David Fischbarg

The Long-Term Vision

Where I hope all of this can lead, starting here in Bethlehem.

I think we're at war with ourselves. To me, the mission is to bring humanity together and explore the universe.

Starting in Bethlehem

Bethlehem is where I am, and from here I'd like my projects to grow across Pennsylvania, then the Midwest and the rest of the country. I want them to help people enjoy life, waste less, share resources and find new opportunities. The idea is to start small: two street hockey rinks, a garden, a league, better public spaces and better ways to get around. Someday I'd also like community supply hubs where people can borrow tools, sports gear and school supplies, and skate parks that lend skate gear, if a host and donors want to help.

Where a project calls for it, I want to think big and build modern and natural: natural energy for every place (solar, wind and hydro, stored so none is wasted, through energy and logistics hubs), natural and reused materials, big parks with playgrounds, dog parks and farm-animal areas, and stadiums with room for future professional and minor-league teams. Pets would be welcome, local wildlife protected, and fruit and vegetables grown on site. Each project is settling on one area, and reuses or adapts what's already there when it can.

Every plan should make room for food and water, with nothing wasted: leftovers would be saved in shared fridges and freezers at food and water hubs. And wherever people gather, there should be clean, modern, accessible restrooms, starting with two planned public ones, one of them on the South Bethlehem Greenway. Getting around should be easy too: buses and a subway with comfortable stations and trains, and later shuttles to airports, seaports and space centers.

Then I want to turn what works into simple, reusable templates in Project OS, for things like gardens, leagues, transit, homes, community care and research. Another town, campus or city could then adapt them to its own people, rules and culture. If that works, these ideas could eventually help communities around the world. I also want every project to be easy to pass on, so others can run it without me.

Beyond Bethlehem, the first step is sharing the software and templates. Anything physical should only be built where it's really needed and nothing already there can do the job. It would also need permission to use the land, permits, funding, licensed professionals, the community's input and a plan to clean up after ourselves. Airports, seaports and highways belong to the people who run them. At most, we'd suggest ideas and help coordinate.

The Bethlehem-area places on this page are real plans, but none is funded or built yet. I don't expect to do any of it alone. I'd like every project to have a role for anyone who wants to help, including people looking for a second chance or a new career. Volunteer shifts would be short, two hours at most, and outdoors where possible.

Bethlehem Vision: a one-page overview with a PDF

How far along each part is

Some of this exists today. Most of it doesn't yet. Here's an honest split.

Unless a project says otherwise: Planning phase. An independent plan; nothing is funded or built yet.

  1. Existing projects

    Things I'm already building and testing.

    • Aethon and Aethon IntelligenceIn developmentBeing built. Not launched yet.
    • Lehigh LeaguesIn developmentThe first season depends on things not confirmed yet, like policies, facilities and university agreements. Not an official project of, or endorsed by, Lehigh University.
    • Project OSIn developmentBeing built and tested. Not launched yet.
    • Sports OSIn developmentNot available to other leagues yet.
    • My YouTube channelIn developmentJust getting started.

  2. Planning phase

    Being planned now.

  3. Long-term ideas

    Bigger plans for the years ahead. They'll take time.

  4. Distant ambitions

    These are lifelong hopes, not projects. No one builds them alone. They'd take many people working together, probably over generations, and I want to be one of them.

    Each one is labeled by how close it is to reality today.

    • Transportation that connects neighborhoods, cities, airports, seaports and licensed spaceportsPlausible long-term development
    • Research stations on the MoonExperimental research
    • Manufacturing, solar power stations and resource logistics in orbitExperimental research
    • Recycling, energy storage, resource management and transportation systems for habitats beyond EarthExperimental research
    • Sustainable bases on Mars or other suitable placesHighly speculative
    • Scientific exploration of other star systems, starting with robotic missionsHighly speculative

Every project, with its details

The ocean, and maybe someday beyond Earth

I'm curious about the ocean. So much of the seafloor still hasn't been mapped in detail, and there's a lot down there nobody has seen.

That's a big part of why I'm working on Aethon, ocean exploration software. Here in Bethlehem, Aethon would be the data and mapping partner for the planned Ocean Discovery Center.

Someday, I hope what people learn in the deep ocean and other extreme places on Earth could help us explore other worlds, like the icy moons scientists think may have oceans under their ice. That would take many organizations, a lot of research and probably decades.

Aethon on my Projects pageAethon's website

But the heart of it stays simple: enjoy being alive, be kind, help others, protect the planet, clean up after ourselves, waste less and share what we know. I hope it all makes life a little simpler and gives people more freedom to enjoy living, learning, creating and exploring.

Someday I hope money matters much less, and what counts is people and the work we do together. That's what Project OS is for: its aim is to open millions of ways for people everywhere to take part, starting in Bethlehem.

If you want to help, or you see any of this differently, I'd like to hear from you.

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