AQUATER PAPER 5.0 A PROPOSAL FOR A NEW ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING COURSE AIMED TOWARD THE SOLUTION OF THE MOST CRITICAL PROBLEMS FACING OUR CURRENT CIVILIZATION.

The Problem

There are many excellent environmental engineering courses addressing the problems of our times, but none provide and study a practical and potentially complete solution for these problems. Here I propose a new course in Environmental Engineering. This course can close the loop and provide insight into both the problem and the solution and give a platform for development of the components of this solution.

 

The Course

This is a critical time for the humans living on the earth. It appears to be the beginning of the breakdown of our old civilization under the pressure of population increase, automation and the use of bad environmental practices. Specifically, we are facing five critical problems:

  • We are polluting the air and changing the climate by allowing our wastes to accumulate in our environment.
  • 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.

The first two and the last are clearly environmental problems, The third and the fourth are not obviously connected to the environment, but on a deeper level, have a clear connection, and so should be addressed in this course along with the other subjects. The connection will be described in more detail later.

 

In the early 1980’s, a research organization was started to consider these problems, which were apparent even then. The first step was to study the problems in depth. The importance and connection of the first two was obvious. After considerable research, the connection with the last three surfaced. It also became obvious that conservation and protection efforts for the environment would not be sufficient to provide a solution to the destruction and change the environment was experiencing. So a path was developed to provide a potential solution for all of these problems at once in the form of a new way to live on the sea. A living platform that operates on the ocean was developed capable of giving a new way of making a living. In addition, this platform provides profitable work and thus a way to expand the number of humans in the work force. This platform, the SEMAN, consists of a seagoing vessel and accompanying apparatus that provides a means of living comfortably on the ocean. This vessel allows one to make fresh water, grow food and harvest energy for sale on land-all the things necessary to provide a living for humans. It can make fertilizer and sequester carbon dioxide to stop climate change. The SEMAN can travel to any place near the ocean for free, and operators can enjoy all the electronic entertainment a land dweller enjoys, and so presents an attractive alternative to retirement on land using Social Security. These SEMAN can travel in groups (pods) to allow contact with other people. Each SEMAN can support four people without requiring supplies from the land. The ocean provides enough high-energy space (wind speed >15 KN) to ensure profitable operation for 200 million SEMAN, which in turn requires 550 million operators and associates (see AP2.4). In addition to this, the SEMAN can provide a large amount of electrical energy that can be used to freeze, package and sink carbon dioxide to the sea floor and thus sequester it from the atmosphere. This energy can also be used to produce oil stock for use in cars, trucks and aircraft on the land, as well as nitrogen fertilizer for use on crops on the land. Two hundred million SEMAN can potentially provide the new carbon dioxide sequestration capability, the green energy requirement, and the food and the fresh water requirement needed to cover the expansion needed for humanity by 2050. This information is covered in detail in Aquater Papers AP1.0 through AP5.0, which can be used as a text for the proposed course.

 

A prototype is nearing completion, and it has become obvious to the developer of this prototype that an expanding number of students educated enough to man these SEMAN must be trained if they are to be ready to solve the five problems before they get out of hand. A course at one or more universities could solve this problem. This course could consist of the following classes.

  • An introduction class that describes the five critical problems of our times in detail (one semester). The Aquater Papers can provide a textbook. The course would require a term paper at the end on one of the five problems criticizing or supporting the work on the appropriate Aquater Paper.
  • A solution class that describes the SEMAN and its capabilities, as well as the capability of the SEMAN to solve the five problems in the world (one semester). The course would require a term paper at the end on one of the five SEMAN solutions criticizing or supporting the work in the appropriate Aquater Paper.
  • An ocean safety and weather class for SEMAN operators.
  • A lab class (one semester) in which a student will choose one element of the SEMAN and develop and make a prototype of the element for test on the prototype. Possible elements are:

1.      A hydroponics tray for use on the SEMAN to grow land food.

2.      Hardware for growing chicken on the SEMAN.

3.      A tank for growing seafood for use on the SEMAN.

4.      An automatic stabilization system for the SEMAN.

5.      An automatic deployment and adjustment system for SEMAN sails.

6.      A reactor to generate liquid fuels from SEMAN electricity.

7.      A reactor for generating fertilizer from SEMAN electricity.

8.      Hardware for freezing and packaging carbon dioxide for sequestration.

9.      A practical weapon for protecting SEMAN on the open ocean.

10.  Software for tracking and following high-energy zones on the ocean.

11.  A bookkeeping system for the SEMAN

 

This course would prepare the student for operating a SEMAN safely and profitably.

 

Conclusions

I propose a course for preparing SEMAN captains for operating on the ocean. The SEMAN is an ocean vessel capable of providing water, food, shelter and a means of making a living from harvesting ocean energy. It can also be used to sequester large amounts of carbon dioxide in sealed packages on the ocean floor. 

 

The prototype SEMAN is almost complete, and the time for training captains is near. The university that starts such a program now will be in on the ground floor of potentially one of the largest education programs in recent history. There is a potential market for 200 million SEMAN for the world. Such a fleet could possibly solve five of the world’s most pressing problems.

  • We are polluting the air and changing the climate by allowing our wastes to accumulate in our environment.
  • 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.

Graduates from this program would also be sought after for jobs in each of these pressing areas.