What THEME will you choose?

1) Stewardship & Ethics 

The idea of that we may ultimately be responsible for the essential planetary life support system that we all depend upon, the global ocean, is a concept that is dawning on many members of our society. The role of ethics (and law) in the inevitable tradeoffs between economic stability and environmental sustainability is one of the great dialogues of the coming decades, as nations vie for resources and trade while beginning to recognize the potential impacts of human-induced change in our delicately balanced global ecosystem. 

How will humans learn to govern that which belongs to all, but is owned by none?

2) Arts & Entertainment

There are so many facets to this theme - Poetry, Music, Painting, Sculpture, Video, Experiences of the Sea, Sailing, Surfing, Fishing, etc. These and many other threads are deeply embedded in our cultural consciousness and continue to evolve as we learn more about stories of our past and our prospects for the future, on earth and beyond. Human awareness of the importance of the oceans may key as much on the fabric of the arts and enjoyment of the sea, as it does on the interwoven threads of science and society. 

Might this be an arena for major economic development bringing about enhanced global awareness?

3) Science & Education

The “The Endless Frontier” was described by Vannevar Bush, the initiator of the National Science Foundation, who advocated that we could not afford to ever give up the pursuit of knowledge. All aspects of inquiry into the unknown are fair game for fundamental thrust into research, and the educational theme is one that is tightly coupled to, not just pushing the boundaries of knowledge, but disseminating widely the insights derived there from. 

At what level might all members of society become deeply involved in these pursuits.

4) Resources & Hazards

The oceans harbor vast living and non-living resources that many societies have depended upon over the past 10,000 years, whether fishing, or oil and gas, potential mineral wealth, and evolving pharmaceuticals. The ocean is a huge, but exhaustible, reservoir of opportunity for all humans on earth. It is also the central nexus for episodic disasters whether they be earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, droughts, or diseases. 

Will humans ever master the dual challenges of low impact resource recovery and effective hazard abatement ?

5) Trade & Commerce

From early exploration and colonization, to the establishment of trade routes and enduring commerce among sea-faring nations, the ocean had the ability to profoundly influence the paths along which nation states have pushed, leading to both prosperity and conflict. For regional, hemispheric, and intercontinental exchange of trade goods, the economics of using the ocean for transport, employing ever-sturdier, more powerful and progressively larger, ships, have been compelling. 

Is there a limit?

6) Warfare & Defense

Projection of national influence, commercial aspirations and sustained trade relationships have been the ultimate backdrop against which all maritime nations have negotiated, coerced, or exerted the projection of sea power. The defense against aggression, initially at a local, then regional, and ultimately on a global scale has historically emerged to drive development of national navies. 

Will the emergence of increasingly powerful international corporations ever offset the historical tendency for nations to “protect” themselves at the expense of other nations?

What APPROACH will you take?

There are many ways to approach Ocean Themes, but among them are the following threads. To be chosen by a student for preparation of a major term paper, or by a team (minimum number 3, maximum number - 5) committed to conduct a Class time debate, or spirited class discussion to clarify controversial or competing views on a selected theme.

A) Past, Present & Future

Examining the history of how humans have utilized the oceans delves deeply into worlds of legend, anthropology, archeology, written history, legal disputes, and the conduct of aggressive warfTOare balanced against the deployment of defense in national interests and profound climatic shifts whether anthropogenic or not. The evolution of ships might be a key element in illuminating their usage. The role of piracy in the oceans has been around since the advent of floating platforms used by humans.

B) Exploration & Discovery

Humans have pushed the envelop on the unknown for as far back as we can determine. From their arrival in Australia 50,000 years ago to the push to explore ocean worlds in the outer solars system and beyond, the societal pressure to discover what lies beyond is a never-ending quest by every vital sector of our human culture.

C) Complexity & Scale

Understanding truly complex systems is not yet an entirely successful form of inquiry into some of the worlds we know, but systems like the human brain, the stock market, and the global ocean ecosystem, are perhaps among the ultimate challenges to us in terms of confronting that which is so complicated that we do not yet have all of the intellectual tools we need to predict outcomes. Indeed some hypothesize that certain systems may be too complicated to ever yield productions - such as human creativity.

D) Technological Innovation

The unwritten and the written history of the human race is one of innovation, involving notable failures and profound successes. The same energy that drives exploration, drives us to “do it a better way”. We are entering a period in human cultural evolution when the rate of change of technological innovation is shifting from a linear trajectory to an exponential trajectory - we must develop strategies for harnessing what we cannot predict.

E) Evolution & Revolution

The nature of change can often be a complicated issue to either predict, or analyze after the fact. How and when it takes place can be determined by gradual or progressive evolution, and sometimes by sudden revolution, although the differences between the two may be primarily in the time domain.

F) Maps & Measurements

• Country Income Level and Exclusive Economic Zones of the World http://esrimedia.maps.arcgis.com/apps/OnePane/storytelling_basic/index.html?webmap=1ae16f932bdf489099a46d698b7471da
• Atlantic Ocean - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Ocean
• Pacific Ocean - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Ocean
• Indian Ocean - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Ocean
• Arctic Ocean - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Ocean
• Southern Ocean - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Ocean
• Mediterranean Sea - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea#Ancient_civilisations