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I'm actually sad nobody is building moonshots like Rapture. If we could build deep undersea cities we would basically have a template to mitigate all climate i

I'm actually sad nobody is building moonshots like Rapture. If we could build deep undersea cities we would basically have a template to mitigate all climate instability for future (even on land). We either have super far out (basically marketing BS) projects talking about Mars colonisation or things like this that's basically more of the same just another iteration. Building something that could withstand a couple of atmospheres of pressure, in a hostile environment (seawater) with currents, with full reliance on artificial air filtration, etc. - solve that and it doesn't matter what happens with climate change, super volcano eruptions, meteors, nuclear catastrophes, pollution etc. not to mention you have hard borders to prevent global pandemic outbreaks.

akudha 5y ago
If we could build deep undersea cities we would basically have a template to mitigate all climate instability for future (even on land). We have ruined our land and air. We have polluted the oceans to an insane level. What makes you think that we'll do a good job with deep undersea cities? We are even polluting space with debris, are we not?
crowbahr 5y ago
Nobody builds moonshots like rapture because there's low hanging fruit with easy and quick returns with nowhere near the risk.
- moonchrome 5y ago
  Sure but that means nobody is building for tail risks. Also these kind of projects require solving problems nobody even tackled so far and they often shake out things that bring industries out of local minimum, providing long term value. Sort of like the space race.
  - spywaregorilla 5y ago
    Building a deep sea underwater city is likely more outrageous than an underground city on mars. You're not avoiding tail risks by doing something preposterously dangerous like this because you will almost certainly die regardless of the above world conditions. You'd have to deal with: * needs to be anchored to something somehow * no sunlight * likely catastrophic vulnerability to any tectonic movement * no easily accessible soil * extremely high, extremely slow costs of expansion * no clear way to build the initial structure. * need for perfect protection from the salt * heating problems * likely complete dependence on the above world for materials and food. mostly just going to be nuclear subs with a handful of additional disadvantages.
capableweb 5y ago
> If we could build deep undersea cities we would basically have a template to mitigate all climate instability for future (even on land). I'm sure we'll figure out a way of replicating our environment-harming technologies but for underwater use, and eventually will pay the price for that as well.

akudha 5y ago

If we could build deep undersea cities we would basically have a template to mitigate all climate instability for future (even on land). We have ruined our land and air. We have polluted the oceans to an insane level. What makes you think that we'll do a good job with deep undersea cities? We are even polluting space with debris, are we not?

crowbahr 5y ago

Nobody builds moonshots like rapture because there's low hanging fruit with easy and quick returns with nowhere near the risk.

moonchrome 5y ago
Sure but that means nobody is building for tail risks. Also these kind of projects require solving problems nobody even tackled so far and they often shake out things that bring industries out of local minimum, providing long term value. Sort of like the space race.
- spywaregorilla 5y ago
  Building a deep sea underwater city is likely more outrageous than an underground city on mars. You're not avoiding tail risks by doing something preposterously dangerous like this because you will almost certainly die regardless of the above world conditions. You'd have to deal with: * needs to be anchored to something somehow * no sunlight * likely catastrophic vulnerability to any tectonic movement * no easily accessible soil * extremely high, extremely slow costs of expansion * no clear way to build the initial structure. * need for perfect protection from the salt * heating problems * likely complete dependence on the above world for materials and food. mostly just going to be nuclear subs with a handful of additional disadvantages.

capableweb 5y ago

> If we could build deep undersea cities we would basically have a template to mitigate all climate instability for future (even on land). I'm sure we'll figure out a way of replicating our environment-harming technologies but for underwater use, and eventually will pay the price for that as well.