Abstract:
that region of the planetary landscape most affected by its proximity to the ocean, and that part of the ocean and its holding basin most affected by its proximity to our planet’s ever more modified landscapes. About 35% of all humans live on the ocean-bordering landscape band we call the “coast” that is less than 100 vertical meters in elevation; the percentage is increasing as are the dire speculative warnings of future sea-level rise that could directly affect civilization globally. Our planet’s place that is farthest from the world’s seashore—located in Xinjiang, China—is vital. What makes the ocean so valuable to Aquatects is that it is an Earth-surface area open to massive transfers of wealth, materials and biota. Cathcart proposes several different kinds of economic coast-development mega-projects that should benefit humanity: the Greater Salton Sea Macro-project, for example, is proposed to be connected, by seawater-filled canals, with Mexico’s Gulf of California because as America’s Southwest population increases, future climate change is likely to reduce the region’s precipitation that undergirds the economy. Cathcart offers a refreshing vision America must make an additional USA coastline!