The Venus Project

The Venus Project was started around 1975 by Jacque Fresco and Roxanne Meadows of Venus, Florida, USA. It was founded on the idea that poverty is caused by the stifling of progress in technology, which itself is caused by the present world's profit-driven economic system. The progression of technology, if it were carried on independent of its profitability, Fresco theorizes, would make more resources available to more people. This new-found abundance of resources would reduce the human tendency toward independence, corruption, and greed, and instead make people more likely to help each other. Fundamental to the project is the elimination of the current money economy in favor of what Fresco calls a resource-based economy.

Jacque Fresco is a self-described futurist and "social designer," with no formal university education. Roxanne Meadows is a former portrait artist. According to a 2008 interview with Fresco and Meadows, Fresco's lack of credentials has made it difficult for him to gain influence in academic circles. He adds that when universities do invite him to speak, they often don't give him enough time to explain his views.

The Venus Project was incorporated in 1995. The Project also has a non-profit "sector", called Future By Design.

The Venus Project is featured prominently in the movie Zeitgeist: Addendum.

The Venus Project operates out of a 21.5-acre Research Center located in Venus, Florida.

When one considers the enormity of the challenges facing society today, we can safely conclude that the time is long overdue for us to reexamine our values, and to reflect upon and evaluate some of the underlying issues and assumptions we have as a society. This self-analysis calls into question the very nature of what it means to be human, what it means to be a member of a "civilization," and what choices we can make today to ensure a prosperous future for all the world's people.

At present we are left with very few alternatives. The answers of yesterday are no longer relevant. Either we continue as we have been with our outmoded social customs and habits of thought, in which case our future will be threatened, or we can apply a more appropriate set of values that are relevant to an emergent society.

Experience tells us that human behavior can be modified, either toward constructive or destructive activity. This is what The Venus Project is all about - directing our technology and resources toward the positive, for the maximum benefit of people and planet and seeking out new ways of thinking and living that emphasize and celebrate the vast potential of the human spirit. We have the tools at hand to design - and build - a future that is worthy of the human potential. The Venus Project presents a bold, new direction for humanity that entails nothing less than the total redesign of our culture. What follows is not an attempt to predict what will be done - only what could be done. The responsibility for our future is in our hands, and depends on the decisions that we make today. The greatest resource that is available today is our own ingenuity.

While social reformers and think tanks formulate strategies that treat only superficial symptoms, without touching the basic social operation, The Venus Project approaches these problems somewhat differently. We feel we cannot eliminate these problems within the framework of the present political and monetary establishment. It would take too many years to accomplish any significant change. Most likely they would be watered down and thinned out to such an extent that the changes would be indistinguishable

The Venus Project advocates an alternative vision for a sustainable new world civilization unlike any social system that has gone before. Although this description is highly condensed, it is based upon years of study and experimental research by many, many people from many scientific disciplines.

The Venus Project proposes a fresh approach--one that is dedicated to human and environmental concerns. It is an attainable vision of a bright and better future, one that is appropriate to the times in which we live, and both practical and feasible for a positive future for all the world's people.

The Venus Project calls for a straightforward approach to the redesign of a culture, in which the age-old inadequacies of war, poverty, hunger, debt, environmental degradation and unnecessary human suffering are viewed not only as avoidable, but totally unacceptable.

One of the basic premises of The Venus Project is that we work towards having all of the Earth's resources as the common heritage of all the world's people. Anything less will simply result in a continuation of the same catalog of problems inherent in the present system.

Throughout history, change has been slow. Successive groups of incompetent leaders have replaced those that preceded them, but the underlying social and economic problems remain because the basic value systems have gone unaltered. The problems we are faced with today cannot be solved politically or financially because they are highly technical in nature. There may not even be enough money available to pay for the required changes, but there are more than enough resources. This is why The Venus Project advocates the transition from a monetary-based society to the eventual realization of a resource-based global economy.

We realize to make the transition from our present culture, which is politically incompetent, scarcity-oriented and obsolete, to this new, more humane society will require a quantum leap in both thought and action.

An Obsolete Monetary System

The money-based system evolved centuries ago. All of the world's economic systems - socialism, communism, fascism, and even the vaunted free enterprise system - perpetuate social stratification, elitism, nationalism, and racism, primarily based on economic disparity. As long as a social system uses money or barter, people and nations will seek to maintain the economic competitive edge or, if they cannot do so by means of commerce they will by military intervention. We still utilize these same outmoded methods.

Our current monetary system is not capable of providing a high standard of living for everyone, nor can it ensure the protection of the environment because the major motive is profit. Strategies such as downsizing and toxic dumping increase the profit margin. With the advent of automation, cybernation, artificial intelligence and out sourcing, there will be an ever-increasing replacement of people by machines. As a result, fewer people will be able to purchase goods and services even though our capability to produce an abundance will continue to exist.

Our present, outmoded political and economic systems are unable to apply the real benefits of today's innovative technology to achieve the greatest good for all people, and to overcome the inequities imposed upon so many. Our technology is racing forward yet our social designs have remained relatively static. In other words cultural change has not kept pace with technological change. We now have the means to produce goods and services in abundance for everyone.

Unfortunately, today science and technology have been diverted from achieving the greatest good for reasons of self-interest and monetary gain through planned obsolescence sometimes referred to as the conscious withdrawal of efficiency. For example, the U. S. Department of Agriculture, whose function is presumed to be conducting research into ways of achieving higher crop yields per acre, actually pays farmers not to produce at full-capacity. The monetary system tends to hold back the application of these methods that we know would best serve the interests of people and the environment.

In a monetary system purchasing power is not related to our capacity to produce goods and services. For example, during a depression, there are computers and DVD's on store shelves and automobiles in car lots, but most people do not have the purchasing power to buy them. The earth is still the same place; it is just the rules of the game that are obsolete and create strife, deprivation and unnecessary human suffering.

A monetary system developed years ago as a device to control human behavior in an environment with limited resources. Today money is used to regulate the economy not for the benefit of the general populace, but for those who control the financial wealth of nations.

Resource Based Economy

All social systems, regardless of political philosophy, religious beliefs, or social customs, ultimately depend upon natural resources, i.e. clean air and water, arable land and the necessary technology and personnel to maintain a high standard of living.

Simply stated, a Resource-Based Economy utilizes existing resources rather than money and provides an equitable method of distributing these resources in the most efficient manner for the entire population. It is a system in which all goods and services are available without the use of money, credits, barter, or any other form of debt or servitude.

Earth is abundant with plentiful resources; today our practice of rationing resources through monetary methods is irrelevant and counter productive to our survival. Modern society has access to highly advanced technologies and can make available food, clothing, housing, medical care, a relevant educational system, and develop a limitless supply of renewable, non-contaminating energy such as geothermal, solar, wind, tidal, etc. It is now possible to have everyone enjoy a very high standard of living with all of the amenities that a prosperous civilization can provide. This can be accomplished through the intelligent and humane application of science and technology.

A Resource-Based Economy would make it possible to use technology to overcome scarce resources by applying renewable sources of energy, computerizing and automating manufacturing and inventory, designing safe energy-efficient cities and advanced transportation systems, providing universal health care and more relevant education, and most of all by generating a new incentive system based on human and environmental concern.

Many people believe that there is too much technology in the world today, and that technology is the major cause of our environmental pollution. This is not the case. It is the abuse and misuse of technology that should be our major concern. In a more humane civilization, instead of machines displacing people they would shorten the workday, increase the availability of goods and services, and lengthen vacation time. If we utilize new technology to raise the standard of living for all people, then the infusion of machine technology would no longer be a threat.

To better understand the meaning of a Resource Based Economy consider this: if all the money in the world were destroyed, as long as topsoil, factories, and other resources were left intact, we could build anything we choose to build and fulfill any human need. It is not money that people need; rather, it is free access to the necessities of life. In a Resource Based Economy, money would be irrelevant. All that would be required are the resources and the manufacturing and distribution of the products.

When education and resources are made available to all people without a price tag, there would be no limit to the human potential. Although this is difficult to imagine, even the wealthiest person today would be far better off in a resource based society as proposed by The Venus Project. Today the middle classes live better than kings of times past. In a Resource Based Economy everyone would live better than the wealthiest of today.

In such a society, the measure of success would be based on the fulfillment of one's individual pursuits rather than the acquisition of wealth, property and power.

The Choice Is Ours To Make

Human behavior is subject to the same laws as any other natural phenomenon. Our customs, behaviors, and values are byproducts of our culture. No one is born with greed, prejudice, bigotry, patriotism and hatred; these are all learned behavior patterns. If the environment is unaltered, similar behavior will reoccur.

Today, much of the technology needed to bring about a global Resource-Based Economy exists. If we choose to conform to the limitations of our present monetary-based economy, then it is likely that we will continue to live with its inevitable results: war, poverty, hunger, deprivation, crime, ignorance, stress, fear, and inequity. On the other hand, if we embrace the concept of a global Resource Based Economy, learn more about it, and share our understanding with our friends, this will help humanity evolve out of its present state.

The only limitations are those we impose upon ourselves. The Venus Project is neither utopian nor Orwellian, nor does it reflect the dreams of impractical idealists. Instead, it presents attainable goals requiring only the intelligent application of what we already know.

A Resource-Based Economy is a system in which all goods and services are available without the use of money, credits, barter or any other system of debt or servitude. All resources become the common heritage of all of the inhabitants, not just a select few. The premise upon which this system is based is that the Earth is abundant with plentiful resource; our practice of rationing resources through monetary methods is irrelevant and counter productive to our survival.

Modern society has access to highly advanced technology and can make available food, clothing, housing and medical care; update our educational system; and develop a limitless supply of renewable, non-contaminating energy. By supplying an efficiently designed economy, everyone can enjoy a very high standard of living with all of the amenities of a high technological society.

A resource-based economy would utilize existing resources from the land and sea, physical equipment, industrial plants, etc. to enhance the lives of the total population. In an economy based on resources rather than money, we could easily produce all of the necessities of life and provide a high standard of living for all.

Consider the following examples: At the beginning of World War II the US had a mere 600 or so first-class fighting aircraft. We rapidly overcame this short supply by turning out more than 90,000 planes a year. The question at the start of World War II was: Do we have enough funds to produce the required implements of war? The answer was No, we did not have enough money, nor did we have enough gold; but we did have more than enough resources. It was the available resources that enabled the US to achieve the high production and efficiency required to win the war. Unfortunately this is only considered in times of war.

In a resource-based economy all of the world's resources are held as the common heritage of all of Earth's people, thus eventually outgrowing the need for the artificial boundaries that separate people. This is the unifying imperative.

We must emphasize that this approach to global governance has nothing whatever in common with the present aims of an elite to form a world government with themselves and large corporations at the helm, and the vast majority of the world's population subservient to them. Our vision of globalization empowers each and every person on the planet to be the best they can be, not to live in abject subjugation to a corporate governing body.

Our proposals would not only add to the well being of people, but they would also provide the necessary information that would enable them to participate in any area of their competence. The measure of success would be based on the fulfillment of one's individual pursuits rather than the acquisition of wealth, property and power.

At present, we have enough material resources to provide a very high standard of living for all of Earth's inhabitants. Only when population exceeds the carrying capacity of the land do many problems such as greed, crime and violence emerge. By overcoming scarcity, most of the crimes and even the prisons of today's society would no longer be necessary.

A resource-based world economy would also involve all-out efforts to develop new, clean, and renewable sources of energy: geothermal; controlled fusion; solar; photovoltaic; wind, wave, and tidal power; and even fuel from the oceans. We would eventually be able to have energy in unlimited quantity that could propel civilization for thousands of years. A resource-based economy must also be committed to the redesign of our cities, transportation systems, and industrial plants, allowing them to be energy efficient, clean, and conveniently serve the needs of all people.

What else would a resource-based economy mean? Technology intelligently and efficiently applied, conserves energy, reduces waste, and provides more leisure time. With automated inventory on a global scale, we can maintain a balance between production and distribution. Only nutritious and healthy food would be available and planned obsolescence would be unnecessary and non-existent in a resource-based economy.

As we outgrow the need for professions based on the monetary system, for instance lawyers, bankers, insurance agents, marketing and advertising personnel, salespersons, and stockbrokers, a considerable amount of waste will be eliminated. Considerable amounts of energy would also be saved by eliminating the duplication of competitive products such as tools, eating utensils, pots, pans and vacuum cleaners. Choice is good. But instead of hundreds of different manufacturing plants and all the paperwork and personnel required to turn out similar products, only a few of the highest quality would be needed to serve the entire population. Our only shortage is the lack of creative thought and intelligence in ourselves and our elected leaders to solve these problems. The most valuable, untapped resource today is human ingenuity.

With the elimination of debt, the fear of losing one's job will no longer be a threat This assurance, combined with education on how to relate to one another in a much more meaningful way, could considerably reduce both mental and physical stress and leave us free to explore and develop our abilities.

If the thought of eliminating money still troubles you, consider this: If a group of people with gold, diamonds and money were stranded on an island that had no resources such as food, clean air and water, their wealth would be irrelevant to their survival. It is only when resources are scarce that money can be used to control their distribution. One could not, for example, sell the air we breathe or water abundantly flowing down from a mountain stream. Although air and water are valuable, in abundance they cannot be sold.

Money is only important in a society when certain resources for survival must be rationed and the people accept money as an exchange medium for the scarce resources. Money is a social convention, an agreement if you will. It is neither a natural resource nor does it represent one. It is not necessary for survival unless we have been conditioned to accept it as such.

The Venus Project recommends that the present state and aims of architecture be redefined to fit the evolving needs of individuals in this new, emergent culture.

The architecture and individual dwellings of future cities will evolve on an entirely different basis from today's houses. With the intelligent application of humane technologies, we will be able to provide and allow for a wide array of unique individual homes. Their structural elements will be flexible and coherently arranged to best serve individual preference. These pre-fabricated, modular homes, embodying a high degree of flexibility inconceivable in times past, could be built anyplace one might imagine, amidst forests, atop mountains, or on remote islands.

All of these dwellings can be designed as self-contained residences with their own thermal generators and heat concentrators. Photovoltaic arrays would be built into the skin of the building and into the windows themselves. "Thermopanes" would be used to tint out the bright sunlight by variable patterns of shading. All these features could be selected by the occupant to supply more than enough of the energy required to operate the entire household.

Homes could be prefabricated of a new type of pre-stressed, reinforced concrete with a flexible ceramic external coating that would be relatively maintenance free, fireproof, and impervious to the weather. Their thin shell construction can be mass-produced in a matter of hours. With this type of construction, there would be minimal damage from earthquakes and hurricanes.

Various segments of the passenger compartments on these high-speed maglev trains can be removed as the train passes through the station. These removable sections can then take passengers to their local destinations while other compartments are lowered in their place. This method allows the main body of the train to remain in motion, thus conserving energy. In addition, the removable multi-functional compartments could be specially equipped to serve most transportation purposes.

Since military aircraft will be unnecessary in the future, emphasis can be shifted to advancing medical, emergency, service, and transportation vehicles. Here is an example of VTOL (Vertical Take-off and Landing) aircraft with three synchronous turbines, which allow for exceptional maneuverability. These delta-configuration aircraft can be controlled by electrodynamic means eliminating the need for ailerons, elevators, rudders, spoilers, flaps or any other mechanical controls. In addition to providing better maneuverability and aerodynamic qualities, this innovative technology will also serve as an anti-icing system. In the event of an emergency landing fuel will be ejected to prevent fires.

These Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft are designed to lift passengers and freight by the use of ring-vortex air columns. The helicopter in the foreground has a stationary center around which the rotors are propelled by engines at their tips. VTOL aircraft will be propelled by a variety of techniques, from ducted fans to vectored jets. They will be designed to combine the most desirable attributes of fixed winged aircraft, helicopters, and flying platforms. Transcontinental travel will be achieved through advanced aircraft and high-speed mag-lev trains, all integrated in a worldwide transportation system.

Streamlined cars will provide high-speed, energy efficient, and safe long-range transportation. Some vehicles will have wheels, while others will eventually be equipped with magnetic levitation or air- flotation capabilities. Most vehicles will be equipped with voice-recognition technology that will allow the passengers to program their destination by voice command. Self-monitoring systems will tell the vehicles when service is required, and they will be able to transport themselves to service and maintenance facilities. Use of clean, non-polluting electrical energy allows for silent vehicle operation, while proximity-sensor devices linked to automated velocity and breaking systems enhance safety by enabling the vehicles to avoid collisions. As a secondary safety measure, the entire interior will be equipped with ergonomically designed air bag systems. Within the cities, horizontal, vertical, radial, and circular conveyors will serve most transportation needs.

This modular freighter leaving a city in the sea consists of floating, detachable sections that can be rapidly loaded or unloaded. The number of sections can be varied depending on the amount of freight to be delivered. When all of the modules are connected, they can be propelled as a single unit. Then, when the freight arrives at its destination, the selected modules can be disconnected and towed to docks.

Seacraft will be available for recreation exploration and other submersible activities. Their hydrodynamic designs will permit high speed, safe and energy efficient travel. They will provide maximum comfort for the passengers. Their internal construction will include flotation chambers, which will render them practically unsinkable. They can be self -maintained and fully automated.

The central dome of this airport of the future would contain air terminals, maintenance facilities, service centers, and hotels. The runways are arranged in a radial configuration, which allows airplanes to easily take off into the prevailing winds and to avoid dangerous crosswind landings. Emergency stations are located at the edge of the runways, which are fully equipped with built-in fire fighting equipment and emergency arresting gear. All of the runways will be equipped with built in sprinkler systems in case of emergency. Passengers will be transported to and from the airport by underground conveyors. Many of the terminals themselves will eventually be constructed underground.

As refinements in conversion technologies increase its feasibility, geothermal energy will come to take on a more prominent role. Readily available in various geographical regions throughout the world, both on land and under the sea, this energy source alone could provide enough clean energy for the next thousand years.

These underwater structures are designed to convert a portion of the flow of the Gulf Stream through turbines to generate clean electric power. These slow rotating turbines would have a centrifugal separator and deflectors to prevent harm to marine life.

A land bridge or tunnel might be constructed across the Bering Strait. The primary function of this span would be to generate electrical power and house facilities for collecting and processing marine products. Beneath and above the ocean surface would be tunnels for the transport of both passengers and freight. Not only could this structure provide a physical link between Asia and North America, it could also serve as an avenue for social and cultural exchange. This land bridge would perhaps serve as a base for the development of clean fusion power. Pipelines to conduct fresh water from melting icebergs to other parts of the world may also be incorporated.

The machine in the foreground is a multi-function unit. Here, it is used to lift and insert prefabricated housing components into a support structure. Although these "prefab" units will be composed of standard components, they will be of a modular design of such a wide and diverse array as to allow maximum individual expression in interior design and décor.

The construction of these industrial and research complexes in the Circular City can be carried out by robotic equipment that will receive instructions via satellite. Automated cranes travel along the buildings' length installing floors, windows, curtain walls, roofing, and other components from the ground up. These devices will contain sensors to minimize industrial accidents or collisions with other devices or living beings.

This scene depicts a laser excavator of the future. Such devices, which could be directed via satellite, would be capable of fusing the earth beneath it into a molten magma-like material. This machine would be able to change its shape to conform to a wide range of contours such as canals, roads, and waterways.

These "multi access industrial robots" will utilize vast information resources, which will enable them to received commands via satellite up-link or on-site. They can also be designed to take appropriate actions in the absence of human directives by combining an array of sensors and receivers with sophisticated decision making abilities. They will be capable of handling a wide range of industrial production tasks, and will be able to upgrade their level of service and replace defective or worn parts. These mega robots will communicate with one another to coordinate delivery of the required materials for each project.

It would be far easier and would require less energy to build new, efficient cities than to attempt to update and solve the problems of the old ones. The Venus Project proposes a city that would use the most sophisticated available resources and construction techniques. Its geometrically elegant and efficient circular arrangement will be surrounded by, and incorporated into the city design, parks and lovely gardens. The city will be designed to operate with the minimum expenditure of energy using the cleanest technology available, which will be in harmony with nature to obtain the highest possible standard of living for everyone. The Venus Project's Circular City arrangement is comprised of the following:

1. The central dome or theme center will house the core of the cybernated system, educational facilities, access center, computerized communications networking systems, health and child care facilities.

2. The buildings surrounding the central dome provide the community with centers for cultural activities such as the arts, theater, exhibitions, concerts, and various forms of entertainment.

3. The residential units, apartments and the design centers are beautifully landscaped in natural surroundings, adjacent to dining and other amenities.

4. Areas are set aside for renewable clean sources of energy such as wind generators, solar, heat concentrating systems, geothermal, photovoltaic and others.

5. The agricultural belt, with many transparent enclosed buildings, will be used to grow a wide variety of organic plants without the use of pesticides.

6. A circular waterway for irrigation and filtration surrounds the agricultural belt.

7. The outermost perimeter is utilized for recreational activities such as biking, golfing, hiking and riding, etc.

All the facilities are available to everyone without cost in a resource based economy. The sole purpose of this sophisticated technology is to free people from boring monotonous tasks, make available a much higher standard of living, and provide more leisure time.

With an opportunity for constant growth and achievement people could have the time and freedom to choose the lifestyle they find most fulfilling. The city is designed to serve the needs of every member of society.

We are fast approaching a time when human intelligence will be incapable of interacting with the rapidly occurring events in the physical world. The associative system of the human mind is far too simple to handle and put to practical use the voluminous information needed to operate a highly technical and advanced world society. The processing required would have to handle trillions of bits of information per second, far too complex for human systems to handle, particularly with the infusion of nanotechnology.

The Venus Project calls for a cybernated society in which computers could replace the outmoded system of electing politicians that in most cases represent the entrenched vested interests. This new technology will not dictate or monitor individual's lives, as in The Venus Project this would be consider socially offensive and counterproductive. Books such as 1984 and Brave New World, and motion pictures such as Blade-Runner and Terminator 2 have spawned fear in some people regarding the takeover of technology in our society. The Venus Project's only purpose is to elevate the spiritual and intellectual potential of all people, while at the same time providing the goods and services that will meet their individual and material needs.

Cybernation is the linking of computers with automated systems. Eventually the central cybernated systems will coordinate all of the machinery and equipment that serve the entire city, the nation and ultimately the world. One can think of this as an electronic autonomic nervous system extending into all areas of the social complex.

For example, in the agricultural belt the computers could automatically monitor and maintain the water table, soil chemistry, and coordinate the planting and harvesting of crops. In the residential sector, the system could maintain environmental cleanliness and the recycling of waste materials.

In addition, to ensure the efficient operation of the city's various functions, all of the processes and services could be equipped with electronic environmental feedback sensors. These sensors could be coordinated with redundant, back-up systems that could operate in the event of failure or breakdown of the city's primary systems.

Eventually, only when cybernation is integrated into all aspects of this new and dynamic culture can computers appropriately serve the needs of all people. No technological civilization can ever operate efficiently and effectively without the integration of cybernetics as an integral part of this new world civilization.

This cybernated complex will utilize advanced imaging technology to project a 3-D "virtual" image of the earth in real time. It will utilize satellite communication systems to provide information on the earth's weather conditions, oceanic currents, resource inventories, population, atmospheric conditions and more. All of this information will be available on demand to everyone.

These proposals, from an engineering standpoint, seem fantastic and unfeasible within the present monetary system; and they are. The sums involved in ventures of this magnitude would be too huge and inconceivable. No government today can possible afford this prodigious undertaking. All of this could only be accomplished in a resource-based world economy where all of the world's resources are held as the common heritage of all of the earth's peoples.

This University of Global Resource Management and Environmental Studies, or "world-university," is a testing ground for each phase of development. This would be a dynamic, continually evolving research institute open to all of society. Student performance would be based on "competence accreditation," and research findings would be periodically applied directly to the social structure to benefit all members of the world society.

People will live in these experimental cities and provide feedback on the livability and serviceability of the various structures. This information would be used to formulate modifications to structures so that maximum efficiency, comfort, and safety is assured. This facility is also used to develop modular construction systems and components that can be installed to serve a wide range of needs and preferences. In most instances, the external appearance of the buildings will reflect the function of the building - they are designed "from the inside out."

These skyscrapers would be constructed of reinforced and pre-stressed concrete, steel and glass. They will be stabilized against earthquakes and high winds by three massive, elongated, tapered columns. These support structures will surround the cylindrical central tower, which is 150 feet wide and almost a mile high. This tripod-like structure is reinforced to diminish compression, tension, and torsion stresses. These super-size skyscrapers will assure that more land will be available for parks and wilderness preserves, while concurrently helping to eliminate urban sprawl. Each one of these towers will be a total enclosure system containing a shopping center, as well as childcare, educational, health, and recreational facilities. This will help alleviate the need to travel to outside facilities.

If we do not maintain a balance between the population and the earth's carrying capacity we may have to move our cities not only skyward and seaward, but subterranean as well.

In-hospitable regions of the planet, such as polar and desert regions, cities below the surface of the earth would become an entirely comfortable home for many. Numerous elevators allow residents to enjoy skiing and other recreational activities on the surface. The primary source of power for these cities, where feasible, would be geo-thermal energy.

The Venus Project recommends that the present state and aims of architecture be redefined to fit the evolving needs of individuals in this new, emergent culture.

The architecture and individual dwellings of future cities will evolve on an entirely different basis from today's houses. With the intelligent application of humane technologies, we will be able to provide and allow for a wide array of unique individual homes. Their structural elements will be flexible and coherently arranged to best serve individual preference. These pre-fabricated, modular homes, embodying a high degree of flexibility inconceivable in times past, could be built anyplace one might imagine, amidst forests, atop mountains, or on remote islands.

All of these dwellings can be designed as self-contained residences with their own thermal generators and heat concentrators. Photovoltaic arrays would be built into the skin of the building and into the widows themselves. This enables the windows to shade the interiors. All these features could be selected by the occupant to supply more than enough of the energy required to operate the entire household.

Homes could be prefabricated of a new type of pre-stressed, reinforced concrete with a flexible ceramic external coating that would be relatively maintenance free, fireproof, and impervious to the weather. Their thin shell construction can be mass-produced in the shortest time possible. With this type of construction, there would be minimal damage from earthquakes and hurricanes.

A global system of these structures can easily accommodate many millions of people and relieve the land based population pressures. They can provide the inhabitants with information and serve as natural sea aquariums without artificially enclosing marine life.

Many of these cities may serve as oceanographic universities that maintain the ecological balance of marine systems. Other ocean cities will maintain sea farms that will cultivate many forms of marine life. They could also be used as a new resource for mining the relatively untapped resources of the oceans without disturbing its ecology. Still others may monitor and maintain environmental equilibrium and reclaim dangerous radioactive and other pollutant materials that have been dumped into the sea.

After construction, these structures can be towed to various locations where they would be most beneficial, then anchored to the ocean floor. Some structures will be towed in prefabricated segments and then joined together at selected locations. Their internal construction will include floatation chambers which will render them practically unsinkable. They can be self maintained and fully automated.

Offshore apartment buildings of concrete, steel, glass, titanium, and a wide variety of new synthetic materials could be built to relieve the population pressure in areas like Hong Kong, Tokyo, Los Angeles, and New York. The materials used in such projects would be engineered to withstand the corrosive effects of the harsh ocean environment.

This is a conceptual view of a mariculture and sea-farming system, which can be varied in configuration. Such systems would be used to cultivate and raise fish and other forms of marine life to help meet the nutritional needs of the world's people. Capable of cultivating a great variety of marine life, these structures would be equipped to permit the free flow of water throughout the system. They are designed to be a non-contaminating, integral part of the marine environment.

Eventually, with applied total design concepts and "mega- hydrological" projects, we could minimize the threat of floods and drought. These waterways would be an integrated part of a national flood control system that would hold back floodwaters, which could be released during periods of drought, and be used to maintain the water table. It could also be used for irrigation, shipping passengers and bulk freight; and the water storage basins could be used for recreation as well. In many instances, the waterway would be used as evaporative desalinization.

The Venus Project presents a bold, new direction for humanity that entails nothing less than the total redesign of our culture. There are many people today who are concerned with the serious problems that face our modern society: unemployment, violent crime, replacement of humans by technology, over-population and a decline in the Earth's ecosystems. As you will see, The Venus Project is dedicated to confronting all of these problems by actively engaging in the research, development, and application of workable solutions. Through the use of innovative approaches to social awareness, educational incentives, and the consistent application of the best that science and technology can offer directly to the social system, The Venus Project offers a comprehensive plan for social reclamation in which human beings, technology, and nature will be able to coexist in a long-term, sustainable state of dynamic equilibrium.

Jacque Fresco concisely dissects the causes of social dilemmas, and gives workable alternatives to militarism, poverty, hunger, politics and commercialism. "It is not ethical people we need in government, but the intelligent management of Earth's resources." This book explains and shows a future where goods and services are available to all surpassing the need for war and politics. It includes pictures of Fresco's original designs depicting this sustainable social direction.

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