Resurgence of Earth's civilization after its collapse

Commenced 8-14-06 by Ken Wear
and unlikely to be completed

Should some maniac unleash life-destroying weapons, or a natural catastrophe obliterate most of mankind and his efforts, Mountain Meadows seem our best hope for continuing our kind and restoring civilization . It is a monumental task and will require massive planning and cooperation to make adequate provision. The United Nations has presented a sorry spectacle of morality and cooperation, so private foundations must lead the way. Whether a single Meadow will suffice I can only speculate although I feel three is an optimum number.

There is controversy whether we should rely on communities in space, on Earth's moon or at more distant locations. Likely, for the next few centuries, reliance must be placed on Earth-bound communities, such as I am encouraging here, because, prior to destruction of civilization, there will be a continuing need for personnel rotation and resupply. Moreover, once effort is begun it will require time and effort to build a self-sufficient infrastructure not dependent on Earth for its viability. While I urge, in addition to these Mountain Meadows, construction of colonies on Earth's moon, these are merely learning experiences and way stations for Mars and Venus^{3 To view footnote, click here.} explorations since no human may return to Earth's gravity after a few years on the moon. (Other bodies in our solar system seem, temperature-wise, unavailable to us. And planets orbiting other suns will require decades -- possibly generations -- of travel time.) Over the centuries there will likely be constructed space wheels that hold the possibility of being similarly self-contained and free to move through space as seems prudent to its inhabitants.

I visualize self-contained communities with a population of a few to many hundred individuals selected on the basis of their contribution to the community within the constraint that they will be the source of repopulation. "Self-contained" means, of course, the ability to provide all their needs, including especially food, water and energy, for a period of at least years and perhaps decades or longer. I am uncertain if each community should be specialized to deal with a specific catastrophe such as nuclear winter, or a massive meteorite strike, or loss of Earth's magnetic field and thus its Van Allen belts, or out-of-control self-replicating nanoproducts, or excessive accumulation of mankind's offal, or engineered virus, or . . ., although all share needs in common no matter the cause of destruction.

It is self-evident that such thoughts embrace the long view, perhaps centuries or millennia, since we have no idea from what direction destruction of civilization may come, or the probability of such occurrences. Construction must be built with a view toward permanence, perhaps exceeding that of the Egyptian pyramids. There must be rotation of personnel as the young seek to become educated and as those beyond child-bearing years retire to other venues. And as science advances the complement of equipment and supplies for their operation must be replaced. We can hope that such facilities will never be needed, but we must realistically expect that, at some presently unpredictable time, one or more civilization-ending catastrophes will overtake mankind.

LOCATION: Within Earth-bound constraints I would favor, first, meadows in the Rocky Mountains of the United States (where heat energy may be mined from a volcanic substrate) although Mexican or Central American locations may be more desirable due to closeness to the ocean. Next choice would be highlands of coastal New Zealand, a Russian location on either the Caspian or Black Sea, Russia's eastern coast, African western coast, or a European location perhaps on the Balkan coast or in Turkey. Selection of preferred areas must allow usable ground for the community and its supporting agriculture and other activities plus a staging area some miles distant (perhaps no more than 50 miles). As a practical measure, selected areas should be 30 feet or more above sea level (in case of rising sea level) or presently sparsely populated (in order to avoid interfering with present inhabitants). I am in no position to pinpoint candidate geographies but, during that period of detailed planning of the requirements for a self-supporting community, a commission should evaluate proposed sites and arrange the necessary treaties to allow both free access and political control by the community itself with no interference whatever from the hosting government.

How much space must be dedicated to a single community? I venture to say that agriculture and animal husbandry will dictate how much ground must be devoted to food. I expect that much of agriculture will be in hot-house-like structures to capture and retain solar energy. Quantity of energy received, efficiency of conversion of crops, and nourishment requirements of inhabitants must be in balance. The selection of plants and animals must receive as much attention as the human contingent. I am in no position to tabulate the nutritional needs of the community and select crops and animals to be incorporated into the program.^{2 For footnote, click here.}

(I predict that, because of the relative security of selected areas, surrounding areas will become magnets for prime residential development. Thus I would expect competition by governments to offer the necessary real estate. But, once boundaries are established, encroachment cannot be permitted. Moreover, I predict that there will be no shortage of extremely qualified applicants once the nature of the community is defined and widely known.)

Selection of residents: While this is not a vacation retreat and the intent is quite serious, life must be enjoyable and fulfilling. Obviously residents must wish to live there, whether for monetary advantage, dedication to the ideal of preserving civilization, or the seduction of participation in forward-looking efforts while immersed in a community of outstanding personalities. All residents must contribute on an essentially equal basis to maintenance of community; no one, except for temporary health concerns, can be allowed to avoid his share of drudgery: no kings, no vassals. I am not in a position to tabulate the assortment of specialties in such a community,^{1 For footnote, click here} although requirements would be similar to self-sustaining space communities orbiting Earth or inhabiting Earth's moon. Evidently each resident must be free of communicable disease and be of outstanding physical and mental ability as well as possessing specialties needed to round out a self-sustaining community. And few will wish to make a semi-permanent residence there, so there must be continuing efforts to recruit, to screen, to reassess, to perfect.

In the ordinary course of the progression from birth to old age, consideration must be given to family life. Whole families, so long as each member individually qualifies for admission, may enter; families may be formed in the community; family members may choose to remain while other members of the family depart; qualifying tourists may elect to remain. And some individuals, imbued with the ideals and motive for forming the community, may elect to forego other of life's pleasures and rewards in order to make their contributions to the continuation of our kind. Hopefully there will always be a reasonable balance between men and women for the purpose of repopulation.

There is a dual requirement of the Meadow: 1) It must at all times be self-sufficient and prepared to sever connections with the outside world. 2) Yet it must cater to the prevailing interests of residents, who will expect, barring the catastrophe for which the Meadow was founded, to return to the outside world without suffering loss for their time committed to the Meadow.

While there must be continuity in activities in the Meadow, so personnel would be rotated on a regular but staggered basis, time committed to residency should likely be at least five years but limited to twenty years. I base the twenty on the need for education, which may be concluded by age 20-25 (if initial selection includes mental faculty, or less in the case of prodigies or focused education), and the duration of a woman's best child-bearing years (remembering that the purpose for the Meadow is survival of our species). Some personnel, such as perhaps top managers and foundation representatives, may be asked to remain for longer assignments.

Activities of residents: With a community of such outstanding individuals there must evidently be activities that intrigue and challenge. A researcher must be provided with the tools necessary for continuation of his research, agronomists . . ., historians . . ., and on and on. Of course, a period in the community affords a scientist an opportunity for a sabbatical during which he can ponder recent and needed research in his field as well as consolidate the results of work in his field.

Education is the foundation upon which mankind's progress has been pursued, and education to the individual's innate capacity would be expected of every resident. Likely at least through the baccalaureate degree and perhaps more (depending??), must be available to and required of each resident although further education at the world's premier universities will be necessary if the community is to possess the pinnacle of available knowledge.

There seems little reason electromagnetic communication links with the outside world should be in any manner restricted so they may be used to further education and allow continued contact with colleagues, families and other associates.

Rotation of residents: Anyone entering, except under the most dire circumstances, must undergo quarantine adequate to detect and render intransmissible any disease that could compromise the sustainability of the community. Even crews involved in rotation and resupply must live and operate under circumstances that protect the community. Those born in the community must be exposed to infectious agents in order to provide immunities needed before venturing into the outside world. I would suppose that a catalog of infectious agents rampant in the outside world would be maintained and immunities of each member of the community would be known (and for the most part common to all).

Structure: Residences, machine shops, laboratories, storage of supplies, etc., must be in a single structure perhaps three stories above ground and at least as much below ground. The larger part of a meadow must, of course, be dedicated to agriculture and l ivestock. While it would be desirable for housing and machine industries to be on level ground, education, as well as agriculture and animal husbandry may be separated so long as connecting links are provided. I would suppose that at least 100 acres of essentially level ground would be needed for housing, industries and a runway for medium-sized aircraft, plus a few hundred acres for fauna and flora. (And there must be additional acreage if the catastrophe occurs since births for repopulation must commence as soon as it becomes obvious there will be a need. Perhaps 30-40% of initially fallow ground must be available so the community may grow while outside conditions become stable enough for resettlement.)

Politically, each community must be independent (including political independence from the government within which the real estate falls), even though subordinate to the wishes of the directors of the sponsoring foundation. There must, of course, be free passage between the community and the outside world. A democracy, with each individual 14 years of age or older entitled to vote, seems the wisest structure. Absolute openness, with no secrets, would be mandatory. Information on all religions should be available to all and there should be freedom of expression of religious inclinations, but efforts to organize and impose a single religion or complex of religions should be strictly prohibited and proselytizing would be grounds for banishment from the community. Beyond sound ethics there can be no philosophical or religious grounds for ineligibility to live and work in the community. Certainly there should be no ethnic, racial, etc., barriers or preferences.

It is my fervent hope, whatever religious inclinations become dominant, that they are guided by the maxim to believe first what the fingers touch and what the eyes behold, that the product of rational thought will prove supreme. Should that include workings within the mind that are tantamount to recognition of and prayer to a deity, then that should be the prerogative of the individual and within his right to believe as he wishes. But the right to believe and discuss freely his belief and his reasons to support that belief should not include a right to pressure others beyond the power of his tongue to express. No priests. No religious teachers. No proselytes. Everyone with equal rights to believe or not believe, to search for satisfaction of his own soul.

Libraries must be as complete as resources permit. And production tools and supplies must be adequate to fabricate anything that may be needed for maintenance of the community as well as devices required for on-going research activities of resident scientists. So long as the outside world is viable, there must be continuing efforts to maintain cultural ties with that outside world.

Medical emergencies there will be, other than pregnancy-related, despite selection criteria of personnel to minimize opportunities for disease or accident. Evidently medical and surgical specialties must be included in the roster of personnel, and a small, well-rounded multi-purpose clinic must be among the facilities. Possibly the clinic may be combined with facilities for isolation of individuals entering or leaving the community.

Unquestionably the Meadow must include provision for recycling since it may become crucial to survival: bodily wastes, water, air, agricultural residue, . . . It cannot be presupposed that materials may be exported (without depleting needed chemistry) or imported (because there is no guarantee there will be a source). The extent to which the community must be totally enclosed depends, I suppose, on the catastrophe anticipated: For a nuclear winter radioactive fall-out must be precluded until the atmosphere clears; for collapse of civilization due to accumulation of mankind's offal little shelter would be needed, etc.

Evidently every particle or person entering the Mountain Meadow must be subjected to protocols to protect the community. There must be a staging area, some distance from the community, where people and supplies may be accumulated for transer to or from the community. Quarantine conditions would be considerably relaxed in the staging area although the needs of our Mountain Meadow must be the ultimate consideration in imposing conditions on any goods or people in the staging area.

And: Who? What foundation(s) might be moved to undertake such a long-term project with such an uncertain outcome?

And: When? Hopefully effort can be undertaken immediately to locate a suitable Meadow and efforts commenced to propose composition of an adequate contingent. We should proceed with deliberate haste, commencing construction as soon as a location can be selected and political arrangements completed. Early housing may be temporary with a view that it will be replaced with permanent structures. It will take time to build an organization to select and screen potential inhabitants, but at no time should requirements be sacrificed to expedience. The community must be built incrementally with a long view toward permanence.

Etc.:
Unhappily, deaths of members of the community must be anticipated. I suggest the following:
1) Within the limits next described, individual preferences, if known, should be respected.
2) The body of anyone wishing to adhere to a particular religion should be transported to his home community for whatever rites are prescribed by his religion.
3) Anyone wishing his body remain within the community must expect handling of his remains to be consistent with reasonable rapidity of returning nutrients in his body to the soil without preservatives; if he wishes burial of his body alone it may be horizontal; if he wishes there to be a (readily-decomposable) casket burial should be vertical; placements should conserve valuable ground.

It seems unrealistic to suppose there can be maintained a representative collection of all animal and plant species inhabiting Earth; priority must be to survival of a community adequate to commence repopulation with an adequate selection of foods and tools.

Should a civilization-ending catastrophe be reasonably forecast, such as a strike by a massive meteorite, there would be pressure to expand the community. However, carrying capacity must be respected since over-taxing facilities and agricultural yield would compromise the purpose for their existence.

Can our Mountain Meadow become a tourist destination? Persons willing to undergo the rigors imposed on the staging area should be allowed a visit. Cultural continuity with the outside world is, after all, overwhelmingly desirable as long as there is an outside world.

In initial construction of the community I would suppose people and goods may be freely transported in and out. But, at a point in time when the community is approaching readiness for its initial complement of personnel, all must arrive through the staging area with its conditions for sanitary, medical, etc., needs.

I hope to enlist the coopration of other minds in detailing the requirements necessary to creation and maintenance of a Mountain Meadow. Whether for a space wheel, a colony on another astronomical body, or a self-sustaining community on Earth, the requirements are very similar. (Especially if the colony is isolated by physical barriers to keep out dust and other pollutants, the requirements are nearly identical.) Evidently, all resources and all by-products of the various conversions (such as waste processing) must be critically balanced, not only for humans but also for agriculture and animals.

There cannot be, of course, any guarantee that the remnants of mankind can outlast the effect of the catastrophe for which they were organized. But we know of a certainty that, if we don't think about it and prepare for it, our species won't survive the catastrophe. We do the best we can.