A couple years ago I discussed the world of artificial land creation/reclamation. One of the motivating reasons behind creating your own land is to quote Borat, you get to be the king of the castle.
I mentioned that one of the endeavors being organized involved a (equatorial-based) seasteading group.
It was being spearheaded by Patri Freidman, an engineer at Google (and grandson of Milton Friedman). At the time I didn’t think it would go past the drawing board and shot Patri an email to see what the status was. He cordially replied that it was taking baby steps towards a more public expansion a couple years down the road… and that he would keep me abreast of new developments.
And surprisingly, guess what I just found in my inbox?
Today the Seasteading Institute officially launched. And it has received $500,000 in seed money from Peter Thiel (the co-founder of Paypal and VC behind Facebook).
You can read the full press release here.
I for one welcome this concept and wish them the best of luck.
With desalination and solar power, it is conceivable that a group of hardworking, creative individuals could tie together something as simple as barges along the equator. The equator, which is not necessarily the first or only location SI is looking at, is ideal for several reasons.
First, it is located in the doldrums and as a result, very few storms pass over the area. In fact, only one hurricane/typhoon in recorded history (Vamei) has ever meandered near the equator. And based on satellite measurements, waves typically range no greater than 3-5 meters in height. Thus, if the location is placed in international waters (200 miles) the structures should be able to outlast most of what mother nature throws at it without having to worry about climate being diverted by land masses.
Second, the equator receives more daylight year round than any other spot on Earth. Therefore, inhabitants can use solar panels to effectively power electrical equipment including desalination machines and hydroponics stations. While the quantity may be impractical to rely on as a cash export, it could provide most of the caloric intake for the residents.
Third, if placed around -120 E, the community would be in the same time zone as the West coast, such as LA or Seattle. As a result, they are conveniently available to provide tax-free outsourcing services such as web or software development. This is an idea that was tossed around by a couple of firms, one of which (SeaCode) wanted to anchor a cruise ship off the coast of California and fill it with programmers who would be paid tax-free for their labor.
As a libertarian this appeals to me on many levels as well, however a small word of caution. Even as the logistics appear to be conquerable, one factor that will always remain a variable are blue-water navies such as those operated by the US or the UK.
Operating gambling websites like Antingua does or hosting adult material like Sealand did has incurred the wrath of politicians that unfortunately enough, control carrier-based task forces.
But then again, this assumes a cynical sort of realpolitik, something that never occurs in reality, right?
As the saying goes, if there is a will, there is a way. And I think Patri has both. After all, if large oil platforms are designed to be nearly self-sufficient why couldn’t other usable designs be concocted and implemented?