ADVANCEMENT OF MARINE SCIENCES 35 



If we are unfortunate to have to wage war in the next few 

 years, the inner space of the ocean will be, without question, 

 a more iinportant battlefield than outer space. The better 

 acquainted we are with this field, the better chance we have 

 for survival. 



If we are fortunate enough to live in peace, the same knowl- 

 edge will lead to a greater abundance of things for living. 

 What we need to do to investigate the sea can be done for a 

 yearly cost which is a small fraction of what we now spend 

 on space. 



Dr. J. E. Lipp, corporate director for development planning, Lock- 

 heed Aircraft Corp., stated in a letter to the committee: 



The proposed bill, S. 901, is a major step in declaring 

 national goals in marine science, as well as erecting the 

 program and finances necessary to achieve these objectives. 

 In our opinion, every effort should be made in this session 

 Congress to pass the bill, and to follow it with any steps 

 necessary to place the program in effect. Further, we be- 

 lieve that public opinion will approve such a move as being 

 in the interest of national welfare and securit}'. 



From another important coastal area of the Nation came the 

 impressive comment of James E. Noblin, Jr., dhector of economic 

 research for the Mississippi Industrial and Technological Commis- 

 sion, who regretted his inability^ to testify at hearings on S. 901 in 

 person. Restated: 



Through research we expect vaccines for measles and the 

 common cold in 1961; greatly improved fuel cells and solar 

 cells; stronger, harder, and tougher plastics; discovery of the 

 103d element; launching of the first nuclear-powered mer- 

 chant cargo vessel; * * * dehydration of foods through 

 freezer drying; greater understanding of the effects of radia- 

 tion on life processes and of the cause of cancer; ultra-high- 

 speed computer transistors and diodes — to name a few. And 

 in outer space, we look for manned orbital flight; an un- 

 manned soft landing on the moon; firing of the Centaur 

 and Saturn superrockets ; orbiting of a communications 

 satellite and perfecting of photo and heat detector recon- 

 naissance satellites. 



But what do we expect in 1961 from research on inner 

 space, i.e., our oceans — a few more ocean cruises; maybe a 

 new addition to a particular phylum; some new theories but 

 not many solutions to current problems or developments of 

 a nature relative to other fields of endeavor. 



Wliy this lack of progress in a field so vital to our national 

 defense and our mutual welfare? All of the basic reasons 

 revert back to lack of adequate fuiancial support in the past. 

 S. 901 attempts to attack this problem by allocating approxi- 

 mately $65 million annually for a coordinated 10-year pro- 

 gram of expanded ocean, estuarine, and Great Lakes research. 

 This vitally needed appropriation would represent only 0.8 

 percent of the Federal Government's total research and de- 

 velopment expenditm-es for 1961. 



