188 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 



section by section. The Department of Commerce has already com- 

 mented to the committee by letter on each of these bills, and I think it 

 will be more fruitful for the committee if I simply discuss the salient 

 principles that should govern programs in the area of oceanography. 



A large number of bills relating to oceanography have been intro- 

 duced in the present session of Congress, and I think this fact in and 

 of itself is important. In my view, this spate of bills reflects three 

 important concerns. 



The first is an awareness of the importance of the oceans to man. 

 The oceans cover about 70 percent of the globe's surface. They pro- 

 vide major transportation routes. They help shape our coastlines. 

 They help determine the world's weather. They contain vast food 

 resources, rich in protein, which will become increasingly important 

 as the world's population expands. They are rich in minerals, most 

 of them untapped. They contain a tremendous store of energy and 

 may play a vital role in filling our power needs. And, one day — 

 through nuclear desalination — ^they may provide the answer to the 

 serious problem of the growing scarcity of fresh water. 



The second concern is with the state of our knowledge of the oceans. 

 Frankly, our present knowledge is very limited. We know very little 

 about ocean currents and ocean waves. Our ability to predict ocean 

 surface conditions, ocean temperatures, and ocean salinity is not very 

 far advanced. Our ability to predict the magnitude of seismic sea 

 waves must be improved. We need to know more about the ocean 

 floor — how it was formed, how old it is, and how stable it is — and 

 about its subsoil. And there is much yet to be learned about marine 

 biology and the mineral resources of the oceans. 



I think the third concern that lies behind all these bills is the view 

 that the Federal Government is not doing all that it should to probe 

 the secrets of the oceans, to improve navigation on the high seas, to 

 deal with the pollution of our harbors and estuaries and with the 

 erosion of our coastal shorelines, to extract the riches of the oceans, 

 and to harness their power. In short, there is a feeling that the Federal 

 effort in oceanography is too little. There is also a feeling that the 

 Federal effort in oceanography is fragmented among too many depart- 

 ments and agencies and that there is poor coordination among them. 



The bills now before this committee have responded to these con- 

 cerns in a number of ways. Most of them would create a special 

 council, committee or commission to develop a comprehensive plan of 

 Federal activities in oceanography. Some would go further and have 

 this group apportion responsibilities in oceanography among the var- 

 ious Federal departments and agencies, coordinate their activities, and 

 resolve their differences. Several bills would create new independent 

 agencies to carry out programs in oceanography. 



While the Department of Commerce agrees with the sponsors of 

 these bills that we must move ahead vigorously and imaginatively in 

 the area of oceanography, the Department has opposed all these bills 

 except H. R. 2218. 



I think that there must be increased attention to oceanography 

 within the executive branch and that there must be strengthened lead- 

 ership in those areas of oceanography that are presently not receiving 

 sufficient attention. Oceanography, of course, is not a single unitary 



