FOREWORD 
In its first year NACOA put predominant emphasis on 
the need for developing long-range international ap- 
proaches to oceanic and atmospheric affairs because 
no nation can preserve merely its own piece of the 
oceans or its own atmosphere. NACOA found it neces- 
sary to distinguish between what could be accomplished 
on a national basis and what could be done only by 
developing international understanding of supranational 
problems. 
In its second year NACOA turned its attention inward. 
The theme of its annual report was the requirement 
for improving the Federal management of oceanic 
affairs as part of the comprehensive management of 
all the Nation’s natural resources, many of which have 
marine as well as terrestrial components. 
This year, NACOA worked with the consciousness that 
our society may well be on the threshold of a major 
discontinuity in human history. From a world in which 
natural resources such as food, energy, fresh water, 
minerals, protein from the oceans, and the regenerative 
capacity of forests and plains seemed to exceed effec- 
tive demands, we appear to be moving toward a state 
of affairs in which consumption and utilization of vital 
resources, such as energy and food, are generating 
new stresses and strains at home and abroad. To 
