166 



It is apparent that the population in 1980 mil have increased, in comparison 

 with that existing in 1965, by only about 25% while such indices of economic ac- 

 tivity as the Gross National Product and Disposable Personal Income will have 

 increased from 3 to 4 times this percentage. Similarly, the consumption of the 

 natural resources specified in the table increases significantly faster than the 

 population but less than the indices of economic activity. 



By the year 2000, the population will have increased only by about 60% but the 

 Gross National Product and Disposable Personal Income are expected to increase 

 by factors of 5.5 and 3.5 times this amount respectively. Thus the production of 

 goods and the demand for services is expected to far outstrip the population in- 

 crease. This disparity is linked to a rising standard of living derived from higher 

 disposable personal incomes, more sophisticated technological developments, and 

 changes in social and cultural values. All will combine to create highly intensified 

 competition for the natural resources available to the nation. To give some meas- 

 ure of the demand that will be made on the resources of this country — a measure 

 that may be diflScult to comprehend : if one assumes that the Gross National Prod- 

 uct will continue to increase at about 4.2% per year, as it has in the past five years, 

 then the total Gross National Product produced between the present and the end 

 of the century will exceed by a factor of about two the total Gross National 

 Product of this country since its founding. 



The Gross National Product is a composite of goods and services at market 

 prices. Present data indicate that the demand for services is increasing faster 

 than the requirements for products. Hence, the consumption of energy producing 

 fuels, metals, water, and fish rather than Gross National Product are probably 

 more accurate indicators of the future requirements for natural resources. The 

 natural resources listed consist of nonrenewable ones ; that is, fossil fuels and 

 metals, and renewable ones, fresh water and fish. The annual consumption of 

 metals in 2000 will have increased to more than double that in 1965. Thus the total 

 demand for metals between 1965 and 2000 will amount to $505,000 millions (1964 

 dollars) while only about $420,000 millions worth of metals have been consumed 

 since 1775. 



National needs for resources in future years and at present will be met by a 

 variety of sources, all of which will have to be competitive in the market place. 

 Where possible, greater quantities of fish will be harvested from the oceans, lower 

 grade ore tailings and metal scrap will be reworked, agricultural productivity 

 will be further increased and large new water desalination plants will be built. 



In addition to measures to use the untapped resources remaining on land, it is 

 the Department's belief that it will be in the nation's best interest to discover and 

 develop all aspects of marine resources to provide what is possibly one of the 

 last remaining alternatives for new sources of raw materials available in terri- 

 tories under United States control. As presently visualized, the resources consist 

 of minerals in sea water solution, those deposited on the ocean floor and those, 

 including energy sources, in geological formations under the ocean bed. They con- 

 sist also of living resoiirces for food, water for desalination to supplement supplies 

 of naturally occurring fresh water, and lands and water of the coastal zone which 

 are used for recreational puriwses. 



We believe, in summary, to stress the point, that it is a most logical step for 

 this country to develop its marine resources for present and future use as a 

 guarantee against growth in future demand and against changes in world sit- 

 uations which could threaten the supply of resouces now available to the U.S. 

 from foreign sources. We believe further that this is the intent behind one of 

 the major objectives of the Marine Resources and Engineering Development 

 Act of 1966. It states specifically, among other things, that "there be accelerated 

 development of marine resources of the marine environment." 



As the principal conservation agency for the Federal Government, the Depart- 

 ment of the Interior is responsible for the development and effective use, in 

 the public interest, of natural resources in both terrestrial and marine environ- 

 ments. The Marine Resources and Engineering Development Act, in addition 

 to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, has broadened the scope of Depart- 



