Learn English with the News: “Floating Cities”

Hello everyone! How are you doing?

Today’s news story is all about creating cities in the sea. It’s a great idea to allow people to live in different societies or set up research platforms where they will not depend on any governments.

What are your thoughts before watching the video?

1. First read the text
2. Understand the vocabulary
3. Watch the video

Text

“California’s Seasteading Institute believes countries of the future will be built on the ocean. These nations will be fully sustainable, self-governing floating cities designed as havens for research and innovation.

The institute’s president Michael Keenan, says the most successful will become thriving new societies. It’s an idea he says, whose time has come.

– There is no one kind of government for everyone. There is no one ideology for everyone and so if there was a new space to start governments we would see an ideal society for everyone. But there is no more land, however, seventy percent of the world’s surface is covered by ocean and it is unclaimed, it’s international waters. So the Seasteading Institute strives to create new countries floating in international waters.

Keenan says this is no idealistic pipedream. Paypal’s billionaire founder Peter Theil has donated more than 1.5 million dollars to the Institute and other wealthy donors are following suit. The design of these off shore communities is led by Institute engineer in George Petrie. He says much of the technology to build floating cities already exists.

– Why don’t we just utilise what is so readily available to us by colonising the surface of the sea and positioning ourselves to intelligently take advantage of the resources that the open oceans, the bounty of the open oceans offer us.

Petrie says the first floating cities will be modelled after semi-submersible oil platforms.

– So even in very inhospitable, even in very stormy sea conditions, the platform will remain very stable, very minimal motion. One would hardly know that they are on a floating body.

He says the cities will be able to expand by linking on new, modular parts – much like Lego pieces. Petrie says solar power, wind turbines, and other cutting edge technology will supply the floating cities with power.

– In a decade you will start to see custom built semisubmersible platforms resembling oil rigs and in a few decades – huge cities the size of Hong Kong with millions of people living in very diverse, very effective and efficient societies on the ocean.

And the institute’s ideas are already taking off. A company called Blueseed is converting an ocean liner into what it says will be a floating version of Silicon Valley. With no visa requirement, it’s designed to attract foreign talent to develop new technologies.

The ship is is scheduled for launch late next year, the first of what Michael Keenan hopes will be hundreds of seasteads created over the next several decades. Keenan admits it’s an ambitious idea…but one that will eventually offer millions of people the opportunity to choose a country that suits them best.

Vocabulary

Nations – a large area of land that is controlled by its own government.

Self-governing – controlled or ruled by its own members : having self-government.

Sustainable – able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed.

Floating – continually moving or changing position.

Havens – a place where you are protected from danger, trouble, etc.

Thriving – to grow or develop successfully : to flourish or succeed.

Unclaimed – not asked for or taken by an owner : not claimed.

Strive – to try very hard to do or achieve something.

Pipedream – a hope, wish, or dream that is impossible to achieve or not practical.

Wealthy – having a lot of money and possessions.

Follow suit – to do the same thing that someone else has just done.

Shore – the land along the edge of an area of water (such as an ocean, lake, etc.)

Modelled – o design (something) so that it is similar to something else.

Semi-submersible – able to be used partially underwater.

Oil platform – a usually raised structure that has a flat surface where people or machines do work.

Modular – having parts that can be connected or combined in different ways.

Talent – a special ability that allows someone to do something well.

Scheduled – to plan (something) at a certain time.

Seasteads – concept of creating permanent homes at sea.