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What do I mean by that? I could mean that all those who consider themselves members of the Nation of Earth are ambassadors to the future. That's not where I was going, but yeah, go ahead. Each of you is an Ambassador to the Future.
Physical 'embassies' of sorts are what I was thinking of. These could be the sort of places I wrote about in "City of Redemption", but whether they are built upon land reclaimed from mountaintop removal surface mining is unimportant (as much as I like that idea). They would be as self-sustaining as is practicable, flying the Flag of Earth, with denizens practicing methods of the future for everything from power generation to health care.
Visitors would be given tours, have methods and technology explained to them. Of paramount importance will be the idea of local sustainability, something that has been lost over the past century or so with massive industrialization, and redistribution and extreme specialization of the population.
I didn't grow up on a farm, but Mom did. Grandpa had a nice spread, where he raised Black Angus. There was a milk cow, and there were chickens. He and Grandma had a nice orchard and a fairly large garden. He even had a couple of horses, I'm guessing in case something went wrong with the tractor (or the gasoline supply). A nearby river had fish. Water came from a well, and rain barrels. Heat and cooking were managed with cast iron stoves -- coal was used, but wood could have easily been substituted. There was electricity, and a phone line, but they were more conveniences than necessities.
That's sustainable living, folks.
Sadly (after his wife passed), instead of leaving the place to any or all of his descendants, he sold it to the millionaire 'inventor of cable television' with the proviso that he could live there for the rest of his life -- which wasn't long.
The place was big enough that several more houses could have been built, the garden and orchard expanded, and all of his sons & daughters and their children could have resided there if they chose to, yeah, me and all my aunts and uncles and cousins, and the next generation after that, and so on. Everyone had already gone their separate ways, though, and there was no one to tend the farm.
I am left to imagine how it may have been, if only one of his eight children had expressed enough interest in what Grandpa established. It was solid. Brilliant -- if only in retrospect.
As far back as the time of his passing, in the mid-Seventies, solar heating could have been introduced. At any point 'high tunnels' and/or greenhouses could have been added. By now an elaborate system of rainwater collection (and even a little drafting from the adjacent river) could have been coupled with a solar-heated distillation facility, with a remineralization module to supply excellent drinking water.
Any water can be processed for re-use, even from sewage.
If my grandfather, R. L. Bain, were here right now, I imagine we could have a wonderful conversation of how to optimize the resources of the land he used to own. I think he would agree that, if managed properly, the land could sustain all his descendants -- while showing a profit. Stubborn as he was, he would be quick to embrace more efficient methods -- so long as they didn't rely too much on the outside world.
Our future relies on our past. To succeed and prosper, we are going to have to take a close look at the methods of our ancestors -- and improve upon them. Using the latest technology and sharing the best methods with one another, we can maintain sustainability into the decades and centuries yet to come.
Along the way we will need to embrace 'forbidden' technology. As our population expands beyond what our Earth can comfortably sustain, many of us will have to colonize Space. Making use of technology that has been kept secret, we can construct 'motherships' and spacefaring vessels of various sizes, even move to other planets. There is, theoretically, no limit.
Even ONE 'embassy to the future' will be a good start. I'd like to establish such a place, and even have a location in mind.
The questions are these:
- Would you be willing to leave your current life behind, to join an effort meant to show the way for the future?
- Can you cast aside the dispersions of friends & family, and be assured that what you are doing will make a difference, or at least ensure your own survival?
- Are you willing and able to depart from conventional thinking, to embrace ideas that have been suppressed by capitalism/fascism/oligarchy?
- Would you move hundreds or thousands of miles to be a part of the project?
- Would you mind lending a hand wherever it is needed?
- Do you have any faith in the idea of a sustainable colony, here on Earth?
- Are you willing to suggest changes & improvements, if you see the need for them?
- Do you subscribe to the idea that we are all ONE, regardless of ethnicity, nationality, or background?
- Can you see that what we will be doing will be important to the future of Humans on Earth (and beyond)?
- Are you willing to give feedback on how well the robotics are working, so they can be more efficient and allow us more liesure time?
The future is ours. How we spend it is up to us. New ground is ready to be broken. Anyone, anywhere, can be prosperous with the proper knowledge. By establishing an exemplary colony, and others to follow, we can show the way. It's all about sustainability, and room for growth.
We can do this.
Will it happen?
It could. It can. Time will tell.
Phil Smith
January 14, 2009
