Space Environments Ecovillage/Preface

The First Millennial Foundation (FMF) is a nonprofit organization based on the book The Millennial Project: Colonizing the Galaxy in Eight Easy Steps by Marshall Savage. Although the perspective of the book and the ultimate goals of the FMF are very long-range and visionary, the near-term plans are quite down to Earth. In the next couple of decades, the FMF plans to work the engineering kinks out of two key technologies, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) and mariculture (ocean fish-farming). These will provide boundless, nonpolluting energy and abundant, nutritious food from untapped, renewable resources. The plan is to develop these within a new-age economic and social context that will empower humanity to salvage the distressed ecosystems of the Earth and lay a proper, strong groundwork for exploration and colonization of space.

The FMF has elaborate, high-principled-but practical plans, hopes, and dreams. These have been carefully researched and chronicled by our founder, Marshall Savage. Although there is much work to be done and many details to be worked out, he has laid the foundation for our efforts. I urge you to get hold of a copy of The Millennial Project and to read it. I also urge you, then, to join our worthy effort-to become a member of the FMF and pitch in to begin to make the FMF's plans, hopes, and dreams into reality.

Among the earliest efforts of the FMF is establishing a Space Environments Ecovillage, SEE, the "land-based colony" introduced in this book. Perhaps SEE provides the way you personally can best contribute to the FMF and to building a healthy, happy future for all of our descendants.

Richard Crews, M.D. Executive Director, The First Millennial Foundation