THE LATEST PROGRESS ON THE BLUE REVOLUTION

Half of you reading this blog could well be first-time viewers, so let me begin with a short tutorial on what exactly is the Blue Revolution.  I can send you to SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Planet Earth, which has a full chapter on this subject, but let me begin with several articles published in The Huffington Post:

• The Dawn of the Blue Revolution
• The Ultimate Ocean Ranch
• Blue Revolution
• The Blue Revolution is the Optimal Solution for Japan

Here is a 20-minute clip from a gathering hosted by the Seasteading Institute (SI) in San Francisco, providing further details on the Blue Revolution, and, in particular, the Pacific International Ocean Station, proposed by Blue Revolution Hawaii.  SI recently hosted a conference in Tahiti and has found another partner in this French colony.

Joe Quirk moderates an excellent summary of what is becoming the Blue Revolution.  You spend hours/day watching television.  In a fraction of that time, by clicking on what he has titled, The Eight Great Moral Imperatives, you, too, can become a Blue Revolution Pioneer.  Joe also recently published a book:

SEASTEADING:  How Floating Nations Will Restore the Environment, Enrich the Poor, Cure the  Sick, and Liberate Humanity from Politicians

The Seasteading Institute, founded by Patri Friedman and Wayne Gramlich, with funding by Peter Thiel, is leading the way towards a future of seaborne platforms in international waters.  They believe this future is now, and the effort should be entrepreneurial.

Blue Revolution Hawaii, working with SI, is using a more traditional strategy, with plans to design, build and operate a developmental floating city to best determine future marine economies and technologies.  We have already secured an endowment for the University of Hawaii to initiate the program.  While we, too, seek governmental and industrial funding to carry out this mission, we most seek an imaginative and dedicated billionaire to gain a legacy as the founder of the Blue Revolution, for the initial project, the Pacific International Ocean Station (PIOS), is anticipated to cost $1.5 billion.

While significant, it should be noted that the International Space Station (ISS) has already cost more than $150 billion, and is expected to crash back into Planet Earth within a decade without the formation of even one company.  Thus, for one percent of the ISS, PIOS will develop a range of sustainable ocean resources in harmony with the marine environment.  In fact, two  natural benefits could well be remediation of global warming and prevention of hurricane/typhoon formation.  

The next Economic Frontier will certainly not be Mars, but the Blue Revolution, with prospects for enhancing the environment.  The ISS is one of half a million pieces of observable space junk up there, and each one cost a lot of money.

So what am I doing to stimulate progress for the Blue Revolution?  Well, for one, I am responsible for that endowment to the University of Hawaii, and a post-doc from Nihon University is soon to arrive to help initiate some research.  I recently gave several speeches touching on this topic:

• My talks to MENSA (at their Pacific Regional Conference in Honolulu)
• A testimonial I provided in Tokyo (right) on the retirement of Tadashi Matsunaga as President of Nokodai, also known as Tokyo University of A&T.  Interestingly enough, a quarter century or so ago, Professor Matsunaga served as the first International Professor for the Blue Revolution at the University of Hawaii.  I suggested, as he now has nothing to do (which actually is not so, for he is even more involved now with too many things--former president of Japanese universities become especially important citizens) he might want to return to Hawaii to help lead this effort.

For the future, I was asked to present a talk in Las Vegas to the February World Aquaculture Society gathering, co-authored by Leighton Chong and Tetsuzan Benny Ron:

Blue Revolution Hawaii:  Proposal for a Pacific International Ocean Station.

Click on these two blog sites for more information:

• Blue Revolution Hawaii
• iBlue Revolution

While not yet organized as a real Blue Revolution activity, you can nevertheless from January of 2020 join me for a World Cruise.  Hopefully, Tadashi and Mayumi Matsunaga will be on board, for he was the one who stimulated this fantasy.  You can even help us select the cruise line:

Crystal for $30,955 could well be the Blue Revolution ship of choice.  Four months to cruise the world:

That itinerary is for 2018, so by 2020 maybe Crystal will truly go around the world...and probably cost more.  That is currently my problem, as these global journeys only feature cabins for two people.  I can barely afford myself, so a companion needs to be able to absorb her own cost.  Better yet, perhaps I'll find someone who could help subsidize my fare.  Amazingly enough, there are a few potential candidates who have progressed through either step two (join me for lunch or dinner so we can talk about it) or step three (a short cruise to determine if we are compatible).  Step one is just contact me.  Still searching for the perfect prospect, and some decision needs to be made by next year.

The key requirement for the Blue Revolution is to find that second billionaire (SI has Peter Thiel), or team of them, visionaries emboldened to develop the pathway for Humanity to ensure for a sustainable Planet Earth.  The sea around us is the most sensible and affordable setting to advance this cause, and the endeavor will only be attained with the right leadership and inspiration.

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THE BLUE REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN

Joe Quirk of the Seasteading Institute referred me to his posting on "National Geographic:  Can the Blue Revolution Solve the Worlds Food Puzzle?"  You can read the NG article by clicking here, which starts with:

It should be a surprise to most that in tonnage, there is now more farmed fish (70 million tons/year) than beef!!!  A few more bullets:

• Fish farming began in China 2500 years ago with carp.

• China now produces 42 million tons/year, mostly carp and tilapia (Above, did you know that this fish is a mouth breeder?  Yes, hard to see, but the eggs are kept in the mouth.), in ponds, rivers, lakes and the ocean.  
• Here are two graphs from Taiwan:

          But Japanese eel (unagi) is a lot more expensive:

• Aquaculture has expanded 14-fold since 1980.
• Seafood demand will expand by 35% over the next two decades.

• As wild fish production has stagnated, all this increase will come from farms (click on the graphic to actually read it).

• 90% of farmed fish are in Asia.

• With respect to farming, fish production is very efficient:

• China dominates global aquaculture.
• However, many of these developments have destroyed desirable habitats, caused severe water pollution and induced a myriad of food-safety scares.
• The USA now imports 90% of its seafood, only 2% of which is inspected by the Food and Drug Administration.
• Disease is the bane of fish farms, as infectious anemia has killed off $2 billion worth of salmon in Chile, and the shrimp industry of Mozambique was wiped out in  2011.

Here are most frequently asked questions answered by Fishwatch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (click on any question to view the answer):

• 1. WILL WE RUN OUT OF SEAFOOD BY 2050?
• 2. ARE 85 PERCENT OF THE WORLD’S FISHERIES REALLY IN TROUBLE?
• (IF YOU CLICKED ON THIS QUESTION, THE ANSWER BEGINS WITH "NOT QUITE."  MOST DISAPPOINTING, AS THE UN DATA SAYS 84%.)
• 3. IF A SPECIES IS OVERFISHED, I SHOULD NEVER BUY IT, RIGHT?
• 4. IS MOST OF THE SEAFOOD WE EAT FROM THE UNITED STATES?
• 5. IS FARMING SEAFOOD BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT?
• 6. IS IT TRUE THAT I SHOULD NEVER EAT CHILEAN SEA BASS BECAUSE IT’S NOT SUSTAINABLE?
• 7. IS SEAFOOD FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO SAFE TO EAT?
• 8. ARE THERE REALLY 10 POUNDS OF BYCATCH FOR EVERY 1 POUND OF SHRIMP HARVESTED IN THE GULF OF MEXICO?
• 9. IS FRESH FISH HIGHER QUALITY THAN FROZEN FISH?
• 10. SHOULD YOU EAT SEAFOOD IF YOU’RE PREGNANT?

All the above continues to talk about cages, fish feeding and the conventional.  While entertaining with fabulous National Geographic photos, the theme is sadly uninspired.  For a quarter century now, I have been cheerleading the concept of a real Blue Revolution, particularly with respect to next generation fisheries, or an Ultimate Ocean Ranch (click on it to read my Huffington Post article on that subject):

• Sited in the open ocean, away from coastal environments.
• Linked to the cold water effluent (high in nutrients and pathogen free) of OTEC plantships.
• Eliminate the need for cages with nutrient or temperature barriers.
• Eliminate the need for feed, as the system will close the growth cycle for maintaining a sustainable seafood population.
• Acoutiscally harvest.
• Use of robotics to protect byproduct.

Of course, the ultimate ocean ranch has not yet begun because there is today no commercial OTEC facility anywhere.  Thus, much of what is happening today is that necessary bridge to the future.  The Seasteading Institute and Blue Revolution Hawaii have taken on the challenge, with a few competitors from Japan and Europe.

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