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Permanent Undersea Homes Soon; Temporary Ones Now
MMBK writes "Dennis Chamberland is one of the world's preeminent aquanauts. He's worked with NASA to develop living habitats and underwater plant growth labs, among other cool things. His next goal is establishing the world's first permanent underwater colony. This video gets to the heart of his project, literally and figuratively, as most is shot in his underwater habitat, Atlantica, off the coast of Key Largo, FL. The coolest part might be the moon pool, the room you swim into underwater."
Thank you for that lame song in my head all day.
With 1960's technology. He said in the video that it was impractical to do it back then. But using modern technology it could be.
While I wouldn't want to live underwater myself, if this is done responsibly I am all for it. We talk about colonizing space, this is actually a step in that direction, and a lot cheaper and will push the same types of technology if we are ever going to colonize space.
Various Sea Gypsy cultures have been living out their entire lives on the water surface for eons.
Leela: "Five thousand feet!"
Farnsworth: "Dear Lord! That's over one hundred and fifty athmospheres of pressure."
Fry: "How many athmospheres can the ship withstand?"
Farnsworth: "Well, it's a space ship. So I'd say anywhere between zero and one."
Here we go - just start replacing current coastal buildings with these, and when the sea level rises 8 or 10 feet, everyone will be ready.
[JohnHodgemanVoice]You're welcome![/JohnHodgemanVoice]
They really need to beware of predatory lending practices when financing these habitats... they could very easily become underwater on their mortgage!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
The thing they didn't cover very much, is the one thing that is actually most important: hygiene.
Bacteria and especially fungi absolutely thrive under pressure, and a mild case of Athlete's Foot can rapidly become severe, even hazardous as the infection gets worse. Fungal infections were one of the most serious problems onboard the previous endeavors, as they were impossible to eradicate once established in the living areas. Bacterial infections were even more dangerous, as the partial pressure ratio of gases in the atmosphere-and also the bloodstream-effectively doubles, giving the bugs plenty of fuel.
They did touch on the hygiene issue with the shower, but didn't say why other than the obvious reasons? But if you're going to live underwater, under more than one atmosphere, hygiene becomes absolutely vital.
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Birth-rates decrease as living standards go up, which is why Japan and most of Europe are below replacement level. Latest estimate is that the world stabilizes at 9-10 billion.