One of the things that really struck me about seasteading is the fact that is really is changing a lot of the political problem into an engineering problem.  Granted that we will never be fully free of the other gov'ts on this earth, but the more we can resolve the engineering issues enabling us to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle us (from the US Declaration of Independence), the more we can have liberty in our lifetime.  Issues ranging from interconnectivity to defense are at the heart engineering issues allowing people with diverse views to explore more fully the range of options they desire.

To me, one of the stickiest engineering issues to resolve (beyond the actual surviving gracefully at sea) is Internet access.  We will never reach a critical mass if that issue is not resolved.  Whether it involves setting up repeater buoys every league or so between us and a landlink or whether it involves a group purchasing a portion of a satellite, this issue must be resolved in order for most of us to give up land, and even more importantly, to convince those not yet with us to give up land.

While I am, by nature, an optimist, I know that things will have to get radically worse for most people to make that move, and if we can't provide creature comforts, that level of discomfort that must be reached will be exponentially higher prior to many making the move.  I've been discouraged by the inability of the FSP to not only attract more people to move to NH, but even people who are willing to say that at some indefinite point in the future they will move.  This is to me an indication that things just aren't bad enough (at least in the US) for most people to make a commitment like that.

On the other hand, I work closely with the Hispanic communities wherever I live, and am constantly humbled and strengthened by the fact that people will spend thousands of dollars (which equals a years earnings or more), endure days of hardship at great risk to their lives, just to get into this country where they have to wear out their lives under constant fear of arrest just to make a better living.  In my mind, communities such as these are ripe for our efforts, especially if opportunities can be afforded for them to make enough.  These are the people truly yearning to breathe free.

I admire efforts such as Rich Sowa's and the other floating villages around the world.  In fact, I've been looking at the islands built of reeds in Lake Titicaca, and other efforts to create artificial islands, and am in discussions to purchase a place on Lake Nicaragua in about 3-4 years where I can do some experimentation, both w/ floating islands and with a Lakestead (hoping we're at that point by then).  Am also researching halophytes (salt-tolerant plants) with the view of creating a salt-water aquaponics system to try the feasibility of growing food on rafts in the middle of the ocean (as opposed to on the top of the deck).

While I think it will be 10-20 years before we're really ready to make a full-fledged community effort on the high seas, I think the more incremental efforts we can make in that regard, the better off we are.  Maybe get some people onto floating islands just off the shore, others on houseboats, others start sailing around the world, others working to develop low-latency, high-bandwidth, ship-to-shore communication, and eventually it will all come together.  I applaud the establishment of TSI to help bring many of these efforts under the same roof and really act as a sounding board for entrepreneurs and individualists to combine some efforts and refine other, more individual efforts.

dArt