As Climate Change Accelerates,Floating Cities Look Like Less of a Pipe Dream Mike Ives

Summary: To combat the problem of rising sea levels, the government of French Polynesia has agreed to host a project to build floating cities in the South Pacific. The project is being put in action by a California nonprofit, the" Seasteading Institute". Mr. Hencken, the group's executive directer states his goal is "to create an industry that provides floating islands to people who are threatened by rising sea levels." The island will cost a total of 10 million to 50 million dollars and will house a few dozen people who will most likely be middle-income buyers. The islands will also showcase innovations in solar power, sustainable aquaculture and ocean-based wind farms. However, starting the project has been impeded by problems like waste disposal systems. The project highlights how climate change has prompted technology entrepreneurs to look for solutions. The project has received some negative feedback from people like Alexandre Le Quéré, a radio host at the station Polynésie 1ère, who said that the Seasteading Institute’s project reminded him of a plan to build artificial islands off the Indonesian resort island of Bali that has drawn heavy criticism amid concern over its projected environmental effects. Despite this, Mr. Hencken hopes that one day his project will expand all over the world.

Analysis: The content of this article is noteworthy because it provides a viable solution to the problem of the ocean levels rising. Ocean levels are rising due to thermal expansion caused by warming of the oceans, and the increasing melting of ice masses like glaciers. At this rate, eventually much of the land we call "home" on the costs will be underwater. Looking very far into the future, if sea levels continue to rise, eventually land will cease to exist and humans will need to find a new way to live. These floating cities could be the solution. However, in order for this project to really take off a few obstacles need to be overcome, such as building waste-management systems for the islands and convincing investors to buy property in such an untested environment.

Learn More about the Floating Cities Project Below!

Takeaways: This article stood out to me because it was about something I had never heard about. Who would have thought of creating floating cities? It also made me do some further research on climate change. I found that if we continue burning fossil fuels at this rate, the problem of climate change will only continue to get worse and we will continue to lose land to the seas. Ultimately, it is up to humans to conserve our land. In order to prevent the loss of more land we need to raise awareness on how human actions have a negative effect on climate change and the environment. First, we need to be more conscious of the amount of fossil fuels we are emitting. To reduce these emissions people can switch to battery powered cars, install solar powered heating systems, and opt to walk or bike places instead of drive. Although the loss of land may not affect us directly during out lifetime, we need to make changes to prevent further climate change and land loss.

To learn more on how to reduce climate change watch the video below!

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