U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy : Understanding the Past to Shape a New National Ocean Policy, Chapter 2

By Government Printing Office

Book Id: WPLBN0000018247
Format Type: PDF eBook
File Size: 0.6 MB
Reproduction Date: 2005

Title:	U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy : Understanding the Past to Shape a New National Ocean Policy, Chapter 2
Author:	Government Printing Office
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Government publications, Legislation., Economic & political studies
Collections:	Government Library Collection, Government Printing Office
Historic Publication Date:
Publisher:	Government Printing Office


Citation APA MLA Chicago Office, G. P. (n.d.). U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy : Understanding the Past to Shape a New National Ocean Policy, Chapter 2. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.us/

Description
Government Reference Publication

Excerpt
Excerpt: The phrase national ocean policy encompasses a vast array of issues, each of which requires policy makers to answer some key questions. What is the current situation? What goals does the nation wish to achieve? What rules, if any, should apply? And who will formulate and enforce those rules? Those in charge must also be prepared to justify their decisions to a wide variety of interested people and find a way to place decisions about particular uses of the oceans into a larger framework so the results will be coherent and enduring. In considering how to craft an ocean framework for the future, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy reviewed the lessons of the past and listened closely to affected individuals around the country. OCEAN POLICY FROM WORLD WAR II TO THE OCEANS ACT OF 2000 Volumes have been written about the intricacies of ocean policy and its development in the United States. The following sections offer a brief glimpse of this history, setting the stage for the work of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. Formative Years U.S. ocean policy developed slowly and fairly consistently from the founding of the United States until the immediate aftermath of World War II. Since then, it has zigged and zagged in response to shifting public attitudes based on major events related to national security, the environment, and political philosophy. American policy-or more accurately the amalgamation of many policies-has been shaped by the nation’s unique status as both the world’s leading maritime power and the possessor of a long and rich shoreline, giving us a stake both in protecting freedom of navigation and in expanding the resource jurisdiction of coastal countries. Over time, our management of ocean issues has been roiled by conflicting interests of the federal and state governments, torn by tensions between short- and long-term needs, blurred by ideological disagreements, and complicated by the wide variety of uses we make of our vast and versatile-but also vulnerable-seas.

Table of Contents
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