Video originally published by Strata Policy: Jul 29, 2019

Article archived: Sept. 19, 2020

Footprint of Energy 2019 by Kabeia Rineaki Brock Sutton...

Published originally by Strata Policy: Sept. 17, 2019

Archived: Sept. 19, 2020

Photo by Andrew Coelho on Unsplash

By Kabeia Rineaki Brock Sutton Allen

ABSTRACT

Described as being “made from several layers of dried lumber boards stacked in alternating directions, glued and pressed to form rectangular panels,” Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) – the most popular variant of the Mass Timber construction process – promises to not only provide an outlet for potential wildfire fuel but also reduce housing shortages.¹ To take advantage of CLT, Oregon approved the unprecedented twelve-story all-wood Framework project in 2017² and passed a building code titled the Statewide Alternate Method in August 2018.³

THE PROBLEM

Oregon suffers from a shortage of housing and an excess of wildfire-prone forest lands. In 2016, Oregon Housing and Community Services Director Margaret Van Vliet warned that the state has 130,000 extremely low-income households, with only 20,000 affordable housing units that are available for those households.⁴ Additionally, dry conditions and an excess of wildfire fuel in the state and federal forests is prompting forest managers to experiment with new ways to manage forests. With $2 billion spent by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) during the 2017 wildfire season to fight over 50 large fires on over 411,000 burning acres, land managers have concluded that at least half a million acres of forest in Region 6 are in need of thinning and prescribed burns.⁵ At the root of these separate issues – a shortage of housing and an excess of wildfire fuel – lies the opportunity for the resolution of both; something not wasted on Oregon policymakers.

THE STATE’S EXPERIMENT

The August 2018 introduction of a new Statewide Alternate Method (SAM) by the Oregon Building Codes Division now allows for the construction of three new types of tall wood buildings, making the state the first “to allow construction of wood buildings taller than six stories without special consideration.”⁶ In a University of California Natural Reserve System (UCNRS) study of mass timber in California, Sandra Lupien noted:

“In the U.S. we’re always in a race to third. No investor, no developer, wants to be first. The same is true for designers and especially structural engineers. They don’t want to do the new thing until it’s thoroughly proven, and until it’s really easy for them.”⁷

Capitalizing on the visible and tactile appeal of wood, Australian, Canadian, and European architects were the first to embrace hybrid of rustic warmth and innovation that mass timber offered.⁸ Initially pushed by government initiatives like London’s carbon tax and research showing that traditional materials like cement are responsible for 8% of the world’s emissions, demand for greener construction methods was sparked.⁹ Not only does wood naturally sequester carbon, but the replacement of CLT for steel could cut those emissions by 15-20%.¹⁰ Additionally, market analysis by the Beck Group shows that mass timber promises to enhance if not outright improve most aspects of construction including total project cost, reduced skilled labor requirements, seismic performance, fire performance, blast performance, aesthetics and livability, and environmental impact.¹¹ Specifically, being able to prefabricate with mass timber offsite offers increased onsite efficiency, higher quality control, decreased waste, and greater design possibilities including modular units.¹² In fact, the CLT industry is projected to be worth more than $2 billion by 2025.¹³

While other states may have previously expressed interest in mass timber, it is Oregon that has made the first successful bid to become the American (if not international) hub of such a potentially lucrative industry.¹⁴ Oregon’s immediate use for CLT, however, is one born initially of desperation rather than profit. With overgrown forests leading to record breaking wildfires, the SAM allows for market incentives for the prescribed thinning of wood from trees that would have normally been left behind due to their small size.¹⁵ At the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region 2018 Summit, U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Chief Vicki Christiansen presented mass timber as one of the key methods of “forest product delivery” for the “small diameter trees that we must remove to improve forest conditions.”¹⁶ Her co-speaker and industry expert Fritz Wolff added that this surge of available resources would have the added benefit of reducing housing construction costs.¹⁷

This would be a welcome sight in most major metropolitan centers but especially in Oregon where the number of extremely low-income households is over six-times the size of available affordable housing units.¹⁸ Described by Chief Christiansen, this effect would then compound:

“We can use new opportunities for forest product delivery to help us to improve forest conditions, while also creating jobs and sustaining rural communities. We can implement these new practices by working together and being a good neighbor.”¹⁹

What this means is that Oregon has the opportunity to shed its excess wood to be used in mass timber for construction in both commercial and residential buildings, providing potential homes and jobs.²⁰Though the SAM can be viewed as merely the first of many steps to providing a boon in Oregon construction practices, it remains one of the most critical in unleashing market solutions for the housing shortage and forest management, while unlocking the possible ascendancy of the state in a developing industry.

Site plan for the Sidewalk Labs community. Source: Sidewalk Labs

This simple step seems to have already inspired the announcement of similar forays into the market. Sidewalk Labs LLC’s (an Alphabet Inc. unit) plans explicitly call for the use of timber in their building on Toronto’s eastern waterfront.²¹ They are joined by structures by Neumann Monson Architects in Des Moines’ East Village, Walmart’s new 300 acre headquarter campus in Arkansas, and a record breaking 21 story high-rise in Milwaukee.²² While some of these projects may seem niche or artisanal, development within the industry shows little sign of slowing nationally. As the Forest Service reports:

“We are on the precipice of major momentum in the marketplace with mass timber, with four factories in production, including two making architectural grade CLT; five factories coming online (either under construction or just completed); and three more factories recently announced in eight states. Compounded with the upcoming code decisions, we expect to see many more mass timber and CLT buildings in the near future.”²³

CONCLUSION

For serious concerns like wildfires and homelessness, there is no single silver bullet, yet with CLT Oregon might at least improve both problems. Allowing and even encouraging new technologies are never without economic and political risk. But, Oregon is moving forward with innovative strategies. It will be interesting to see the results of this experiment.

Mass Timber by Kabeia Rineaki Brock Sutton...

Notes

1. Mass Timber and Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) will be used interchangeably; “Cross-laminated Timber as Forest-management Strategy.” Lens. August 02, 2018. Accessed February 21, 2019. https://thelens.news/2018/07/31/cross-laminated-timber-as-forest-management-strategy/; Beck Mass Timber Market Analysis Report. November 2018. Accessed February 25, 2019. https://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Documents/ForestBenefits/Beck-mass-timber-market-analysis-report.pdf. ↩

2. Slowey, Kim. “Oregon First State to Codify Timber High-rises.” Construction Dive. August 22, 2018. Accessed February/March, 2019. https://www.constructiondive.com/news/oregon-first-state-to-codify-timber-high-rises/530668/. ↩

3. “Statewide Alternate Method: No. 18-01 Tall Wood Buildings – Background.” State of Oregon. August 2018. Accessed February 25, 2019. https://www.oregon.gov/bcd/codes-stand/Documents/sam-18-01-tallwoodbldgs.pdf. ↩

4. “Statewide Alternate Method: No. 18-01 Tall Wood Buildings – Background.” State of Oregon. August 2018. Accessed February 25, 2019. https://www.oregon.gov/bcd/codes-stand/Documents/sam-18-01-tallwoodbldgs.pdf. ↩

5. “Cross-laminated Timber as Forest-management Strategy.” Lens. August 02, 2018. Accessed February 21, 2019. https://thelens.news/2018/07/31/cross-laminated-timber-as-forest-management-strategy/.  ↩

6. Slowey, Kim. 2018. “Oregon First State to Codify Timber High-Rises.” Construction Dive. August 22. https://www.constructiondive.com/news/oregon-first-state-to-codify-timber-high-rises/530668/. ↩

7. Lupien, Sandra, and Bob Epstein. 2018. “A Game-Changer for Wildfire, Forests, and Climate Change.” https://sagehen.ucnrs.org/pubs/Theses/LupienMay2018.pdf. 70. ↩

8. “Aesthetic Qualities of Cross Laminated Timber.” n.d. Accessed May 9, 2019. https://www.riverpublishers.com/pdf/ebook/RP_978-87-92982-23-0.pdf; Lavars, Nick. 2018.

   “Australia’s Tallest Timber Building Makes a Towering Case for Eco-Friendly Construction.” Newatlas.Com. New Atlas. November 27, 2018. https://newatlas.com/australia-tallest-timber-building-tower/57392/?fbclid=IwAR3gNHM2MZ_ElBsxY7_6TSg...;

   “Learning from Europe and Canada’s Timber Industry.” 2018. Archpaper.Com. January 8, 2018. https://archpaper.com/2018/01/united-states-timber-industry-europe-can. ↩

9. Cowin, Laurie. 2018. “Mass Timber’s Striking Case for Sustainability.” Construction Dive. October 26, 2018. https://www.constructiondive.com/news/mass-timbers-striking-case-for-sustainability/540755/; Rodgers, Lucy. 2018. “Climate Change: The Massive CO2 Emitter You May Not Know About.” BBC News, December 17, 2018. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46455844. ↩

10. Robertson, Adam B., Frank C. F. Lam, and Raymond J. Cole. 2012. “A Comparative Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Assessment of Mid-Rise Office Building Construction Alternatives: Laminated Timber or Reinforced Concrete.” Buildings 2 (3): 245–70. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings2030245;

    Oliver, Chadwick Dearing, Nedal T. Nassar, Bruce R. Lippke, and James B. McCarter. 2014. “Carbon, Fossil Fuel, and Biodiversity Mitigation With Wood and Forests.” Journal of Sustainable Forestry 33 (3): 248–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/10549811.2013.839386. ↩

11. “Mass Timber Market Analysis.” n.d. Accessed May 10, 2019. https://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Documents/ForestBenefits/Beck-mass-timber-market-analysis-report.pdf. ↩

12. Mass Timber in North America. Accessed February 28, 2019. https://www.awc.org/pdf/education/des/ReThinkMag-DES610A-MassTimberinNorthAmerica-161031.pdf. 3,5; Cowin, Laurie. 2018. “Mass Timber’s Striking Case for Sustainability.” Construction Dive. October 26, 2018. https://www.constructiondive.com/news/mass-timbers-striking-case-for-sustainability/540755/. ↩

13. “Cross Laminated Timber Market Size Worth $2.07 Billion By 2025.” 2017. Grandviewresearch.Com. 2017. https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-cross-laminated-timber-market. ↩

14. Lupien, Sandra, and Bob Epstein. 2018. “A Game-Changer for Wildfire, Forests, and Climate Change.” https://sagehen.ucnrs.org/pubs/Theses/LupienMay2018.pdf;

    “Oregon Seeks to Become U.S. Mass Timber Hub.” 2018. Wallowa County Chieftain. December 13, 2018. https://www.wallowa.com/news/local/oregon-seeks-to-become-u-s-mass-timber-hub/article_fea19b09-648d-...↩

15. “Cross-laminated Timber as Forest-management Strategy.” Lens. August 02, 2018. Accessed February 21, 2019. https://thelens.news/2018/07/31/cross-laminated-timber-as-forest-management-strategy/.  ↩

16. “Pacific NorthWest Economic Region 2018 Summit.” 2018. Washington States’ Public Affairs Network. 2018. https://www.tvw.org/watch/?eventID=2018071046 ↩

17. Ibid. ↩

18. Aldous, Vickie. “Merkley: Oregon Is in a Housing Crisis.” Mail Tribune. March 30, 2016. Accessed March 02, 2019. http://mailtribune.com/news/top-stories/merkley-oregon-is-in-a-housing-crisis. ↩

19. “Pacific NorthWest Economic Region 2018 Summit.” 2018. Washington States’ Public Affairs Network. 2018. https://www.tvw.org/watch/?eventID=2018071046. ↩

20. The Forest Service Celebrates Cross Laminated Timber during Forest Products Week.” 2019. Usda.Gov. 2019. https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2018/10/22/forest-service-celebrates-cross-laminated-timber-during-f...↩

21. Skerritt, Jen. 2019. “Skyscrapers Made of Wood Are Making a Comeback.” Bloomberg.Com. Bloomberg. February 8, 2019. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-08/skyscrapers-made-of-timber-make-comeback-nudged-b...↩

22. Norvell, Kim. 2019. “This New East Village Building Is the First of Its Kind in the United States.” Des Moines Register. Des Moines Register. May 9, 2019. https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/business/development/2019/05/09/des-moines-iowa-ia-dev...;

    “Walmart Bets Big on Attracting Workforce with New HQ Campus.” 2019. Kitco News. May 17, 2019. https://www.kitco.com/news/2019-05-17/Walmart-bets-big-on-attracting-workforce-with-new-HQ-campus.ht...;

    “21-Story Timber Tower—Proposed as North America’s Tallest—Wins U.S. Government Grant.” 2019. Archinect. 2019. https://archinect.com/news/article/150137000/21-story-timber-tower-proposed-as-north-america-s-talle...↩

23. “The Forest Service Celebrates Cross Laminated Timber during Forest Products Week.” 2019. Usda.Gov. 2019. https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2018/10/22/forest-service-celebrates-cross-laminated-timber-during-f...↩

Published originally by Strata Policy: November 8, 2018.

Archived: Jun. 03, 2019

Image: Blue Frontiers

By Kabeia Rineaki Brock Sutton Allen

Earlier this month I dedicated my 27th birthday to a fundraising cause, specifically the Seasteading Institute. Within 24 hours the goal had been met and after 3 days we had reached 150%! While I was happily surprised at the positive reception of the Institute, at the same time-it felt natural, as if the world was already prepared for the manifestation of Seasteading as a reality.

Seasteading is a portmanteau of Sea (being the location) and homesteading, the noble tradition of self-sustainability, normally in rural or isolated areas. It promises to be “an idea at once audacious and simplistic, a seeming impossibility that is now technologically within reach: cities floating in international waters — independent, self-sustaining nation-states at sea.” The ambitious goals are summed in the title of the institute’s President Joe Quirk’s seminal work– “Seasteading: How Floating Nations Will Restore The Environment, Enrich The Poor, Cure The Sick and Liberate Humanity From Politicians.”

Both a prediction and call to arms, the book plans for self-organized communities characterized by liberal economies capable of enticing the finest minds and technologies. They are simultaneously modern arks and social experiments. The Institute for Competitive Governance defines the type of management advocated in Seasteading as characterized by “relatively small but deeply innovative special jurisdictions. This sort of structural reform can put the power of private competition to work at finding new solutions to oldest problems of public life.” Meaning instead of being (born into, suffering under, and finally dying) within the jurisdiction of traditional landlocked public governance, Seasteading will allow you to pick and choose the city/state you live in by moving your home. The possibilities are endless when you live on a boat or house that floats. As initial backer Peter Thiel wrote in his 2009 essay, “From my vantage point, the technology involved is more tentative than the Internet, but much more realistic than space travel.” That says a lot coming from the man who started Paypal with SpaceX’s Elon Musk.

It is heralded not just by technologists and Libertarians but also Polynesian traditional wayfinders, Pacific leadership, and sustainable tourist specialists. The very act of living on the ocean naturally engenders a lifestyle that respects an environment that one cannot run from. When you’re living on the ocean you are forced to live within its limitations and constantly consider and factor your environmental footprint.

For me, as a Gilbertese from the Republic of Kiribati the siren call of “Seavilization” is unavoidable. Even before former President Anote Tong displayed first interest in the possibilities, the Seasteading was linked to my own fascination and yearning. In the face of the loss of sovereignty to a rising ocean, the promise of floating islands is a much needed light at the end of the tunnel.

A voice from Samoa, Lelei Lelaulu muses, “There are so many opportunities for Polynesians in the Seasteading offering. It offers us the possibility of reviving our passion, our spirit for the oceans. It allows us to develop and flourish while remaining in our te moana [Ocean]. And it allows us to exercise complete freedom by controlling resources and our money and our social structures.”

This is a new world where islander children learn to code by middle school and quantum computing by high school. It is a fantastic mixing of Wakanda and Atlantis. Is it a utopian fantasy? Yes. But isn’t that the point? Shouldn’t we be navigating in the direction of greater goals, grander destinations that more perfectly fulfill our needs? I believe so. And all the Wetnecks, Steadheads, and Aquapreneurs believe so too. But even then, Seasteading has become so much more than the movement, it symbolizes hope and shall inspiration additional experimental cities and forms of governance to bloom, both on the sea and back on land.

Published originally by Strata Policy: Aug. 20, 2019

Archived: Sept. 19, 2020

Photo Credit: Independent

By Kabeia Rineaki Brock Sutton Allen

Disclaimer: The author has had moderate contact (both previously and currently) with some of the individuals and organizations mentioned.

Turbulent Seas

On February 10th, 2019, the Seasteading Institute hosted their 10 year anniversary and the event was crowned with the official announcement that retired Bitcoin investor Chad Elwartowski and Nadia Supranee Thepdet (aka Bitcoin Girl Thailand) had successfully erected what is considered the first seastead.¹ As a concept, seasteading – building homes and cities on the ocean – is ancient.² Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis is cited as an inspiration for the Royal Society³, Wayne Gramlich’s seminal “SeaSteading: Homesteading the High Seas” was written in 1998⁴ and even the (relative) newcomer the Seasteading Institute it is still older than Bitcoin.⁵ Contemporary iterations of seasteads were intended to be first and foremost symbolic and literal platforms for potential; think houseboats for big dreamers.⁶ So when the cryptocurrency power couple was forced to flee the Thai navy after being threatened with execution for treason, shock registered throughout the international seasteading community.⁷ The firestorm was compounded with reports that even the architect Rüdiger Koch was in danger, having to dramatically slip through the Straits of Malacca on a sailboat. He still lives like a political prisoner in a hotel in Singapore.⁸

Built by the firm Ocean Builders and christened XLII (pronounced “Exly”)⁹ the seastead was perched on an oil rig Genesis spar that allowed it to float securely above the water.¹⁰ This humble prototype was tucked just outside of Thai national waters where it was crewed voluntarily by Chad and Nadia.¹¹ Their exploits were well documented by the Seasteading institute who delighted followers with footage of them receiving supplies from local fisherman and discovering how their home contributed to the biodiversity of the surrounding waters.¹²

Despite such a seemingly benign existence, the Thai navy stormed the installation on April 13th, citing concerns that the seastead disrupted shipping lanes and constituted a radical attempt to form a separate nation within their borders.¹³ Ocean Builders refuted these claims with the coordinates of the home showing it was outside of those borders and that the small structure (6 meters wide) was appropriately equipped with “a very bright anchor beacon and has a registered AIS beacon which can be detected by any boat with any sort of navigation in the vicinity.”¹⁴ Despite this and protests from the international community the Seastead was towed back through Thai waters where it is rumoured to still sit in a naval yard.¹⁵

Thailand is currently ruled by a Monarch who would prefer to spend his $30bn fortune in Germany while the military runs the country.¹⁶ Since the 2014 coup, the military has exploited the interim constitution which gave them the power to suppress “any act which undermines public peace and order or national security, the monarchy, national economics or administration of state affairs.”¹⁷

Building artificial settlements is a geopolitically touchy enterprise. China has asserted claims to territory in the South Chinese Sea by building of artificial islands.¹⁸ Seasteading Institute Chairman Patri Friedman disclosed that some had speculated that XLII was secretly funded by China in order to further destabilize the area.¹⁹

Even with this consideration, charging the couple with breaking article 119 of the Thai Criminal Code (which comes attached with capital punishment) still seems unjustifiably cruel.²⁰ Given the current regime’s past, Chad and Nadia were right to flee when tipped off by a friendly source.²¹

Sailors Worth Their Salt

The Seasteading community has experienced similar significant highs and lows. In 2017 there was excitement as it was announced that the government of French Polynesia²² had agreed to begin preparation for the building of the first Seastead in a Special Economic Zone²³ by 2020. These sentiments were dampened with whisperings that something had gone wrong.²⁴ These rumors were confirmed when it was revealed that critics within and without Tahiti had seized the French Polynesian opposition party’s lambasting of Seasteading as a foreign elitist conspiracy that bordered on treachery. This political maneuvering had completely undone local support of the project, leading to an official chilling and even death threats to the ‘white elites trying to steal all the fish.’²⁵

But this was not to be the end of the movement. Instead of fading into obscurity, the community rallied with Chad and Nadia to form a team of roughly a dozen who would all contribute to the construction of the first Seastead.²⁶ Not only did the French Polynesia incident actually forge a dedicated crew of experienced veterans, it also gave the Institute hard-earned experience an actual working model at the cost of less than the average home.²⁷

The Relentless Vision

In terms of the questionable Thai legal proceedings, Chad and Nadia have abstained from attending, having since been married²⁸ while still updating their followers as to cryptocurrency and seasteading news.²⁹ Their partners at Ocean Builders continue to pursue the vision of sustainable life on the sea with the debut of a new “Ocean Builders Engineering” page, showcasing even more ambitious projects and prototypes.³⁰

Despite this setback, the Thailand debacle is a valuable experience. It is heralded as a triumph of the proof of concept and the first of many such structures to come.³¹ In his April 2019 TED Talk, Bjarke Ingels gave a breathtaking tour of his firm’s architectural achievements culminating in a familiar concept for sustainable modular floating cities.³² Similar projects continue to pour out, from EU funded sea gardens³³, to oceanic workplaces³⁴, and floating cow farms.³⁵

There will always be those who seek to build new lands and new cities.³⁶ As even the most liberal economies come under fire by protectionists and centralizers³⁷, investors will continue to seek liberty in greener pastures.³⁸ When coupled with the urgent plight of low-lying island nations like Kiribati, it is a natural expression of both ‘a will’ and ‘a way.’³⁹ Contrasting with the open/international water variants like Chad and Nadia’s XLII, Special Economic Zones (SEZs) provide for the same strain of economic empowerment inside of an autonomous region within a host nation.⁴⁰ Once in place, this arrangement avoids “misunderstandings” from the next nearby authority (like Thailand) while providing a natural buffer from any external threat as it is within recognized nation’s borders. The Seasteads built within these SEZs will enjoy the autonomy to build, invest, and innovate as they will, while the local government benefits from the peripheral yet substantial growth that comes from such second-hand entrepreneurship and growth by association.⁴¹ As long as there remains a headstrong upstart or bold investor such enterprises will continue to be explored.⁴² So, while detractors might rejoice in the temporary setback, seasteaders or “aquapreneurs”⁴³ can rest assured that there is a nearby future where the oceans will be dotted by the next wave of aquatic communities.⁴⁴

Update:

Eight additional individuals have been named in conjunction with the same Seasteading crimes of threatening Thai sovereignty.⁴⁵

Notes

1. “Celebrating 10 Years of Seasteading.” Eventbrite. February 10, 2019. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/celebrating-10-years-of-seasteading-tickets-53394194473# . ↩

2. Reel, Monte. 2018. “The Irresistible Urge to Build Cities From Scratch.” Bloomberg.Com. Bloomberg. November 2, 2018. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-11-02/the-irresistible-urge-to-build-cities-from-scratc...↩

3. Craig, Tobin L. “On the Significance of the Literary Character of Francis Bacon’s “New Atlantis” for an Understanding of His Political Thought.” The Review of Politics 72, no. 2 (2010): 213-39. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20780304. ↩

4. “SeaSteading — Homesteading the High Seas.” Gramlich.Net. 1998. http://gramlich.net/projects/oceania/seastead1.html. ↩

5. “Seasteading: Heroes of Freedom — Steemit.” 2019. Steemit.Com. Steemit. 2019. https://steemit.com/news/@lukestokes/seasteading-heroes-of-freedom.  ↩

6. Berwick, Jeff. 2019. “Seasteading Craziness in Thailand with Patri Friedman – Anarchast.” Anarchast. May 31, 2019. https://anarchast.com/seasteading-craziness-in-thailand-with-patri-friedman/. 9:42; Moberg, Lotta. 2013. “The Political Economy of Special Economic Zones.” SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2297871. ↩

7. “Why This Couple Could Face the Death Penalty for Living in a Houseboat off Thailand.” 2019. CBC. June 7, 2019. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-friday-edition-1.5166570/why-this-couple-could-fa...  ↩

8. Fischermann, Thomas. 2019. “Rüdiger Koch: Seine Insel Ist Weg.” ZEIT ONLINE. ZEIT ONLINE. May 12, 2019. https://www.zeit.de/2019/20/ruediger-koch-seasteading-schwimmende-plattform-thailand-todesstrafe/kom...↩

9. Hunter, Brittany. 2019. “The World’s First Seasteaders Are Now on the Run for Their Lives | Brittany Hunter.” Fee.Org. Foundation for Economic Education. May 8, 2019. https://fee.org/articles/the-world-s-first-seasteaders-are-now-on-the-run-for-their-lives/. ↩

10. “First Seastead Has Been Set up in International Waters – Ocean Builders.” 2019. Ocean.Builders. February 4, 2019. https://ocean.builders/first-seastead-has-been-set-up-in-international-waters/. ↩

11. “Free Private Cities Newsletter.” 2019. Freeprivatecities.Com. 2019. https://freeprivatecities.com/newsletter/FreePrivateCitiesNewsletter9.html; “Official Statement about the Sinking of the First Seastead – Ocean Builders.” 2019. Archive.Org. April 15, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190417113332/https://ocean.builders/official-statement-about-the-sinki...↩

12. Seasteading. “THE FIRST SEASTEADERS 1: Facing the Storm.” YouTube. February 28, 2019. Accessed June 22, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTXhgcXA1pM&list=PLDgJp6DTkMyGv2GpEepgMf8_AP4tl88XU. ↩

13. “Why This Couple Could Face the Death Penalty for Living in a Houseboat off Thailand.” 2019. CBC. June 7, 2019. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-friday-edition-1.5166570/why-this-couple-could-fa...↩

14. “Free Private Cities Newsletter.” 2019. Freeprivatecities.Com. 2019. https://freeprivatecities.com/newsletter/FreePrivateCitiesNewsletter9.html; “Official Statement about the Sinking of the First Seastead – Ocean Builders.” 2019. Archive.Org. April 15, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190417113332/https://ocean.builders/official-statement-about-the-sinki...↩

15. “Floating Islands Leader Urges Leniency for Offshore Couple.” The Seasteading Institute. April 22, 2019. https://www.seasteading.org/floating-islands-leader-urges-leniency-for-offshore-couple/; Panu Wongcha-um. 2019. “Thai Navy Tows Floating Home of Fugitive U.S. ‘Seasteader.’” U.S. Reuters. April 22, 2019. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-seahome/thai-navy-tows-floating-home-of-fugitive-us-seas...↩

16. Peck, Grant. 2019. “As Coronation Begins, Thai King’s Future Plans Still Unclear.” AP NEWS. Associated Press. May 3, 2019. https://www.apnews.com/72546568d63d4e149a839c6f0f8e56e7. ↩

17. “Thailand’s Bogus Election.” 2019. The Economist. March 14, 2019. https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/03/14/thailands-bogus-election. ↩

18. N, Scott. 2019. “China’s Next Phase of Militarization in the South China Sea.” The Diplomat. March 25, 2019. https://thediplomat.com/2019/03/chinas-next-phase-of-militarization-in-the-south-china-sea/. ↩

19. Berwick, Jeff. 2019. “Seasteading Craziness in Thailand with Patri Friedman – Anarchast.” Anarchast. May 31, 2019. https://anarchast.com/seasteading-craziness-in-thailand-with-patri-friedman/. 10:22. ↩

20. “Thai Navy Dismantles Floating ‘Seastead’ Home of Fugitive Bitcoin Couple.” 2019. Www.Theepochtimes.Com. April 23, 2019. https://www.theepochtimes.com/thai-navy-dismantles-floating-seastead-home-of-fugitive-bitcoin-couple...↩

21. Witsil, Frank. 2019. “Whereabouts of Michigan Man, Girlfriend Unknown after Seastead Seized, Dismantled.” Detroit Free Press. Detroit Free Press. April 22, 2019. https://www.freep.com/story/news/world/2019/04/22/thailand-michigan-seasteader-elwartowski/353686000...↩

22. “Tahiti Seasteading Gathering 2017.” The Seasteading Institute. September 17, 2018. https://www.seasteading.org/tahiti-seasteading-gathering-2017/. ↩

23. “Podcast: Lotta Moberg – The Political Economy of Special Economic Zones.” The Seasteading Institute. July 21, 2017. https://www.seasteading.org/podcast-lotta-moberg-the-political-economy-of-special-economic-zones/. ↩

24. Doherty, Brian. 2018. “Seasteading Progress May Be Halted in French Polynesia.” Reason.Com. Reason. March 19, 2018. https://reason.com/2018/03/19/seasteading-progress-halted-in-french-po. ↩

25. “Pour En Finir Avec La Polémique Sur Les Îles Flottantes… | Facebook.” 2018. Facebook.Com. 2018. https://www.facebook.com/notes/tapura-huiraatira-officiel/pour-en-finir-avec-la-pol%C3%A9mique-sur-l...; Quirk, Joe. Address, Celebrating 10 Years of Seasteading, Infinity Towers’ Club Lounge, San Francisco, CA 94105, February 10, 2019. ↩

26. Quirk, Joe. Address, Celebrating 10 Years of Seasteading, Infinity Towers’ Club Lounge, San Francisco, CA 94105, February 10, 2019. ↩

27. “Free Private Cities Newsletter.” 2019. Freeprivatecities.Com. 2019. https://freeprivatecities.com/newsletter/FreePrivateCitiesNewsletter9.html. ↩

28. “Married Nadia Supranee Thepdet – Chad Elwartowski.” Facebook.com. 2019. https://www.facebook.com/chad.elwartowski/posts/10156265119701179. ↩

29. The. 2019. “Phuket News: Phuket ‘Seasteading’ Case Stumbles along as Chad and Nadia Get Married.” The Phuket News Com. June 24, 2019. https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-seasteading-case-stumbles-along-as-chad-and-nadia-get-married-7...↩

30. “Ocean Builder Engineering – Home.” 2018. Facebook.Com. 2018. https://www.facebook.com/Ocean-Builder-Engineering-708811012868734/. ↩

31. Seasteading. “Seasteading! What Did the First Seastead Achieve?” YouTube. June 06, 2019. Accessed June 22, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySt3R9DpP4Y. ↩

32. Ingels, Bjarke. 2019. “Floating Cities, the LEGO House and Other Architectural Forms of the Future.” Ted.Com. TED Talks. 2019. https://www.ted.com/talks/bjarke_ingels_floating_cities_the_lego_house_and_other_architectural_forms...↩

33. “MERMAID: The Sea—a Treasure Trove of Energy and Food Resources – DTU Mechanical Engineering.” 2012. Https://Www.Mek.Dtu.Dk. 2012. https://www.mek.dtu.dk/english/research/feature_articles/mermaid. ↩

34. “SPACE@SEA.” 2017. SPACE@SEA. 2017. https://spaceatsea-project.eu/. ↩

35. Frearson, Amy. 2019. “Floating Farm in Rotterdam Is Now Home to 32 Cows.” Dezeen. Dezeen. May 24, 2019. https://www.dezeen.com/2019/05/24/floating-farm-rotterdam-climate-change-cows-dairy/. ↩

36. Reel, Monte. 2018. “The Irresistible Urge to Build Cities From Scratch.” Bloomberg.Com. Bloomberg. November 2, 2018. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-11-02/the-irresistible-urge-to-build-cities-from-scratc...↩

37. Lemieux, Pierre. 2019. “The Poverty of Protectionism and the Impact of Tariffs | Pierre Lemieux.” Fee.Org. Foundation for Economic Education. June 19, 2019. https://fee.org/articles/the-poverty-of-protectionism-and-the-impact-of-tariffs/. ↩

38. Lotta Moberg. 2017. “Is It Time That America Adopted Special Economic Zones?” Dailycaller. The Daily Caller. March 30, 2017. https://dailycaller.com/2017/03/30/is-it-time-that-america-adopted-special-economic-zones/. ↩

39. Mezza-Garcia, Nathalie. 2019. “Could Floating Cities Help People Adapt to Rising Sea Levels?” The Conversation. June 12, 2019. https://theconversation.com/could-floating-cities-help-people-adapt-to-rising-sea-levels-116685. ↩

40. https://www.seasteading.org/author/joequirk. 2017. “Podcast: Lotta Moberg – The Political Economy of Special Economic Zones.” The Seasteading Institute. July 21, 2017. https://www.seasteading.org/podcast-lotta-moberg-the-political-economy-of-special-economic-zones/. ↩

41. Ibid. ↩

42. Linder, Harrison. 2019. “This Singaporean Wants to Build A Floating Private Island. But He’s Starting With Urban Farming.” RICE. July 12, 2019. https://www.ricemedia.co/culture-people-shannon-lim-private-island-onhand-agrarian/  ↩

43. “Imagine a Silicon Valley of the Sea.” 2017. Bloomberg.Com. Bloomberg. March 15, 2017. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-15/imagine-a-silicon-valley-of-the-sea. ↩

44. Sutton Allen, Kabeia Rineaki Brock. 2018. “Sailing Towards Sustainability.” Strata. November 8, 2018. https://www.strata.org/blog/sailing-toward-sustainability/. ↩

45. Chuenniran, Achadtaya. 2019. “9 More Accused of ‘Seasteading.’” Bangkok Post Public Company Limited. July 6, 2019. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1707698/9-more-accused-of-seasteading ↩

Every day that I fail to fulfill my destiny in Kiribati is another day spent as Jonah abondoning Nineveh. The question is: am I still on the boat or am I in the belly of the great fish? Am I sailing further away or have reached the lowest of lows surrounded by darkness? I know not.

I follow a widow on Twitter whom I have never met in real life but we're friends with all the same people online. I was there when she lost her husband and our community rallied around her. Recently she's been posting tender memories of her marriage as her anniversary approaches and it breaks my heart every time I see it.

Knowledge of life after death and the Plan of Salvation is comforting but never let it be said that we stop missing our loved ones. Watching a family quake with the loss of a father, husband, and best friend is sobering and I hope that this woman can find the peace she so dearly deserves.

Why would I feel the need to comment on all this? Because loss as an event, even when experienced in this digital age, is torturous yet cathartic, unsettling yet reassuring.

Sure I can say we really don't know each other but I do find myself caring unconditionally for her and her family. I guess I'm just gratefully that as I witness her strength and grace it gives me some confidence that I might be able to do the same. Or with more relevance, that I too might find love so strong. It is a loving God that would allow such tender mercies to accompany grief.