Waterworld!

First Edited by Pierre Erwes in August 2014...

August 4th, 2034,

Location: North Atlantic Ocean, 39.39 N, 18.96 W. off the coast of Azores

Azores ‘region Floating Colony...

The summer is coming to an end and within the next ten days the summer’s storms will begin their devastating runs up to the heart of the old continent. This year, I did not have enough time to go onshore and visit the continent. For now I'm enjoying the last hours of my 6 days’ vacation watching the sun disappear over the horizon while sipping a nice bottle of algae wine vintage 2022.

Since the 2018 Great Depression, which left more than 1.8 billion people unemployed with no real prospects, and after the historical speech of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco at the World Council of Federated States, Africa United,  the European Federal Government, the CANUSMEX - north American federation, the United States of Asia, the Middle East Federation which  Iran and Israel joined in 2022, and United states of South America, have decided to rethink strategies based on sustainable use of the oceans to revive our global economy.

This major crisis in the history of mankind had the merit to redistribute the cards significantly. African Federated countries were behind the global economic revival and their terrestrial and marine natural wealth enabled an unprecedented economic redevelopment. It must be said that the law on the exploitation of natural genetic heritage passed in 2020 allowed the development of a new innovative biotechnology industry. The funds from the United States of Asia and those from the Federation of Middle East poured in  ??Africa which became the central location for business.

Former United states of America ravaged by extensive exploitation of shale gas have been for a decade the place of social movement which became so important that all major industries and finance chose to relocate offshore. The dollar has been depreciated sharply under the onslaught of constant attacks from the hedge funds newly relocated offshore in the 2020s. China began to sell the massive treasury bonds accumulated until the year 2015's.  Downward spiral was initiated and without the active support of Canada and Mexico, which invited them to join CANUSMEX, it would have taken more than 50 years for the USA to recover.

In Europe, the situation remained unclear for many years. The first European Federation finalized in 2020 under the pressure of Portugal, Ireland, Germany and the Scandinavian countries, has had the difficult task to smoothen the total collapse of France, which since the 2000s increased dramatically its deficits, expecting of a potential economic recovery. More than 60% of the workforce being civil servants did not anticipate this collapse and were left without any resources. The martial law that lasted for 3 years and the financial contribution of all other federal states have prevented the final collapse of the country. Subsequently, the disappearance of nation states and the creation of 102 autonomous regions in 2030 has enabled Europe to reinvent itself. In 2016, following the extension of the continental shelf Portugal began the sustainable development of its new economic wealth while creating in 2021 a sovereign fund which will guarantee and economic stability for future generations.

Now every major federation has a maritime fa?ade ensuring a full access to this new Eldorado. The World Council of Federated States shall guarantee compliance with environmental rules accepted by all federations. Penalties for any infringements are dissuasive, and temporary removal of all major underwater and space exploration programs will make offenders think twice.

With the peak of pollution that we experienced in the 2020s, the melting of the polar ice cap in Antarctica has caused sea rising over 2.75m. Island nations have all disappeared. Despite its notorious inefficiency, the United Nations in the 2020s contributed to the establishment of the new status for "floating Nation" that will allow the development of a controlled exploitation of the oceans in the following years. Some nostalgic regret the disappearance of the United Nations in 2021 but the new board of World Council of the Federal States showed by its efficiency and management capacity of international affairs that it was the international tool we needed. With only 10% of the workforce of the United Nations, a budget worthy of the best international company accountable to the last "Gaia" (the new global currency introduced in 2022), the World Council allowed the nations to prepare the large settlements initiated in the year 2028.

It came first floating islands. These islands launched in the year 2014 have quickly evolved in their objective and their function. Completely autonomous, with populations ranging from 500 to 5,000 people on areas of 45 to 200 acres, these islands have become the nerve centers of the off-shore economy. With advances in biotechnology and genetics, Federated States have developed new species of pelagic herbivores farmed in huge underwater cages, fed by algae and microalgae cultivated on these same platforms. Energy from sun, wind, waves and thermal makes these islands completely autonomous. Seawater is desalinated for day to day consumption and the surplus will be redirected to the electrolysis station where we crack H2 which is stored in large honeycomb tanks under the island. If necessary the same H2 feed fuel cells that produce the necessary electricity.

These floating islands have quickly adapted to the new status of "floating nation." Many investment funds have set up their Head Quarters and some were quickly specialized to become floating laboratories producing under constant control of environmental rules the necessary ingredients for feed, food for human settlements, and the valuable extracts required for nutraceuticals, cosmetics and new generations of pharmaceuticals and anti-cancer drugs. It is true that marine products has made significant leaps. We now grow all kinds of algae, echinoderms, mollusks, sponges, bacteria that are necessary to the manufacturing of new generations of products and bio materials.

I must tell you that in the year 2014, one US based company has pioneered the revolution of bioplastics from algae. All major groups have followed this route for obvious financial reasons. Plastic produced from petroleum have been subjected to new environmental taxes and felt immediate disenchantment. Production of algae has flourished and African countries and South East Asian were the first to invest heavily in this direction.

Since 2026, the international space program involving terra forming Mars amplified the phenomenon. This time it was the turn of micro algae. We had massive production of different microalgae strain, one to inoculate into the Martian atmosphere, one to meet the fuel requirement of living units on the space ship, one to feed the crew and future settlers, and the others for the remediation of effluents and oxygen production.

But you can really consider the blue revolution began in the 2030s with the colonization of the ocean floor. Deep sea stations allowed access to the minerals site collection, needed to create the space elevator that will allow shuttles from Mars to unload their precious content. The Board of the World Council of Federated States closely monitored the implementation of the first stations to ensure that the environmental impact was reversible and compensated…

This evening watching the sun disappear below the horizon, I think of all we still need to accomplish. We finally succeeded after years of major crises to share our research, the energy and vital resources to feed 12 billion people. Public awareness and education ran for decades before we convince the new generations of what we could achieve. What is lost will never be recovered, and the history of Earth is made of dramatic disappearance and chronic cataclysms. It is now time to prepare our future generations to the next challenges. The old remaining bioethical laws established in 2000s will have to be revisited as we will address these new challenges. Should be humans to conquer the deep ocean, then they will need gills to conquer the new space instead of lungs.  They will have more capability to build the first underwater cities. We must also prepare for the great challenges of human space exploration in our solar system. How to adapt man to life in weightlessness?

I have some answers but the sun has just disappeared and I think it will take another bottle of this famous Algae wine to elaborate and philosophize about this becoming.