424 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 



generally, has its own practices which are simply not fully compatible with 

 civilian practices and attempts at reforming Navy practices to be compatible 

 in this manner are not practicable. Accordingly less and less of the Navy 

 funded ocean research results are available to the civilian sector of the economy. 



In order to get the civilian economy of the United States using the ocean at 

 any considerably improved rate of development substantial funding outlays 

 appear to be necessary from Government to reduce the economic risks of more 

 rapid ocean industry development and to provide added infoiination on economic 

 opportunity for such development. This requires not only additional discipline- 

 oriented (basic) ocean research, but much enhanced applied research, and even 

 much more funds yet for technological and engineering activity — the expensive 

 half of the normal governmental phrase "research and development." 



As a result of the changing budget practices noted above any large new funds 

 for ocean research development must be provided for in the civilian (nonbasic 

 and nonmilitary) segment of the budget. This must be oriented to concrete 

 statutory missions which are demonstrably capable of reasonably successful 

 issue. 



In the broad area of ocean activity useful to the civilian ocean industry, 

 between the discipline-oriented (basic) science mission of the National Science 

 Foundation and the applied military mission of the Navy, the organization of 

 the Government's ocean activity is so fragmented into small bureaus and offices 

 (or parts thereof) that the individual missions of the separate fragments are 

 too small to justify adequate sized budget items with which to carry out the 

 sort of programs that are needed for the whole civilian area of ocean research 

 and development. 



Accordingly, what is needed is some further coalescing of the missions of 

 these fragments of the civilian center position, between basic science and applied 

 military science, so that large enough missions will result that programs of 

 adequate size to fill the civilian industry ocean research and development needs 

 can be justified in accordance with good budget practice. Presidential Reoi-ga- 

 nization Order No. 2 of last month was a good step in this direction. 



THE SIZE OF PROGRAMS REQUIRED TO RENDER THE OCEAN MORE USEFCL 



What we are aiming at is the conquest of a new environment sO' that industry 

 can be successfully established in it. This is not essentially different than the 

 establishment of industry in the new environment of the lower atmosphere, 

 which was accomplished in the last generation, or the establishment of a whole 

 new kind of industry and society in a new environment, as was done in the arid, 

 nonforested Great Plains area during the last century. It does not, on the 

 surface, seem to be as difficult, complex, or expensive as the attempt now going 

 on in the conquest of nearby space. It is, nevertheless, complex and will be 

 expensive. 



We want to modernize and make vigorous two old and somewhat ailing 

 industries — the merchant marine and the fisheries, which are loaded down with 

 institutional handicaps develoi^ed over the years. We want to increase the 

 development of one big, new industry in the ocean : petroleum and gas extraction. 

 We want to start out an almost brandnew industry in the ocean — mineral 

 extraction (first on the Continental Shelf and then on the deep sea bed). We 

 wish to markedly improve long-range weather forecasting- (not only air-weather 

 but also ocean- weather in the ocean) to aid these purposes and the whole of 

 the rest of the national economy, the national defense, and the national 

 diplomatic posture. We wish to accelerate the development of recreationnl 

 opportunities in the near shore environment, and aside from its social impli- 

 cations this is already a good sized industry and has a great scope for major 

 increase as an industry. We want to better the public health and welfare 

 aspects of the near shore environment (disposal of waste, elimination of trans- 

 mission of communicable disea'^e through the aquatic mediiim. etc.). We wish 

 to enhance our posture with the rest of the world by helping it with its protein 

 malnutxition problems, bv being able to transport our own goods in our own 

 bottoms, by the prestige of great accomplishments in ocean research and develop- 

 ment (as in space), and by transferring these skills to our allies in the develop- 

 ing world so that, in time, they can do these things in the ocean for themselves, 

 lastly (or perhaps, more properly, firstly) we seek from ocean research and 

 development better means of protecting ourselves and our friends from possible 

 enemies in this troubled worir. 



