This is our unique opportunity. Gathering the knowledge of all that has been, preserving, protecting and honoring that which we do not yet understand equally with what we hold most dear. Our world is a treasure of riches invisible except to the eyes of future generations.  We cannot judge what is expendable. Preservation of nature's multi-billion year-old legacy must be an unimpeachable requirement of our civilization's long-term planning.

If we are to successfully overcome the obstacles imposed by expanding populations and economies, our commitment to public education and to understanding our role in nature must be greatly strengthened.

The MetaAmerica Project offers a clear step in this direction. It is a macro-development project embracing a broad range of social and technical systems designed to complement each another and forge an environmentally sustainable society.

Systems that work in harmony with the environment are needed for all areas of the world. Currently though, most development systems depend on finite resources that limit their futures and create uncertainty and disincentives for long-term investment.  A development system that overcomes these barriers will stimulate worldwide interest.  This system should be regarded as a prototype that can be replicated in similar bioregions around the world.

A Organization of Interested Citizens

The initial step is organizing people and information and to identify and accomplish the tasks required to move  the Project forward.

A Treaty will be Required

The first official action must be an Agreement between the US and Mexico that enables the System to proceed. Such an agreement will need to delineate the rights and responsibilities of each nation. In theory it would overlay a new Special Development District encompassing the lands that surround the Sea of Cortez. Officers and administrators from each impacted agency would be drafted into the new District's service and charged with enabling the Purposes of the Special Development District. In practice this would occur as a cascade of legislation descending from national to state to county to city. The process of achieving a national agreement will by necessity involve all of these entities in the discussions.

Funding

The MetaAmerica Project can raise money by seeking sponsorships from nations who want to participate in the research bonanza created by the successful development of the Northern Gulf of California.

National sponsorship will be required before the country's business and education communities can join the Research Consortia.  Business opportunities will abound as rights to employ the technologies in different regions are facilitated by the training of technologists from those areas as part of their Consortia participation.

A forty year planning cycle provides ample opportunity to invest in new systems without economic hardship. This time frame is more easily understood as the duration of a bonding authority to sell development bonds with twenty-year maturities.

First Investments

The scope of this project requires movement of epic proportions. National and International bureaucracies are involved and the time frame for decisions is extended since they require ample reporting from local entities impacted by the project before they will act. For this reason the first efforts will need to be focused on parts of the project that can be accomplished more independently.

Utilizing only the southern tip of the Isla Angel de la Guarda it will be possible to create Center for Research with the participation of higher education and corporate research departments and complemented by a full program promoting ecotourism to the site. A small port located on east side of the island can be used by the first Coastal Carrier to transport people and equipment to and from the site.

The Coastal Carrier system can be built without significant shore facilities in place. Its extensive onboard facilities and hovercraft coastal access enable it to support development at its earliest stages. Early revenues can be generated by promoting it as a means to easily get from the Mexican coast to Baja and as a destination for Ecotourism.  Advanced design utilizing electric power supplied by fuel cells will make the Carriers environmentally friendly to gulf waters and provide a market of hydrogen generated by the OTEC.

The OTECortez' production of energy, aqua culture and desalinated water are the magnets for revenues based on ecotourism, education, and commercial research. The OTEC project can be promoted as a showcase for Sustainable Technology to be developed through the combined efforts of Mexican and US interests to include:

• US and Mexican Universities
• US and Mexican Federal Research Agencies
• Commercial Research from International Business

OTECortez is the  engine that can power the economic growth of the northern Gulf of California region. The unique challenges of its placement and construction can be turned into assets to attract the interest and financial participation of nations, educational institutions, international non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations.

The MetaAmerica Project is a long-term effort to prototype a sustainable development strategy that can be emulated in other regions of the world. The five projects identified here represent a ambitious, but probably minimum, list of what it will take to make such an initiative successful.

Not mentioned are all the innovations in administrative procedure and international law needed to enable an international project of this scope. It is obvious from the efforts in Europe that programs of this type are needed in order for North and South America to continue to evolve commercial and cultural relationships competitive with the European Union. The MetaAmerica Project is an opportunity to compete.

ABOUT THIS WEB SITE: The MetaAmerica Project web site is an ongoing effort to facilitate discussion about the long term potential of the US/Mexico and Arizona/Sonora economic development relationship. Planned additions to this site include discussion groups and consortia pages. The idea of consortia is rooted in the economic opportunity inherent in the investment required to develop the region, and the many significant technologies needed to do it.