Coaststead Workshop, Seasteading08
Background
Flipcharts
-
40 miles from San Francisco. (Outside US territory, inside EEZ).
-
Free Trade Zone - Businesses which profit from lower regulation, but won’t piss off the US.
-
Easier, but less freedom (legally & practically).

are votes for an idea. Participants were given 10 to distribute in each stage. If you have not yet voted, feel free to add up to 10

s on this doc.
Criteria
Here are the main criteria:
- Favorable legal environment - won't get us boarded by the US Coast Guard. Ideally, things that are legal in the US but highly regulated (medical care). Or, banned at the state level in CA, but legal in other states or in the past (marijuana, firearms, certain types of gambling).
- Profitable. Need high profit margins to pay the "ocean tax". And to leave enough consumer surplus that people are willing to take a 2 hour boat ride (possibly 30min seaplane/gyrocopter).
- Low "Repugnance". Won't piss off the general population. Ideally, regulations that everyone is against. In practice, we're surely going to piss off some people, let's just try to minimize it.
- Low utility requirements - Can't use tons of space, power, fresh water, high bandwidth...
- Better done on coaststead than a ship
Bonuses:
- Low capital requirements. (Makes it easier to start businesses, and it may be hard to get them funded.)
- Fun! Reinforce the idea that the nanny state is anti-fun, and makes for good PR.
- Low head count (living there may be expensive)
Themes/Industries
- Health Care
- Start Ups
- Proximity Based Businesses
- Isolation-Oriented Activities
- Retreat Location
- Allergy Free Zones
- Schools
- Medical schools & services
- Ocean Stuff
- Aquaculture
- Yacht services
- Space Launch
- Adoption agency / baby farm
- Sin City
- Nuclear Plants
- Gold Warehouse
- Educational Tourism
- Fight Club
- World Library
- Refugee Camps
- Fireworks
Business Ideas
(by category)
Aquaculture
-
Processing plant
-
Transport
-
Marina Hub
-
Fishing Fleet
-
Fleet
-
Fuel
-
Conira
-
PRO
-
Food sustainability
-
Improving ocean
-
absorbing CO2
-
food production
-
reducing pollution
-
Business model
-
Omaha steaks model (direct shipping seafood)
-




Wind / Wave power
-
Need
-
$ Investments
-
Growing cages
-
labour
-
nutrients
-
electricity
-
refrigeration
-
sweet water (desalination)
-
Tourism
-

Coral farm
-
Diving
-
Research & Education
-


Species
-
Shellfish
-
Pearls
-
lobster
-
oyster
-
shrimp
-
fish
-
Salmon
-
tuna
-
swordfish
-
sport fishing
-
Seaweeds
Education
-



No Visas (Students & teachers)
-
Mobility
-
Drug research
-
No taxes
-
Startup barrier lower
-
Less Gov't
-

Oceanography
-





World Library / Patents
-
Neat Environment / Educational Tourism
-
Conference Center
-
Stem Cell Research
Isolation
(People want you away from them (Not In My BackYard, Physical Externalities, Fear)
-
Psychological Externality
-
Mental Health
-

Prisons
-
Physical Externality
-
LOUD festivals / entertainment
-
Waste disposal (Incineration / reprocessing)
-





Spaceport
-

Dangerous Manufacturing (solid rocket propellant, chemicals, fireworks, semiconductors)
-

Pyrotechnics
-
Secure meetings / conferences (Should prob. go in "retreat" section - Patri)
Retreat 
Economic Freedom
-
Web Hosting
-

Online Gambling
-
Intellectual Property
-

Schools
-
New / High-risk business models
-
Health Care (has own category below)
-


Data/Document Storage
-


Contract-designated jurisdiction / Corporate Headquarters
-




Visa-Free Meeting Place
-




Banking
-
Floating Hedge Funds, etc.
-
Will this run into repugnance issues?
Healthcare 



-


Exotic Medicine & Research
-
Experimental Medicine
-

Human Augmentation
-



Human trials of new/banned drugs & procedures
-
Seasickness research center
-



Stem Cell (embryonic)
-





Cyborgs
-




Organ sales / transfer
-
Reproductive
-


Adoption
-
Abortion
-

Surrogacy
-
Genetic screening
-
Genetic Modification
-
Sex Changes
-

Cloning
-



Sperm/Egg selection (genetic engineering where you choose offspring by selecting specific sperm/eggs, rather than modifying them.)
-



Business models w/ better incentives
-
Patient pays only if treatment works
-
Robin Hanson's method of healthcare where you insure quality of life.
-

Gene Therapy
-
Isolation for recovery of immune-compromised people
Sin City 


-
Environment
-

Sharks / Sea Life
-
Mobile
-
Sea Recreation
-
Not so damn hot
-

No immigration restrictions
-
Lower regulation
-
Lower staff costs
-
Less legal risks
-
For tourists
-
For business owners
-
Anonymity Possible
-
Taxes
-
Avoid IRS reporting of gambling wins