The Solona Project

The main reason the world is not addressing climate change is because until now doing something about it is being framed as “We are losing something, they are taking something from us, taking our carbon lifestyle.”

The alternative is actual change, “The Solona Project” – a comprehensive plan that describes the technologies, benefits, and economic stimulus of Adapting to Climate Change.

We already have everything we need.

The Solona Project Announcement

Below is the script for “The Solona Project” submission to the “EARTH FILM CHALLENGE” Contest on Pattrn.com. Submissions are to be a maximum of five to eight minutes in length. The announcement will be filmed in Jules Undersea Lodge, an underwater habitat hotel located in the Florida Keys.

Hi, welcome to Jules Undersea Lodge here in the beautiful Florida Keys. My name is Lee Swerdlin, and we are here in this underwater habitat 30 feet below the ocean’s surface to announce the “SOLONA PROJECT”.

“The Solona Project”  is a comprehensive economic, security, technological, sustainable, environmental plan to address Human Development and Climate Change in both the short term to slow the progression of climate change, and for the future as we grow beyond the confines of “The Earth.”

The “Solona Project,” is the re-imaging of our world, and seeing it as more than just earth. It is recognizing that our planet has three environs: the Terra Space – the land, Inner Space – the oceans, and Near Space – the space from Earth to the Moon and it’s surface, and envisioning how each of these environs can play a role in humanity’s development and the planet’s survival and future.

“The Solona Project” is based on the concept of Stratification which is the idea that the planet has three environs, three vertically stacked strata, that make up the whole. Stratified living means utilizing each of the three environs for their highest and best use that is the least damaging to, and most in harmony with the environment. It creates an environmentally sustainable future by sub-dividing and reallocating each of our main life functions to the strata that is environmentally best suited to support those functions.

The “highest and best use,” means maximizing each environment’s productive potential with the least environmental impact, while still meeting our economic needs, but, in sustainable and economically viable ways.

The Terra Space (the Land) is best suited for agricultural production and the base industries necessary to develop the other two environs, where populations and industry using Carbon Pricing and Sequestration, can co-exist with and allow the preservation of large agricultural and natural land areas, through the shift of urban sprawl into Inner Space.

Urban sprawl would be in Inner Space (the Oceans) where our cities can expand in an environ where they will enhance the environment because the structures would become huge artificial reefs and for aquaculture. It’s urban sprawl the imagined, and it’s all oceanfront property.

Outer Space (Near Space) is where much of our industrial production and its pollution is best suited, because in the void of space they will not damage the environment, and provides infinite space to safely dispose of industrial toxic byproducts.

Envision Earth’s future as Solona; man is no longer confined to the land. Each person would have a choice of which environ they want to live in. Each person would have a portable living unit, that holds their personal possessions for easy transport when changing living strata that would attach to a home. A person could have a residence in two, or all three environs, so they can take advantage of the variety and excitement of all the strata of Solona.

It is called “Solona,” because we orbit the star Sol, and once we occupy all three environs and “Break the surly bonds of Earth,” we will no longer be “Earthlings,” we will be Sols living on “Solona.”

In addition to the concept of using the three environs to address climate change, The Solona Project also includes National Environmental Policy, National Energy Policy, Mass Intermodal Transit (MIT), Land Use Policy, and Waste Management Policy. Solona provides solutions to our climate problems today using existing technologies, McGyvered together to create a new era in human development and evolution.

Environmental Policy

Environmentalism is not just about saving animals and forests, it’s about saving ourselves, it’s about addressing our health crisis, which is caused in large part because we have poisoned our air, poisoned our water, and poisoned our food. We need to change our agricultural practices and reduce our pollution impacts on our health, and the cost of health care.

Solona’s Energy Policy

Solona’s Energy Policy is centered around a shift to the alternative energy sources of Solar, wind, but with a heavy emphasis on ocean current generators, the cleanest and only constant clean energy source. That shift combined with the institution of a Carbon Pricing System so that pollution damage caused from  industrial activities is priced into the cost of the products, and where the Pricing income is used to mitigate and to adapt to the effects of Climate Change.

Transportation: Mass Intermodal Transit

It’s “Back to the Future,” with a cross-disciplinary approach to transportation, Mass Intermodel Transit (M.I.T.). The M.I.T. System combines small solar rechargeable Electric Vehicles, for short daily commuting, and drive on Mass Transit Trains, powered by Alternative Energy Power Plants, for long distance travel. MIT resolves all the fundamental problems of all the other approaches to developing clean, sustainable transportation. With Mass Intermodal Transit we can create the transportation system of the future now, using existing technologies, we don’t have to wait to develop another fuel to replace oil.

Waste Management

People say that America doesn’t produce anything anymore. That’s not true, we produce millions and millions of tons of garbage every year. And how we handle that trash is an integral party of our environmental plan, and the key is humans getting back in harmony with cycle of life, the cycle of nature. Rather than berrying it in landfills, we need to return to the old phrase, “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.” One simple solution is using a four compartment trash can and color-coded bag system, one compartment for organic waste, mulched into fertilizer; (1) for recyclable trash, to make products; (1) for burnable waste, to be used in carbon capture power plants; and (1) for toxic waste for safe disposal.

Obviously, due to the time limitation we could only include basics here, so for more in depth information on The Solona Project, please go to: solonaproject.org

Please Note: This text is a conceptual description of the “Solona Project,” there is a great deal more of technical detail and including it here was not needed to convey the plan. For more details on the “Solona Project,” please see below.

Imagine waking up in the morning over-looking the ocean from your portable living unit on an Inner Space marine city just of the coast of Miami, Marseilles, Cape Town, Hong Kong, or Manila. Then having lunch in a cafe on land near a space port to catch a flight into space, then being transported with your living unit into space, and having dinner and going to sleep on a Near Space orbiting station.

The excitement that Solona offers is amazing, but the primary goal of the “Solona Project” is to create a comprehensive economic, security, technological, environmentally sustainable plan to address Human Development and Climate Change that will be economically viable by creating the biggest economic stimulus, jobs creation, investment, national security, energy security, food security, water security, and health benefits program opportunity in history. Solona will address climate change in both the short term by slowing climate change, and for the future as we grow beyond the confines of “The Earth.” Beyond those goals, for expanding our horizons and life potentials.

That said, Climate Change is going to have an impact on the future of the Planet and human existence, you could paint it as a crisis, or as an opportunity, that by adapting, improvising, overcoming climate change as the next step in human evolution. That adaption is called “The Solona Project.”

The answer to sea level rise…..retreat – no…..Inhabit the oceans – yes

For those people who mistakenly think that environmentalism is a waste because it’s about saving some bird or some lizard, it is not about that. Actually environmentalism is about saving ourselves. We have poisoned our air, poisoned our water, and poisoned our food, and we do not see the connection to our human health crisis and the changes to the climate. The climate aside we need to clean up our environment for our own health and well being.

The “Solona Project,” is the re-imaging of our world, and seeing it as more than just earth. It is recognizing that our planet has three environs: the Terra Space – the land, Inner Space – the oceans, and Near Space – the space from Earth to the Moon and its surface, and envisioning how each of these environs can play a role in humanity’s development and the planet’s survival and future.

“The Solona Project” is based on the concept of Stratification which is the idea that the planet has three environs, three vertically stacked strata, that make up the whole. Stratified living means utilizing each of the three environs for their highest and best use that is the least damaging to, and most in harmony with the environment. It creates an environmentally sustainable future by sub-dividing and reallocating each of our main life functions to the strata that is environmentally best suited to support those functions.

The “highest and best use,” means maximizing each environment’s productive potential with the least environmental impact, while still meeting our economic needs, but, in sustainable and economically viable ways.

The Terra Space (the Land) is best suited for agricultural production, the base industries necessary to develop the other two environs, were populations and industry, using Carbon Pricing and Sequestration, can co-exist, during the transition to alternative energy technologies, with and allow the preservation of large agricultural and natural land areas, through the shift of urban sprawl into Inner Space.

Urban sprawl would be in Inner Space (the Oceans) where our cities can expand in an environ where they will enhance the environment because the structures would become huge artificial reefs and for aquaculture.

Outer Space (Near Space) is where much of our industrial production and it’s pollution is best suited, because in the void of space they will not damage the environment, and provides infinite space to safely dispose of industrial toxic byproducts.

Envision Earth’s future as Solona; man is no longer confined to the land. Each person would have a choice of which environ they want to live in. Everyone would have a portable living unit, that holds their personal possessions for easy transport when changing living strata, that would attach to a living unit. A person could have a residence in more than one environ, so they can take advantage of the variety and excitement of all the strata of Solona.

All other environ cities will be geo-related to the surface cities around the world, especially coastal cities, and will be named after their Terra Space parent cities. New York, would be New York City – TS (Terra space), New York City – IS (Inner Space), and New York City – NS (Near Space). Miami – TS, Miami – IS, Miami – NS; Tokyo – TS, Tokyo – IS, Tokyo – NS; Paris – Ts, Paris – NS; etc.

It is called “Solona,” because we orbit the star Sol, and once we occupy all three environs and “Break the surly bonds of Earth,” we will no longer be “Earthlings,” we will be Sols living on “Solona.”

Imagine a city at sea that is a vertical, circular, environmentally sustainable living system that provides all our living needs of shelter, above and below the surface; food, from aqua-cultural production of fish, eel, oysters, seaweed, etc; water from desalination, energy made by generator turbines attached to the building structures, the supports of which also become artificial reefs, as sea life attaches to and grows on the building structures; and re-leaves and reduces human development pressures on the land.

Why are we still debating Climate Change, we all know the truth, we see the changes in the weather on the TV every night. The winters are getting more fierce, the hurricanes are more powerful and devastating, the droughts are worse causing massive forest fires and desertification, and famine rates are increasing worldwide. We are clearly impacting our health and the planet’s environment, and clearly this is a threat to the future of humanity. As the population grows beyond the Earth’s capacity to support it, and as the water and food and oil resources are shrinking, this will lead to a competition for those resources, and that will lead to war. Just ask the Department of Defense, they are already planning for it. And yet we are still arguing about whether we need to do something to save ourselves.

Climate Change truly represents real threats to all life on Earth. Trying to cope with these changes has left humanity adrift, even lost and groping for answers. But like every great period of upheaval, humanity has managed to adapt, improvise, and overcome and survived to the present. We can too.

Addressing Climate Change is not really as complex and challenging as it is being made out to be. Simply, we need a comprehensive, coherent plan, a focus that uses all our technology, resources, and labor for the benefit of all in a sustainable way. Then we must manage and channel our labor, production, and resources to create the necessary structural changes for the benefit of all humanity and the future of the planet.

We must overcome two fundamental limitations: 1) our totally uncoordinated efforts in the areas of technological development, resources management, urban development, environmental conservation and agriculture. 2) To overcome our narrow one dimensional approach to a multi-dimensional realty. We must breakout and create new unified direction in our approach to our development…we need goals to achieve, new frontiers to conquer. A new approach to human lifestyle, social and technical evolution should be that new frontier. The next twenty to thirty years is a critical period for human evolution.

Environmentalism and sustainable development has been a failure up until now because they have not been seen as economically viable. Our current production and consumption patterns are killing the planet and ourselves. The environmental question and challenge is how to relieve the destructive industrial pressure on the Earth while balancing that with the needs of human development and is economically viability. We need a new evolutionary paradigm that is environmentally sustainable.

That new evolutionary paradigm is, “THE SOLONA PROJECT.”

Each level of Solona would maintain its basic self-sufficiency, while exchanging technologies, goods, and services between each level. This would afford a healthy balance of resources for each level, and prevent the depletion of any one environ for the maintenance of another.

Each person would have a portable living unit, where they live and hold their personal possessions for easy transport when changing living strata. Or one might maintain a residence on two, or all three levels, so that they can take advantage of the variety and excitement of all the strata of Solona.

Man’s exploration efforts have been primarily directed into Outer Space, especially distant space. Space exploration is an important goal, but near space, in the future mix of use allocation. In reality, space exploration is a huge, expensive resource drain, comparatively. It requires a huge outflow of resources, off the planet, in order to reach any level of development that could provide any return at all. This resource drain is the serious drawback to be factored into calculating the level of emphasize Outer Space development should get when allocating Solona development resources.

An integral part of the three environs is that the “Solona Project” incorporates: National Energy Solutions, Transportation Solutions, and Waste Management Solutions. Solona provides solutions to today’s and tomorrow’s climate problems by using existing technologies, McGyvered together to create a new era in human development and evolution. For details on these elements of the plan see these sections below.

Inner Space, the oceans, is seven-tenths of the planet’s area. In fact Inner Space is the real planet, and the primary future of Human Development. It is far more productive, sustainable, achievable, technologically advanced, and is considerably less expensive, and importantly, it will produce many resources that will benefit all humanity. Inner Space has a greater capacity based on technological requirements to accommodate more of our immediate and long term needs in our efforts to achieve sustainability.

Inner space, offers the better option for primary human development, far more than Outer Space. “Humanity’s future is out there in the oceans.”

The vast area of the seas, holds the hope, the answer, to humanity’s best way to immediately adapt to the threat of climate change and sea level rise so we can restore the planet’s natural environment. Inner Space is that answer because it is the best suited location for urban development, aquaculture production, and clean energy using Underwater Turbines (UWTs), and as a way to adapt to sea level rise. As we approach the point of no return to prevent climate change and sea level rise, all we can do is adapt, improvise, and overcome it. Developing Inner Space is one of the means of addressing and adapting to Climate Change since moving out onto the Oceans will neutralize the threat and impact of sea level rise. “If you can’t beat them, join them.” There are so many benefits making Inner Space development a necessity for ensuring humanity’s future.

The focus and benefits of Inner Space development are national security from stratification, energy security from UWTs, food security from aquaculture, water security from desalination, and reducing the human pressures on the environment.

All Inner Space transportation will be electric because oil based transportation cannot be used in the underwater enclosed spaces and in oxygen under pressure. In addition to M.I.T., alternative transportation called MicroMobility, meaning small lightweight vehicles, electric bicycles, scooters, URB-E, skateboards, etc. will be used.

The huge zone of Inner Space provides the area where humanity can expand without effecting or further damaging the land surface. By moving future cities out into the oceans they could play a major role in increasing the productivity of both the land area and the seas. On land, as the cities expand they reduce the available land area for food production, sources of fresh water, and the natural environment to clean the air. Those surface functions are vital to human existence. Under the sea, the effect of urban development would be the reverse, the outer shells of undersea city structures would create massive artificial reefs which would increase the ocean’s available productive area by providing habitats for more sea life and aquaculture on the exterior, and human living space on the interiors. In addition to the food potentials under the sea, there is also a wealth of other resources available from sea: clean energy, mineral extraction, water desalination, etc. The limitless amounts of clean energy in tidal, wind, and solar power available at sea make placing cities in the ocean extremely advantageous. They are at the source of the power, without the expense of buying and transporting fuels to make electricity or long distance transmission lines. The power that can be derived at sea is the cleanest and unlimited form of electricity production available.

Also the massive surface of all the Inner Space structures making up cities, could also create a reflective surface that would likely reduce ocean warming, slowing temperature rise, thus reduce global warming and climate change. The Inner Space structures will also break up storm surge from major weather events.

Inner Space meets all the requirements of true sustainability, non-destructive urban development, clean locally generated electrical power, locally grown food, a local water source using desalination, and local, no or low, transport sourcing. The Solona structures would occupy a region of the oceans that is a void, meaning no detrimental impact from urban development. Built in Rack Systems in shallow water, like deep water oil derricks for medium to deep waters, and cable anchored systems for deeper water, and built in a massive inter-connected system.

The structure’s supports would create a framework that will support energy turbines mounted on them that would spin in the current and provide an uninterrupted, endless source of clean energy since the ocean’s current never stops. They will support pens for aquaculture (fish farms, crustations farms, seaweed farms, etc) and artificial reefs for all sea life. Potable water locally produced using desalination of sea water, and creates an additional valuable bi-product, sea salt. And since the bulk of life’s needs are locally produced and with seaport facilities for the import and export of goods, it would reduce the need for polluting cross-country truck transportation to move resources to population centers.

To ensure that Inner Space development does not damage the oceans there will a limit to the total square feet of construction and environmental restrictions on locations to place and anchor the structures. Also there will be massive pollution enforcement actions, fines, and incarceration for repeat offenders. Inner Space development must be environmentally positive, not polluting and damaging. Recycling will play a bigger role in Inner Space and our resources management.

The classic guiding principles of environmentalist is, “Think globally, act locally,” and “Buy locally,” and the capability of Inner Space development is the ultimate in achieving “Sourcing Locally.” Using submersible turbines that will spin 24 hours a day in the underwater currents producing unlimited amounts of clean energy, plus wind and solar power; food production with massive fish farms and other seafood cultivation; water foul farming; desalination to make potable water, plus capture rain water; produce oxygen from algae; etc. We can also do terrace farming to raise traditional vegetable crops on  the exterior of the city structures, called an ‘Edible Landscape.” Inner Space development will completely reshape the nature, function, and design of urban spaces.

The other major benefit of developing Inner Space is that it will take the population strain off the land area allowing the end of urban sprawl and preserving our agricultural production capacity for an ever growing population, which is another primary goal of the “Solona Project.”

Using a combination of commercial-industrial investment and government contracts, grants and tax incentives, and using the “War Powers Act” if necessary, to redirect surface industrial output into producing the base technologies and industries needed to move into and inhabit the other two environs. 

National Security: we will maintain a Star Wars military capability within Solona’s stratification, as one part of our national security strategy. Solona’s stratified living will be a more important part of our national security strategy because it makes the total annihilation of the U.S. and all humanity impossible. “Stratification” also produces economic and environmental benefits. This takes our National Security and Defense to a whole new level of effectiveness, and ensures our and humanity’s survival.

Stratified Living converts our traditional Tri-leg Defense Strategy from just a military expense into a sustainable industrial, economic, and private development industry.

The Navy will emphasize submarine formations, based in Inner Space Solona, with missile targeting on Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and all Islamic countries as an anti-attack measure to ensure their destruction if we are attacked.

The fundamental change in our military strategy is in putting some of our defense resources into developing the other environs for national security and thus a shift in our defensive posture, along with the other multi-faceted benefits.

Several undersea missions have paved the way to colonizing the oceans “Conshelf,” Sealab, Precontinent I and II, Tektite I and II, etc. These UW habitat missions were experiments in various aspects of underwater technology capable of supporting humans, however, their greatest achievement was in opening the door to a new frontier, inner space habitation. The technology exists, those missions proved it can be done. But it is the public fascination is for Outer Space exploration that has lead to neglect underwater research and development, but the change in global circumstances, will lead to greater applied development, increased economic demand, and mass production in opening up Inner Space for human habitation.

Inner Space cities would be built both inwardly and outwardly. The interior, with all the corridors, shopping areas, the living spaces, and recreational spaces contained within. And outwardly with terraced balconies covered in edible gardens providing locally grown organic produce, with tidal, solar and wind energy production. There would be large windows in the walls, ceilings, corridors and floors to allow exterior viewing of the surrounding sky and sea, to reduce that enclosed claustrophobic feeling, and to provide passive lighting. Air for the structures would be supplied through pump systems, for dive work using artificial gills, re-breather systems (similar to those used in outer space), and by interior plant, sprouts, and algae gardens which would take-in carbon dioxide and give-off oxygen just like on the surface, all powered by locally produced energy. Inner Space inhabitants would also be able to venture outside of the structures for underwater work and recreation.

Inner Space is an environment where man can expand without diminishing the productivity of the land surface and the planet. In fact moving the cities into the oceans would play a major role in increasing the life sustaining food productivity of both the land and the oceans. Cities under the sea would stop that trend by relieving the urbanization of the surface land. Add in the food waste from an underwater city’s cyclical lifestyle as fish food for Aquaculture would lead to an increased fish harvest. Clearly we can see that Inner Space development is the future.

There are two offsets for our habitation in the oceans we can do to protect and clean them, they are: to use “Drive-in BoatWash USA” hull cleaning machines to clean all watercraft hulls under 53 feet, because it is the only technology in existence designed to collect the toxins that come off boat hulls during cleaning, and safely disposed of, to stop the poisoning of our oceans (driveinboatwashusa.com). Currently there are millions of divers scraping boat hulls unregulated and unpermitted all over the world and all the toxins that come off those boats poisons our Oceans. Meanwhile the BoatWash machines which are designed to prevent the poisoning are being heavily regulated and an onerous, slow permitting process. This is backwards, and these machines must immediately be greenlighted for use to protect our Oceans. And to clean the Pacific Ocean by collecting all the floating plastics making up the plastic island the size of Texas, and recycle it all, preferably into plastic wood, 2×2 studs and 4×8 plywood sheets, to reduce the need to cut down trees for the wood.

We can never forget, “If Our Oceans Die, Everything Dies.” So let us do everything to save and protect them.

Inner space by far is the best option for primary economic development, plus the sea has greater possibilities and capacity with current technology to provide for our immediate and long term development and needs. Inner space by far is the best option for primary economic development, plus the sea has greater possibilities and capacity with current technology to provide for our immediate and long term development and needs.

National Environmental Policy: Human consumption, destruction, and pollution is killing the planet, more importantly we are killing ourselves, and in spite all the arguments to the contrary, that truth can no longer ignored, the climate is changing. We all see the worsening weather on TV every night. Up until now the debate has been mistakenly portrayed as about saving trees, spotted owls, etc., but truth is environmentalism is really about SAVING OURSELVES. We have poisoned our air, poisoned our water, and poisoned our food, and we can’t figure out why cancer is the plague is the 20^th century. The fact is environmentalism is about ensuring our health, our family’s health, and reducing the national health crisis caused by toxic pollutants, and food additives.

We need to change our agricultural practices and to reduce our pollution impacts on our health, and to dramatically reduce the cost of health care.

The resistance to environmental policy has always been the economic costs of making the changes, but that is not a barrier because the key to successfully implement all environmental policy is providing offsetting clean economic and job replacements for polluting industries and jobs eliminated (investing and job shifting). Environmentalism will only work if the policies balance human needs with environmental actions. The challenge is achieving that balance.

This policy approach would include the national energy policy, transportation systems, urban planning, water policy, agricultural policy, waste and recycling policy, natural lands preservation, etc. in Public–Private–Partnerships, and commercial-industrial investment.

The Public–Private–Partnerships would be supported with government economic and incentive programs, and tax policy to shift the economy into environmentally sustainable industries and systems. The use of government contracts, grants, tax incentives, and resources to redirect base technologies and industries into the needed production to preserve the land environment and to move into and inhabit Earth’s other two environs, Inner Space and Near Space.

Waste disposal and recycling is vital to environmental policy. (See: Waste Management section below).

Restore damaged ecosystems on federal lands: dramatically reduce all commercial activities on public lands to relieve the economic burdens. No more leasing of national lands to foreign companies for commercial use to stop the environmental destruction. End the corporate looting of our national heritage and our national wealth by mineral mining, oil drilling, logging, etc. for dirt cheap fees. Land use fees need to be increased so the U.S. receives fairer benefit from our national resource wealth.

Clean and restore Water Quality: by preventing polluting emissions from vehicles, factories, electrical plants, illegal dumping in rivers, lakes, etc, and stop fracking now, we are poisoning our water supply. We can live without natural gas, but we cannot live without clean water. Also reduce of water wastage with water saving technology and public education.

Use of One-Source alternative energy power generation for industrial activities and mass transit which seriously reduces air pollution, in combination with co-generation loops. Obviously we will need to continue using burning fossil fuels for energy during the transition, even better burning bio-waste instead of burying it in landfills, we will use scrubbers and sequestration technology for this power generation until we are fully on alternative energy. Making completing the transition as soon as possible vital to stop the effects of fossil fuels on our environment.

Transit is one of the largest power users, and urban MIT transit systems will be powered by One-Source alternative energy power generation. Cross-country MIT will be powered by diesel train engines. The good news is Diesel Trains can move a ton of freight 500 miles on a gallon of fuel. How far can you go in your car on a gallon of gas, not very. Making development of Mass Intermodal Transit a key element in cutting carbon emissions (See: M.I.T. Section below).

“The Solona Project” is a new living paradigm a new living model for a sustainable future for mankind and the Planet. But it is more than a living model, it is also an economic stimulus program, job creation plan, environmental plan, and a world peace plan.

Land Use Policy

Land Use Policy is fundamental to every element of our national security and economic efforts: energy policy, agricultural policy, industrial production policy, etc. U.S. agriculture, our domestic food production is a national security issue. It is one of the four primary national security focuses of the “Solona Project,” the others are energy, water, and defense manufacturing.

Number One is Reduce Urban Sprawl: the destructive continuing expansion of urban development is one of the interlocking factors making our current lifestyle unsustainable. Most important is that urban sprawl reduces our cultivatable land for agricultural production, threatens our potable water sources, and destabilizes the natural Eco-systems that filters our air. To address this problem we need to Freeze the current zoning and development rules, and implement new land use plans and zoning formulas to reshape our cities.

Emphasizing urban infill and vertical development in existing urban centers to maximize the urban land area, and to eliminate further urban sprawl while accommodating the ever increasing human demand. Economically this would cause a huge increase urban property values because of limited development opportunities, like all economics less supply means higher prices. Establishing clear outer boundaries to urban centers, then allows the natural systems to return to reclaim those areas. Create permanent Fixed Maximum Areas.

Fixed Urban Development Boundaries and increased property taxes inside the urban boundary (the cities), and decreased property taxes outside the boundary for the agricultural regions to ensure that land is used for food production. The benefits are the increased real estate values inside the boundary, and preservation of our rural and agricultural lands and heritage. Also concentrated urban development reduces the area requiring large scale energy transmission lines. One solution to further achieve this goal, the government (federal, state, local) will lease the development rights from the family farmers for farm and rural land, reducing the economic pressure that forces farmers to sell so these lands will always remain agricultural or natural, and family farmers. An added benefit: is making our domestic agriculture base more competitive due to the reduced tax burden and force a shift away from the pave it over destruction of our current development model.

This new Urban Planning Model is designed around centralized, concentrated, high-rise commercial development hubs, which are large centers of commercial, industrial and residential activities organized using joint development and mixed use projects inter-connected with multilevel sky-walks, surrounded by agricultural and green spaces, interconnected with mass transit systems. Urban hubs would facilitate effective mass transit, shorter commutes, and reduce the need for more highways.

We can preserve our agricultural land and save family farms through price supports and lower property taxes, and ending inheritance taxes on family farms. We need to increase production of plant food crops which provide the highest food yield per acre production, and reduce livestock production as their yield is very low per acre. Organize local agricultural co-ops to purchase rural and farm land development rights and then lease it back for continued agricultural use. Agra-land sale/lease backs will take land out of the development inventory at the lowest cost to retain it in food production. Part or all of the food crops goes to the co-ops members for consumption at lower costs as reimbursement for their investment. An added emphasize on organic and Aquaponics farming will keep quality, high nutrient density food production costs low.

Impose agricultural imports embargoes and duties on all foreign food sources during our domestic crop’s harvest seasons to ensure our farmers are not financially damaged by cheap imports from low production cost countries. Again, ensuring our domestic agricultural production is a national security issue.

Return businesses, appropriate clean types, accounting, consulting, architecture, artists, etc; to residential venues through zoning and urban planning to cut the need for so many office buildings, decrease urban sprawl, commercial land use, and reduce worker commutes, and even reduce the need for two family cars. With computers, the Web, networking, Skype, and other new technology now facilitates the home office work model and the re-distribution of work functions. (An additional benefit: it allows fathers to be home more and so they can play a larger role in their families).

Land Use Implementation: first, overcome the illegal taking of land rights problem for public works projects through implementation of this plan by taking the land out of play through buying the land and development rights, and stopping urban sprawl (References: states of Maine, Vermont, and Virginia).

The important fact is that the cost to provide public infrastructure, services, and the long term maintenance to ever widening urban areas is far more than the cost to acquire the land, it drives ever expanding budgets and taxes to support the ever expanding urban sprawl (roads, police, fire, schools, transit, etc.).

Use Financial Incentives to promote good land planning and use by cities. End all zoning variances and plan changes to the urban boundaries once they are set. The balance of all natural land should be put in permanent Public Land Trusts and truly preserved for posterity and public enjoyment, and importantly preserving the land for potential future agricultural production as needed to address population growth.

The ultimate land use shift would be to substitute Inner Space (on and under our oceans) development for land based urban sprawl to relieve the demand and destruction of rural, agricultural, and natural lands.  In fact moving the cities on and underwater would play a major role in increasing the life sustaining productivity of both the land and the sea. The planet is 70% covered by water, so Inner Space development is the most significant land use change we potentially have to alter the future course of human evolution. Structures located in Inner Space provides an amazing range of positive solutions to many human functions. Developing Inner Space is also one of humanity’s means of addressing and adapting to Climate Change since moving out onto the Oceans will neutralize the threat and impact of sea level rise. There are so many benefits making Inner Space development a necessity for ensuring humanity’s future.

Plus, Terra Space, the land, will provide R&R from prolonged stays in the other two environs.

Outer Space, specifically Near Space: is the extraterrestrial space from earth to the moon and its surface. Near Space offers the best environment for industrial and manufacturing activities, and their pollution by-products can be expelled into the void of Space where it can’t damage our environment. The Near Space development options are earth orbit stations and the moon’s surface, with mining expeditions on other planets and asteroids, using robotic probes. Industrial waste can be disposed of in the void of deep space. Near Space facilities will utilize solar energy for power production. Space station development will lead to the development of advanced air scrubbing, water filtration, and intensive organic food production systems that will benefit all mankind in all three environs.

Colonizing near space has beneficial value, and while expeditions to asteroids and other planets in our solar system, present an opportunity to obtain resources, but at what cost, that is the drawback to space.

…A Cautionary Note: Earth is a closed loop system, what is here all that is here, and basically nothing more is coming in. And every thing we shoot into space deletes the planet’s resources, resources we need for the long term existence of humanity. So with man’s exploration efforts having been primarily directed into Outer Space, a laudable goal, however, while distant space exploration requires huge outflows of resources while producing very little in return, with unmanned space probes are much less resource intensive. But the vast distances of space make benefits creation difficult, costly, and wasteful. That is a serious drawback when considering how to allocate future Solona development resources. Outer Space should be the last area to be developed, we need to adapt to be more in harmony with our environment here on Earth. Our focus should on Inner Space, it is a far more productive, sustainable, achievable, less expensive to develop, and would yield immediate, massive returns on investment.

That said, there is one way to reduce the cost of space flight, the X-Plane Project, from the 1950s and 1960s, shows the way, a large mother plane that carries a smaller rocket ship, manned or payload, to high altitude and launches it into earth orbit. Heavy rocket launches are very expensive, they have their place in space development, but the X-Plane model should be the primary method of space launches.

2021 – I congratulate Richard Branson and J2021 – I congratulate Richard Branson and Jeff Basos for developing a working X-Plane style economical space launch system. Also the development of the reusable heavy rocket system.

…A Second Cautionary Note: the other question about space exploration and space flight is does rocket engine burns deplete the Ozone in the atmosphere during space launches, endangering life on Earth. At the current level of launches that is not an issue, but in a Solona future with the massive increase in space launches the Ozone depletion may become a problem.

There is one already existing Near Space economic opportunity, cleaning up and recycling the mass of Earth orbiting loose floating space debris, which poses a collision danger to existing orbital equipment, and all future Solona space development. Just like cleaning up and recycling the plastic island in the Pacific Ocean. There are many valuable minerals (gold, platinum, silver, copper, etc.) used in the construction of satellites to be recovered and resold for reuse.

Inner space by far is the best option for primary economic development, plus the sea has greater possibilities and capacity with current technology to provide for our immediate and long term development and needs. Inner space by far is the best option for primary economic development, plus the sea has greater possibilities and capacity with current technology to provide for our immediate and long term development and needs. 

…Two final cautionary note: man’s exploration efforts have been primarily directed into Outer Space, and while that is a laudable goal, distant space exploration requires huge outflows of resources while producing little in return, the exception is unmanned science probes. But the vast distances of space make benefits creation difficult, costly and wasteful. That is a serious drawback when allocating future Solona development resources. Outer Space should be the last area to be developed.

The other question about space exploration is does rocket engine burns deplete the Ozone in the atmosphere during space launches, endangering life on Solona.

Beyond the three environs, “The Solona Project” also includes: National Environmental policies, National Energy Technologies, Transportation Systems, and Waste Management Solutions. Solona addresses our climate problems today and for tomorrow using existing technologies McGyvered together to create a new era in human development and evolution.

NATIONAL ENERGY SOLUTIONS

Energy is a vital U.S. National Security and Economic Security issue; as such we must ensure our energy supply at the national level. Since Islamic terrorism is a direct consequence of our involvement in that part of the world to obtain oil for energy, we must for our national security end our dependence on fossil fuels, and specifically on Middle Eastern oil. The transition will take around twenty-five years.

…Many in the energy industry advocate for waiting to do something about our oil dependence until we invent a new as yet unknown “silver bullet” energy source and technology. Considering the terrorist threat and the unending Middle Eastern Wars, we cannot afford to wait. And we do not have to wait; we already have the technology to start the energy transition process now. And rethinking our existing energy use, production, and technologies will advance our national security and stimulate the economy.

…We need a JFK Moon Race level commitment and effort for the development of alternative energy to end our dependence on Middle Eastern oil and the reason to be involved there, disrupting terrorism funding and the terrorist threat by eliminating their reason for attacking us, and seriously improving our national security. Those alternatives already exist, we are just lacking a Kennedy level commitment to this change that would move us off fossil fuels.

**Underwater Turbines Power (UWT): is number one on the list of alternative energy sources, with 70% of the world’s population living along the world’s ocean’s coast, UWT Power is the best long term future source of energy, because it’s available day or night, no fuel needed, it’s really clean, and perfectly located near the coastal and Inner Space population centers. UW Turbine power is the best long term endless energy source. Instead of oil derricks sticking out of the water, the same types of structures can be used to support underwater current driven electrical turbines to produce electricity.

Turbine power should be one of the primary energy sources we develop to address climate change and the finite oil supply, because it is close to the end users, is clean, no fuel required, and no pollution.

Solar Power: there are several different solar technologies that will produce a significant portion of our daily energy needs, the main urban energy sources would be in two parts: the Terra Space residential sector will get its power from “Rooftop Solar Arrays,” and the industrial sector from large solar farms, and in coastal areas underwater turbines. It is the non-productive dark periods that is its drawback to solar, but supplemented by other alternative energy sources and increased storage capacity we can meet our future energy needs. The most efficient solar array is: photo-voltaic panels for domestic electricity and solar water heating and pumping, and a solar water heating tank system for storing heat energy for warming homes at night.

Wind Power: inland, coastal, and Inner Space wind applications have the advantage over solar because the wind operates almost 24 hours a day, no fuel needed.

Bio-Diesel: made from distilling bio-degradable plant waste materials, is not the best answer, because continuing creating carbon pollution by burning any fuel does not help, but it is the best replacement for oil based fuel, during the transition, clearly it is better than fuel made from food crops (corn, rice, etc.). Using food crops for fuel is a stupid use of food  in light of global food insecurity and famine. Distilling bio-degradable plant materials for use where liquid fuel is still necessary for snow and poor weather condition locations, and train fuel, is the best use of a resource we waste burying it in landfills.

To achieve the vital goal of developing new energy sources we must make the commitment, adopt new initiatives and new ideas, foster new approaches, and break old patterns. This will be done by applying our private sector energy industries’ (oil, electric, nuclear, solar, wind, etc.) innovative prowess, skills, and capital, combined with government leadership and incentives to develop new energy approaches now, not later. To develop a truly endless, renewable, safe energy source. We can speed up the process by using our American “can do” national spirit.

The first energy and environmental efforts must be in Conservation; it is the cheapest approach and yields the most immediate results. The largest consumption of foreign oil is the powering gas burning vehicles; therefore we must break that dependence. This will be achieved with three approaches: first is the increase of vehicle fuel efficiency & economy standards, aka the “CAFÉ” standards, for cars, trucks and SUVs with more fuel-efficient technology. An increase of just 10-15 miles per gallon over today’s level would reduce our overall oil use by over 20%, which is most of our Middle Eastern oil demand. This can be done immediately because this technology already exists. Other energy conservation measures include: alternative hybrid engines, solar skins on cars for recharging, more aerodynamic designs, etc.,

By improving energy efficiency in lighting, HVAC systems, household appliances, etc., and increasing insulation and weather stripping, we can further reduce our energy needs making it easier provide enough energy through alternative means. Also rethinking architectural design of buildings and houses we can improve the passive heating and cooling of buildings, and improve operational efficiencies.

The second step is an emphasis on Mass Transit, an important element in any energy plan, despite  many transit efforts in the US have mostly been failures, so a new approach is needed. The re-imagining of our transportation system is the “Mass Intermodal Transit” (MIT) System, which utilizes small solar rechargeable electric vehicles, for short trips in combination with piggybacking them on transit trains, to be carried over long distances, and re-charged during transit. MIT overcomes the shortcomings of both rail mass transit and cars. If our transportation system was converted the MIT system it will dramatically reduce our fuel needs and pollution, and would eliminate our entire dependence on foreign oil. Also we can use large scale solar arrays for energy generation for MIT transit, which would further reduce our dependence on oil. (See: Mass Intermodal Transit section below).

Third would be the full on development of alternative energy technologies combined with passive fuel reduction steps that we can take. These include the centralization and concentration of urban development, along with re-zoning land use, around mass transit systems to make transit more effective; and to reduce the need for commuting and by better integrating foot, bicycle, and micro electric traffic into the transportation system which will further reduce our energy needs. With the added benefit of improving people’s health from the exercise. There are also passive architectural design elements that will reduce our energy use and demands that can be incorporated in buildings going forward.

Using energy efficient building technologies, aka “Green Buildings,” which includes building design innovations and infrastructure technology. The integration of energy efficient sustainable design and technologies results in the use of less energy. Those technologies include: high performance window glazing, sun shading for building exteriors and roofs, high quality lighting with low power density, low pressure HVAC supply drops in air systems, indirect evaporation pre-cooling of outside air, HVAC systems without reheat, individual HVAC control zones for offices, higher chiller plant efficiency, thermal energy storage units, energy management monitoring systems (EMS), and double roofing with a cooling space between and heat vents at the peak for passive cooling. There is a slightly higher cost differential over conventional construction, plus or minus 5% percent if integrated in the design process, if done as retrofitting the costs increase, but either way the increases are recouped, over time, by lower energy costs of building operations.

Clearly our long-term goal must be to develop new alternative energy sources, and whatever the long-term new energy sources are, they must truly be renewable, sustainable, and non-polluting; likely a combination of solar, wind, and UW turbine energy should be the primary focus for development as they are the only truly limitless clean energy sources. And limitless, free energy is the key to our long-term national and economic security.

In the interim we can use new approaches using existing technologies to wean ourselves off Middle Eastern oil within twenty-five years. With solar and UW turbine energy as the primary focus of development, and wind. Due to different conditions in different parts of the country, we will need to use different energy sources based on which is best for the region: solar in Sun Belt, wind in the interior, UW turbines along the coast. Also due to different conditions in different parts of the country we will need to use multiple energy technologies in combination to compensate for any limitations in each alternative technology, like solar in snow and rain conditions.

The key to this energy plan is that we already have the basic technology to begin the energy shift now as we work longer term to develop better alternate energy technologies to replace oil. The first element is to rethink how we apply our energy technology with the idea that we can split our energy demand into its two parts: 1) the commercial, and 2) residential sectors, and then applying the appropriate existing energy technology to power that sector. The Commercial Sector and Transit systems will continue to utilize large centralized plant generated electric power (aka Single Source), fueled by natural gas and bio-mass during the transition, using the cleanest technology, until an alternative energy sources are developed. This means continuing using domestic fossil fuels that we have until new energy tech, and has the added benefit of reducing the number of polluting sources, thus reducing the total pollution. Also we can concentrate energy generation plants in centralized demand areas of industrial activity, and operate them in co-generation loops. This also reduces energy costs by eliminating the transmission lines capital costs and maintenance expenses. The Surface Residential Sector will move away from the grid as their primary energy source by converting to primarily roof-top solar power. And as discussed above, using multiple energy technologies in weather restricted regions. Solar homes will reduce our overall need for fossil fuel, and our dependence on foreign imports. Using solar power on land as the primary residential energy would create close to a 35 to 40% reduction in generated energy demand. It also reduces the land costs for power plants and the cost of fuel, and creates many new high tech, high paying energy systems operations and maintenance jobs.

…Cautionary note: to date many have pushed various energy options that should be avoided because of their very negative drawbacks. They are nuclear, ethanol, and hydrogen. Here is a brief review of the bad suggestions.

Forget about nuclear energy, the problems with nuclear are to deadly to consider. Having them a potential terrorist target makes them an unacceptable risk. Plus the environmental reasons, the pollution from the vented exhaust spreads on the wind disperses deadly cancer carcinogens, and the associated illnesses dramatically increase healthcare costs. Also there is the problem of nuclear waste disposal, which poses additional health risks, transportation risks and national security risks should the radioactive materials fall into the hands of terrorists. Risks we cannot afford. Instead of nuclear power plants we are better off using carbon fuels (coal and waste) with the requirement of heavy exhaust scrubbing filters and sequestration to create cleaner burning electricity plants, and they are also cheaper than building a nuclear plant.

Hydrogen Fuel cells seems like a great potential energy solution, but has some serious flaws. To produce hydrogen requires an energy source to make a chemical reaction. Solar energy is the proposed power source to make the hydrogen, that would just be a waste. It would be far more efficient simply to use solar energy directly for the power source. Hydrogen comes from another deplete able resource, water, which is far more vital to life than oil, then any energy type. So in the long run we would just be trading one energy crisis, zero oil, for a life threatening crisis, zero water. So we will have gone from bad to the worse outcome, no water.

Ethanol from farm grown corn is a really bad idea, when you consider the state and condition of our agricultural topsoil, and world hunger. It makes absolutely no sense to waste farmland and to deplete the cultivatable topsoil to grow fuel when we have so many other much better bio-degradable plant waste energy options. How about harvesting the undergrowth in our forests to reduce fire risk and ferocity and convert that debris into ethanol.

Bottom line, there is only three real solutions, true limitless energy sources, the Sun, Wind, and Ocean currents that can be converted mechanically directly into usable power, without using energy to make energy. Anything less will not really be a solution.

Considering the national and economic security threats that resource shortages pose, if U.S. companies do not cooperate, then we should invoke the “Defense Production Act” and redirect the resources investment and industrial production of those companies to developing the “Solona Project.”

One thing is clear, as long as the oil and auto industries have a death grip on politicians we will never make the necessary changes to do what is right for the nation to secure our energy supply and security for the future, and to separate us from the Middle East and terrorism.

We must implement a real National Energy Plan, a plan that shifts our energy supply from a dwindling fossil fuel resource, controlled by other countries that are threats to us or do not like us. We must secure our long term energy supply to power our economy, specifically, to power our military manufacturing capacity. Energy policy that uses solar energy, particularly, by the development of “Mass Intermodal Transit” which combines light weight solar rechargeable cars and trains, which can transport a ton of freight 500 miles on a gallon of fuel, to shift our automobile transportation away from oil to solar power.

…The same flaw is true of some of the other alternative energy sources being considered. Fusion also requires energy to make energy and uses a depletable resource. Hybrid engines are a slightly better but also still requires energy to make energy and continues to use oil for fuel. …There is only one real solution, a true limitless free energy source that is converted mechanically directly into useable power, without using energy to make energy. Nothing less will really be a solution.

TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS

Mass Intermodal Transit

It’s “Back to the Future,” for surface transportation with a cross-disciplinary approach to transportation, Mass Intermodel Transit (M.I.T.). The M.I.T. System combines small solar rechargeable Electric Vehicles, for short daily commuting, and drive on Mass Transit Trains and Bullet Trains, powered by Alternative Energy Power Plants, for long distance travel. MIT resolves all the fundamental problems of all the other approaches to developing clean, sustainable transportation. With Mass Intermodal Transit we can create the transportation system of the future now, using existing technologies, we don’t have to wait to develop a new fuel to replace oil.

First and most importantly, all passenger vehicles must be solar rechargeable electric cars or we will not actually be moving off of fossil fuels and solving our climate change problem. Yes, cars will have plug-in charging, especially at-home, but recharging stations do not reduce in our fossil fuel consumption, because they still use power generated from a fossil fuel, and so is not the answer.

Carbon fuel (oil) based transportation is not sustainable in a future world of rapidly increasing demand, a finite deplete-able fuel resource and the environmental effects of the polluting by-products. Only vehicles that utilize an efficient clean and renewable power source will be a practical and sustainable form of transportation in the future.

In a closed resource system like the Planet Earth, there is no silver bullet replacement of fossil fuel. Whatever replacement fuel we come up with will still be a depletable and polluting resource, and we will be right back where we are. But imagine a renewable energy transportation system where we will never buy a tank of polluting gas for our cars ever again. That system is “Mass Intermodal Transit.”

As with so many things change is difficult and resisted, and our entrenched attachment to gas powered cars will be a particularly difficult attitude to change. In spite of that, the key to our transportation future is to change our mind set and our technology.

The current vehicle mindset is owning cars designed for long distance travel, for that occasional 1,000-mile summer vacation which is only 5% of all trips. While in fact 95% of all vehicle trips are short commutes of 1 to 40 miles to work, the grocery store, drug store, the mall, etc. This approach makes no economic or practical sense. Instead our primary cars should be commuter vehicles for our real driving needs, and using mass Intermodal Transit for long distance travel, or alternatively renting long haul gas fueled vehicles for those once a year 1,000-mile vacation trips as needed. And despite the push to find a “silver bullet” solution and all the misinformation to the contrary, all the basic technology already exists to move forward with a new approach to our future transportation needs. The approach is to think like McGyver, and put together a bunch of disparate existing parts and create a solution to our problem.

The ideal commuter car is a smaller, light weight vehicle mounted with a solar energy film skin system which will utilize the ultimate source of unlimited, clean, and sustainable power, the SUN. Especially since most cars spend hours every day sitting in parking lots in the sun where they can easily recharge for free, while people are in their workplace or home. While solar/electric technology has some limitations, it is improving all the time. Electric vehicles have: limited travel ranges; and the need for frequent, slow recharging of the energy cells. Current photo-voltaic panels have a medium conversion efficiency of solar energy to electrical power, and is improving. Additionally, there is the nighttime factor; at night there is no solar power source for electric vehicles. That combined with the limits of current battery technology, which is fine for normal driving patterns, but which cannot power a vehicle long distances without stopping to recharge or direct recharging while under way, and need to also be equipped with a plug-in charging port. But In the end, solar/electric vehicles alone do not truly solve the transportation energy source problem.

Trains built this country, and trains will rejuvenate it. Mass Transit Train Systems, the other form of relatively efficient transportation, also have some limitations. Trains have suffered from: public resistance to giving up the convenience and freedom of individually owned vehicles; resolving the need for some form of bridging transportation for getting to and from the mass transit stations and a specific destination; and the psychological discomfort of the perceived lack of personal safety in sharing public transportation. The fatal drawback is that mass transit trains still get their energy from fossil fuel burning power plants, making their power source unsustainable. Ultimately, mass transit has made no significant conceptual design advancements or improvements to their energy source or energy sustainability since their debut. But this can and must change, because trains still remain one of the most fuel efficient forms of ground transportation, carrying a ton of cargo 500 miles on a gallon of diesel oil. Where needed we can continue with diesel trains as we transition to an alternative power source for trains is developed and in remote areas where alternative energy is not practical.

Finally, there are Hybrid cars, vehicles that utilize both oil and electric power. They use more efficient fuel burning engines for direct power and to generate electricity to charge batteries for power. This is the development route auto makers are pursuing, but hybrid cars still have to burn oil and still pollute. That relegates them to being only an interim transportation form, not a real long-term solution.

As described, none of these options individually resolves the fundamental transportation problem of the need for a clean, efficient, renewable, and sustainable energy source. As seen, all of these seeming solutions have energy source problems and other limitations. Bottom line, these factors have led to a negative public perception and acceptance of any alternative to gas powered automobiles. Which has resulted in poor, mostly negative economic performances for any of the other transportation options.

The search for solutions to the transportation energy problem, have until now, been addressed separately within each of the transportation disciplines: auto, train, electric, solar, etc. With no real substantive results. The solution, however, is in a cross-disciplinary approach where the strengths of both solar electric vehicles and mass transit trains are utilized to overcome the limitations of the other.

Ultimately the goal here is to reduce the carbon emissions of hundreds of millions of oil fueled polluting vehicles which would have a dramatic effect in reducing one of the main human causes of climate change.

The Solona Project’s name for this cross-disciplinary approach is Mass Intermodel Transit (M.I.T.).

The M.I.T. System combines small solar rechargeable Electric Powered Vehicles, for short daily commuting, and Mass Transit Train Systems that are powered by “One Source Alternative Energy Power Plants (or diesel in remote areas) for long distance travel. The MIT system resolves all the fundamental problems of all the old approaches to developing clean, sustainable transportation. With Mass Intermodal Transit we can create a transportation system of the future now, using existing technologies, we don’t have to wait to develop another fuel to replace oil.

Simply described, conceptually, this is how “Mass Intermodal Transit” (M.I.T.) works:

the public would continue to own their individual vehicles, but, in the form of Electric Powered Vehicles (EPV’s) with a solar energy recharging system, using existing batteries that already have a range of 120 miles per charge. The solar would be supplemented by plug-in, at home recharging, or a “One Source” large scale alternative energy generation plants in public spaces. The EPV’s would provide the short-range transportation (under 15 miles) for travel near the home, office, or at a vacation destination; and as the means of commute to and from Mass Transit Stations. However, instead of parking and leaving the vehicle, as in traditional mass transit formats. The electric vehicle would be driven onto specially designed mass transit train cars for transport over longer distances (more than 15 miles) at high speed. These Transit Train Systems and High-Speed Rail would get their power from “One Source” large scale alternative energy generation plants, or if needed in remote areas, the use of heavily filtered diesel fueled engines. Trains can move a ton of cargo 500 miles on a gallon of diesel, highly efficient. These transit trains would also carry passengers and cargo containers full of food and products, thus eliminating many cross-country diesel trucks that haul these containers, a major exhaust reduction. All trains would be a single uniform train technology, this lowers the operating costs, but more importantly it allows the transit system to operate like regular trains beginning able to switch directions, different lines, and destinations.

The EPV would board the train and be securely locked in place with “Docking Clamps,” that in addition to holding the vehicle in place, the clap would allow recharging the vehicles batteries while in transit for use at the debarkation point. While on the train locked in their own solar vehicle commuters would feel safe and secure while using mass transit. Also, it would be safe to read a book, do business, talk on cell phones, texting, put on make-up while commuting, additionally making it safer for us all. Upon arriving at the cross-country destination station, the electric vehicle would be driven off the transit train and then traverse the short distance to the intended local destination. To return to the traveler’s starting point, the process would simply be reversed. (This is just the conceptual presentation of the MIT technical systems; the patent data and registrations are being worked on).

One of the most important and critical aspects of the MIT system is being able to rapidly embark and disembark many vehicles simultaneously. Multi-lane, multi-ramping and on-board parking orientation design elements are the key. Since all of the transit spaces on a vehicle train would require individual vehicle boarding access, the system will use multiple lanes and ramps at each station for rapid boarding. A multi-ramp exiting system, synchronized with the streetlights, would quickly vent the disembarking vehicles on the surface streets. Thus, clearing spaces on the train so that embarking vehicles could rapidly board. The vehicles parking orientation would be horizontal facing (sideways) on the train car, that way the cars could board and park in one smooth, quick, straight in maneuver allowing the quickest way to get on and off. System access would be controlled by a computerized traffic system of red and green signal lights that would monitor and indicate available vacant space to board and ride the train. Allowing the train to get under way faster, maintaining the system’s overall headway speeds.

As can be seen, the MIT combination of current technologies that provides a solution to each of the component’s limitations described earlier. Making it possible to resolve the transportation energy problem now, rather than continuing with the current destructive technologies. MIT achieves: the replacement of carbon fueled passenger vehicles and all their associated problems. The limitations of electric vehicles are overcome, and their short-range value is maximized. This short-range emphasis allows for smaller more efficient vehicles that will cost less to produce and use less resources to build. The long distance and recharging problems of electric vehicles are eliminated by the combination with transit trains. Electric vehicles would dramatically reduce our oil consumption, and the resulting dependence and deficits of oil imports, and reduce air pollution. The use of cleaner “One Source” Alternative Power Generation will also dramatically reduce pollution. The limitations of mass transit are overcome, the freedom and mobility of individually owned vehicles continues, the commuting bridge to and from the transit station is resolved, and the psychological and safety negatives of public mass transit are eliminated.

MIT would create massive cost savings by the elimination of building parking garages and that would free up funds to facilitate building more track and buying more trains for greater implementation and proliferation of the M.I.T. system. Ultimately allowing for service to more areas and more people. The cost savings come from eliminating the need for and expense of building parking facilities at transit stations, also from reducing the cost of land, construction and operation of transit systems. As M.I.T. expands, the rail expansion tracks will be built in existing highway right-o-ways savings billions in land acquisition costs, by reducing the number of vehicle travel lanes to accommodate the transit rails.

The reason most environmental efforts have not gotten traction is they have not addressed the economic considerations required in order to be viable. We believe that the cross-disciplinary approach of Mass Intermodal Transit (MIT) provides for the resolution of the transportation challenges of the future with currently available technology while reconciling the seeming incompatibility of environmental sustainability and economic viability. The reconciliation must be based on the need to design and develop sustainable technologies to protect the environment while balancing that objective with the needs of human development, economic viability, and job creation. MIT protects the environment while creating jobs, not destroying them. It will create a whole new industries and jobs, who’s products are sustainable and environmentally friendly. It will take at least twenty-five years to make the transition, so we need to act now to develop MIT, as opposed to continuing to use the old polluting forms of transportation, before it is too late. In the future, we will improve these technologies, but Mass Intermodal Transit is the future of ground transportation.

Additionally, MIT reduces our oil consumption which has implications for U.S. National Security, both militarily and economically. Our dependence on foreign oil imports ultimately threatens our national security because of the implications of an interruption in the oil supply to the economy. Plus our oil dependence creates the terrorist threat, and wars in the region. Whether by a hostile act of a foreign government or that we totally deplete all the oil resources someday, the fact is that interruption would bring our economy, industries, and military to a standstill. There is no greater threat to our nation and our security. By eliminating general transportation oil demand, we would free up huge amounts of our oil reserves solely for industrial and military use, plus reduce our foreign oil imports and our balance of trades deficit. Thereby ensuring fuel for our national defense and economic security for generations to come. These are the main reasons why the U.S. government should vigorously participate in the development of MIT.

In reality, a project of this magnitude will require public and private partnerships, with the involvement, cooperation, and capital to develop MIT. But, the economic rewards for the nation and the companies with the foresight to undertake the development of this transportation technology are enormous. Made in the U.S. we would be the long-term winners of the competition for a transportation system of the future that is resource and environmentally sustainable. We propose the assembly of a group of U.S. Government agencies and corporations to facilitate the development of a vertically structured industrial model that would align the individual components manufacturers so that their production is channeled toward the ultimate goal of combining all the technologies necessary to build and operate the Mass Intermodal Transit system. And supported by government tax incentives and subsides required for an endeavor of this magnitude. M.I.T. provides not only a new transportation paradigm, but new economic and industrial opportunities, and continued U.S. predominance in advanced technologies.

Mass Intermodal Transit reconciles environmental sustainability and economic viability using existing technology and achieves the goal of designing and developing technologies that protect the environment while balancing that objective with human needs and economic realities. M.I.T. does all this while protecting the environment by dramatically reducing polluting emissions, and using our resources more sustainability.

Ultimately, in the face of the ongoing destruction of the environment we cannot afford to idly wait for some pie-in-the-sky silver bullet future technology to be developed, we truly need to act now. Mass Intermodal Transit is the technology that we can implement today to meet our needs.

Waste Management Policy

Waste Management

People say that America doesn’t produce anything anymore. That’s not true, we produce millions and millions of tons of garbage every day. And how we handle that trash is an integral part of this environmental plan, and the key is humans getting back in harmony with cycle of life, the cycle of nature. Rather than burying it in landfills, we need to return to the old phrase, “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.” One simple solution is using a four compartment trash can and color-coded bag system, one compartment for organic waste, mulched into fertilizer; one for recyclable trash, to make products; one for burnable waste, to be used in carbon capture power plants; and one for toxic waste for safe disposal.

One man’s trash is another man’s opportunity. There are several productive uses for our garbage.

In our ever increasing consumption of the earth’s resources we are creating two major negative side-effects, depletion of our vital agricultural topsoil and mountains of trash. What we are doing is leaching all of the substance from our soil and depositing the remains of that substance in our trash dumps. The problem is that if left unchecked it could ultimately lead to the trashing vast areas of the planet, leading to global famine. Additionally, our waste content is heavily contributing to the toxic pollution of our ground water that is dramatically increasing health risks and healthcare costs, and killing the environment.

We must rethink how we address the waste disposal problem by reducing the resource wastage by recycling, trash disposal volume, dump site expansion, illegal dumping, toxins, and pollution. The simplest and seemingly obvious solution is to reintegrate human activities and trash disposal back into the Earth’s natural cycle of life by creating closed loop resources uses and recycling systems similar to those in nature. The Earth provides many examples of self-sustaining cycles which we can imitate to address our waste management policies. The rain cycle from ocean water evaporation to rainfall to the water returning to the sea. The nourishment cycle of trees from new growth leaves, that die and fall to the ground and are mulched back into nutrients for nourishing the tree. Following these types of cycles is a more natural and sustainable alternative to our current choices, lifestyle, trash, and topsoil issues. A sustainable human closed use loop recycling system would begin at harvest, with the agricultural waste mulched into compost to enrich the topsoil, then our kitchen food waste would be separated from the trash stream, composted and reintroduced as fertilizer back into the topsoil, replacing or reducing the use of chemical fertilizers. These sources along with other compost materials can provide an inexhaustible supply of organic nutrient rich materials to replenish our nutrient depleted topsoil, verses the burying of valuable organic nutrients, along with toxic waste, in huge piles on ground that becomes dangerous and useless.

Solid waste should also be separated from the waste stream either recycled back into the resource stream for reuse in manufacturing or burned as fuel for electrical generation, with mandatory exhaust scrubbers and sequestration. This is merely expanding existing recycling systems.

*One of the most important environmental changes we can make that would have widespread effects and benefits is to use recycled plastic to make artificial wood for construction use as 2×4 boards (instead of metal studs), 4×8 plywood boards, roof trusses, ruff cabinetry, flooring, gazebos, trellises, railings, etc. Plus there are many other uses for artificial wood. This would save millions of trees from commercial harvesting, resulting in dramatically reduced illegal logging, and maintain forests to clean the air. An additional benefit is by using plastic wood it would reduce water property damage from roof leaks and flooding in buildings, as it does not warp or rot.

One solution is public recycling implementation that would be made easy by the use of simple four compartment recycling trash cans with color coded trash bags. Each of the four types of waste: organic/food (green), recyclable (blue), toxic waste (black), and landfill (brown), would be dropped into their designated color coded section of the trash can and then put out for collection just as we do now. Upon collection each of the four types of waste would be channeled into the appropriate reuse or final disposal.

There have been extinction events in the history of Earth, both species and globally, and our choices today will There have been extinction events in the history of Earth, both species and globally, and our choices today will determine if we could go extinct, or we chose to adapt, improvise, and overcame the looming climate crisis and create a Solona Future.

For those resisting the change from the oil to solar, from cars to MIT, from “Earth” to “Solona,” you mistakenly believe that our current energy systems are the only systems we can have. Mistakenly because historically humanity has evolved technologically over the millennia. We started out fueling our economy burning wood; then we advanced to coal powered steam energy, then in the oil energy phase, next was the nuclear energy phase, and it is our evolutionary transition to the next newest, better energy source, let’s call it, the “Solar Age” of energy.

“The Solona Project”  is a comprehensive economic, technological, sustainable, environmental plan to address Human Development and Climate Change in the short term to slow climate change, and for the future as we grow beyond the confines of “The Earth.” Even if you do not care about the environment, the “Solona Project” is the biggest economic stimulus, job creation, investment, national security, energy security, food security, water security, and health improving, program and opportunity in history. Beyond that for it expanding of our horizons and life potentials.

Our future awaits us, we only have to reach out and make it.

A Last note: I was asked, “Why if I started Solona in 1973-1974 am I only finishing it now, in 2021?” The answer is that the whole concept took a lot of research and work to incorporate new details as they developed, a long time to fully develop in detail. Writing this was a personal ambition, but life has a habit of getting in the way, and it took me many years writing a little when I could. But, it seems that the timing of the finishing of the “Solona Project,” in 2021, is actually when it was meant to be finished. Had I published it in 1974 it would have had no meaning or relevance at that time. But now, the “Solona Project” is totally relevant, and will resonate with people around the world, and hopefully provide the plan for the future as it is intended.