When Will We Start Caring About Our Oceans?

When Congress takes the time to create an U.S. Commission and we spend millions for commissioners to hold hearings and publish a massive report detailing a crisis, you might expect us to pay attention to the results. Sadly, though the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy’s final report calling for immediate action came out in 2004, and though the ocean is fundamentally linked to billions in American economic activity, Congress has paid little attention. We might have learned to see the forest for the trees, but have yet to see the ocean for the waves.The U.S. Commission’s report isn’t the only one – the last few years have seen a Pew Oceans Commission report, Dr. Sylvia Earle’s “Defying Oceans End” report, and several Joint Ocean Commission Initiative reports. How many more reports do we need? How many times will we write and re-write the same information before we start taking meaningful and effective action to protect and restore our world ocean?This morning, the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative released yet another well-crafted report about priorities for our oceans. Today’s report was a direct response to a request from a bipartisan group of 10 Senators for information about improving coastal and oceans management. I am very pleased to see these Senators taking a step toward a more proactive oceans agenda and hope that together we can turn the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative’s priorities into legislative realities. It’s time to stop reading reports and start taking action.

Read the report here: http://www.jointoceancommission.org/press/press/release0613.html