Finally: A National Ocean Policy
Filed under: Action,News & Resources,Policy
Dr. Robert B. Gagosian
The United States is an ocean nation – our overall quality of life is dependant on the sea. Americans are intrinsically tied to the ocean, as we were founded by crossing the Atlantic and we pursued our manifest destiny to the Pacific. Every day, Americans depend on the ocean for commerce, transportation, recreation and national defense. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the wake of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico where lives and livelihoods; the health of the public and the environment; and the future of the Gulf’s industries, environment and communities are in question.
Because the ocean means so much to us in so many ways, it is a travesty that we have mismanaged its resources through a myriad of laws, policies, regulations and overlapping federal responsibilities. However, this week, President Obama took a long overdue step forward in addressing this mismanagement by Executive Order establishing a National Ocean Policy.
The Policy ensures the protection, maintenance, and restoration of the health of ocean, coastal, and Great Lake ecosystems and resources through a framework for policy coordination to improve stewardship. This call to marshal our resources, work through agency turf battles, and establish priority objectives is essential for addressing the growing threats to our ocean and coastal resources including pollution, sea-level rise, ocean acidification and the decline of fisheries.
The ocean is the engine of the climate system absorbing, storing and transporting the majority of the Earth’s heat, water and carbon. While we know the climate and our oceans are changing, we have very limited capacity to accurately forecast and reduce the risks and vulnerabilities of future ocean scenarios. Proper implementation of a National Ocean Policy will require significant new scientific investments to improve understanding of the ocean system, its interaction with the climate, and the sustainable use of marine resources.
President Barack Obama entered office promising to ‘restore science back to its rightful place’ and quickly placed prominent scientists such as John Holdren, Jane Lubchenco, Marcia McNutt and Steven Chu in influential positions throughout his Administration. Now, we must empower these scientists to lead this fight and provide the resources necessary to build the science capacity to unlock our understanding of how the ocean works through observation, experimentation and forecasting.
Changes in ocean currents, temperatures, salinity, and acidity are occurring at rates not seen in millions of years. The amount of oil that has been released into the Gulf of Mexico over the past three months is the equivalent of ten Exxon Valdez spills. The potential impacts on marine life, coastal ecosystems and ultimately on human society will be enormous. Scientific investment is essential to shine light on these effects and the uncertain future. I hope that Congress heeds this call and codifies the National Ocean Policy and makes the investments necessary to see it through. The future of many generations depends on it.
Dr. Robert B. Gagosian
President & CEO
Consortium for Ocean Leadership
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