A recent piece on CNN shares NASA satellite imagery indicating our shift to city–dwelling over time. Of course not-so-coincidental is that many of our major cities are on the world’s coasts, as they provide the hubs for commerce, and accessibility, and favorable climates.

Strikingly obvious is that the coast is where our migration has ended – at least for now. This is truly fascinating. In just a few short several thousand years we’ve gone from very primitive, to the onset of modern ‘advanced’ civilization, to 7 billion strong – for better or worse of course. From the global perspective, we have no choice, and it is likely our fateful evolutionary destiny, to take steps beyond our coastline with some permanence. After all, this is a BLUE Planet.

A novel way of considering this evolutionary path is to view our current pressures, innovative strategies, and societal models as a living and breathing experiment to identify what it will actually take to colonize the blue frontier. What are the best energy sources? What are the best social/living arrangements? What are the best sustainable food supplies? Can we maintain a clean atmosphere? Can we be neighborly? To what extent must we be off the grid versus on the grid? Should we be isolated and self-sustained, or engage in commerce?

There remain more questions than answers, and for the masses, it is obvious that ‘we’, as a civilization, are not quite ready – we’re still experimenting. However, making the frontier push by those bold few helps to keep it all in perspective. Each and every person that has ventured beneath the waves, even for just a brief visit, recounts the experience with tremendous excitement and curiosity. We are drawn to the sea, and the fruits of our ‘relentless spread’ – our new life – and our continued evolution and sustainability is indeed on the horizon.