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tier to explore. It lias a history and structure that have come down 

 from the past. It embodies a vast' array of interests, of investments 

 and technical activities on the part of industry. It engages the con- 

 cern of universities, research institutes, and a multitude of agencies 

 of government — Federal, State, and local . 



As to how the Commission goes about its work, I point out first tliat 

 it is noAv nearly 10 years since reports by the President's Science Ad- 

 visory Committee and the National Academy of Sciences focused at- 

 tention upon the vital import of our underdeveloped marine resources. 



Over the intervening decade further reports, studies, and opinions 

 have poured forth in profusion, many representing the experience, 

 the careful thought, and the best judgment of the outstanding ex- 

 perts of the country. Federal agencies and private institutions have 

 contributed. The U.S. Navy, the Interagency Committee on Oceanog- 

 raphy, as well as the President's Science Advisory Committee and 

 the National Academy of Sciences, have taken an active part. The 

 Ocean Science and Technology Advisory Committee of the National 

 Security Industrial Association, the Marine Technology Society, and 

 the new National Academy of Engineering, among others, are activelj^ 

 engaged in significant studies ; and since its establishment 1 year ago, 

 the National Council has initiated through contracts a number of 

 additional projects. 



This was the state of affairs when the Commission began its work 

 this past spring. We enter not into a fresh, untouched field, but one 

 that has been rather thoroughly worked over. Our subject is enormous- 

 ly complex and marked by an extraordinary diversity of views and 

 opinions. On one matter only is there complete unanimity : On the 

 urgency of agreement upon a national plan of moving ahead. 



As for the Commission, there is neither time nor need to redo the 

 work of others. Together with the Council we shall initiate a few 

 special investigations where gaps appear or ideas need confirmation. 

 But our real task — and it is indeed an appallingly difficult one^ — is to 

 draw upon this accumulating mass of information, to analyze, to 

 reconcile, to consolidate, and finally from the current multitude of 

 fragmented parts to create a plan and to propose an organization of 

 effort for the future. 



It will be clearly impossible for each individual member of the 

 Commission to become familiar with every aspect of a field of such 

 enormous breadth and complexity. Accordingly we have resolved 

 ourselves into panels, each charged with a mastery in depth of some 

 particular area. The rationale for any such breaking up into task forces 

 is obviously arbitrary, and we have chosen to organize our inquiry 

 under the seven following headings : 



1. The level and quality of scientific effort — an examination of re- 

 search, phvsical and biological, on the marine environment. 



2. The level and allocation of national effort devoted to marine 

 engineering and technology, with special attention to the respective 

 roles of industry, and of the State and Federal Governments. 



3. An inventory of marine resources — chemicals, minerals, and 

 food — examined with a view to potential as well as present abundance 

 and economic availability. 



It is not enough to say that there are gold and magnesium and 

 manganese modules. These have to be compared with the comparable 



