and development, it has been found that it may be possible to expand on the use of the SEMAN for individuals and families to develop a sustainable or quasi equilibrium civilization on earth if the population can be stabilized. Calculations indicate that this state can be achieved if enough people choose to use the SEMAN to accomplish these tasks. It is expected that the majority of the people who live on SEMAN will be members of the Aquater Alliance, so they will be called Aquaters. Nevertheless, not all people who live on SEMAN will be members.

Obtaining sustainability requires that a significant portion of mankind provide its own basic needs and also cover a portion of the rest of mankind’s basic needs by earning the capital goods required and providing the labor necessary to accomplish the following tasks:

Recycle or sequester mankind’s wastes-especially the critical one-carbon dioxide.
Generate the energy mankind needs to replace its fossil fuels.
Provide the number of jobs in a new industry needed to employ that part of mankind that is becoming unemployed due to automation by computers and robots.
Save the funds mankind needs for the retirement of a critical portion of its elderly.
Generate the new supplies of fresh water and food mankind needs to obtain sustainability.

Note that most of the needs of mankind are currently being supplied by the systems currently in place. Only enough increase is needed in these five areas to close the gap.

This appears doable. The first step is for individuals and families to make and live in self-contained living units that supply jobs as was shown in chapter AP1 (AP1.0 through AP1.7). The SEMAN is the most fundamental of these units. This unit provides a:

Means of sequestering wastes-especially carbon dioxide
Means of harvesting energy and converting it into a useable form
A job for two for each SEMAN, and many land support jobs as well
Means of saving the funds needed for retirement
Means of desalinating water and growing food

This unit was shown to be capable of making a living and a profit for the owner and operator in chapter AP1.0.

In chapter AP2 (AP2.1 through AP2.6), it will be shown through calculations that if enough people decide to live in SEMAN, they can accomplish all the tasks required to close the gap for mankind and thus achieve a sustainable civilization. Each SEMAN can make a profit, and the oceans are capable of supporting the necessary number. Specifically, calculations show that about 200 million SEMAN can operate on the oceans without overcrowding them, and they will automatically spread out to increase profit. It will be shown in the following chapters, that this number of SEMAN can:

Sequester all the carbon dioxide currently being emitted plus bring the current level down by 2050.
Provide enough clean energy to replace the oil, gas and coal being used by 2050.
Provide enough jobs at a middle class salary level to cover world unemployment caused by automation by 2050.
Provide enough alternative retirement options to relieve the current retirement funds and make them solvent by 2050.
Provide enough safe drinking water to ensure that all nations can have a safe supply, as well as supply the food necessary to augment the existing food supply enough to relieve the pressure on the earth’s environment.

Note that other solutions to these problems are being worked on. The Aquater Alliance may not be the only solution used to solve these problems. However, whatever combination of solutions is used, the Aquater Alliance can provide an answer for whatever problems remain. Thus it is expected that the current institutions of our civilization augmented by the Aquater Alliance and the SEMAN can overcome the critical five problems by 2050, which is expected to be the critical time when prior bad practices catch up with us and cause serious survival problems.

It is interesting to note that use of the SEMAN may also make it possible to control average weather within limits in certain areas of the earth. This possibility is addressed in AP2.13.

Means of using the SEMAN to aid the problems of refugees and reduce the effects of natural disasters will also be noted in AP2.6 and AP2.8.

Clearly it will be necessary to make the life on the sea desirable enough to attract the 200 million SEMAN needed to accomplish these aims. This need will also be addressed in this chapter (see AP2.15).

However, there will still be some serious problems for our civilization that the Aquater Alliance and the SEMAN do not address. These problems will be discussed in AP2.7.

Summary and Conclusions

Through years of research and development, it has been found that it is possible to work out a near (but not a completely) sustainable world civilization on earth if the population can be stabilized.

This state can be achieved only if enough people use the SEMAN to combat the five critical problems defined above. The people who live on the SEMAN will be referred to as members of the Aquater Alliance. In the following papers (AP2.1 through AP2.6), it will be shown how the Aquaters can accomplish this task. It is important to note that I have shown before (see AP1.1, AP1.2, AP1.3 and AP1.5) that mankind has no choice but to address these problems in the next 20 to 30 years because ignoring them will probably cause serious damage to our civilization and possibly also cause serious damage to the earths ability to sustain humanity at its current population level.

It is expected that the required number of SEMAN will end up on the oceans, since the resulting life is good and well paid and jobs will become more and more scarce in the future. Calculations also show (see AP2.3) that ~200 million SEMAN can operate on the oceans without overcrowding them, and that number can:

Sequester all the carbon dioxide currently being emitted plus bring the current level down by 2050.
Provide enough clean energy to replace the oil, gas and coal being used by 2050.
Provide enough jobs at a middle class salary level to cover world unemployment for those with the proper education by 2050.
Provide enough alternative retirement options to relieve the current retirement funds by 2050 and make them solvent.
Provide enough safe drinking water to ensure all nations can have a safe supply, as well as supply the food necessary to augment the existing food supply.

Note that other solutions to these problems are being worked on. The Aquater Alliance will probably not offer the only solution that will be used to solve these problems. However, whatever combination of solutions is used, the Aquater Alliance can probably provide an answer for almost all of the problems that remain. Note that if the number of people that opt for life on the SEMAN is too low to sequester the carbon dioxide and generate the green energy needed, unmanned, automated SEMAN can be developed. Thus it is expected that a civilization augmented by the Aquater Alliance and the SEMAN can overcome all of the five critical problems of our times.

Also addressed in this chapter is the possibility that use of the SEMAN may make it possible to:

Control average weather within limits in certain areas of the earth (AP2.13)
Aid refugees (AP2.6)
Reduce the effects of natural disasters (AP2.8)

However, there will still be some serious problems for our civilization that the Aquater Alliance and the SEMAN do not address. These problems will be discussed in AP2.7, and explored in detail in chapter AP3.0 through 3.5.