Ed
Cassano, Director of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary,
is moderator for the Student Summit presentations.
Ed's infectious humor puts everyone at ease as he presents an overview of the task ahead of us. As Director he is responsible for 1252 square nautical miles of ocean territory, much of which we still know little about. At the millenium we face a number of challenges, he tells us, as well as opportunities. Opportunities to change how we look at the oceans and in how we want to see them protected. "They are the lifeblood of this planet," Cassano adds, "the next step locally, regionally and nationally is to become more aware of these very special places."
Our neighborhood is just right off the
coast, he c
ontinues,
and we need to get to know our neighbor- hood a little bit better
if we want to foster the desire to protect it as well as the
knowledge to do it well. "We face many pressures,"
Cassano says, "pressures which are not going to go away.
There is an intense desire to live in proximity to the Southern
California coast, and with this comes a host of issues. We need
to be proactive. Now is the time for us to engage in protecting
the ocean for sustainable use."
What Cassano provides for the students
, in his brief remarks, is a framework
for action, one in which these students are given both a challenge
and a means of resolution.
The challenge is to be a part of the development of the knowledge and understanding of the world of the marine creatures, one very different from our own. The resolution is in the participation in such programs as this--the Sustainable Seas Expedition. It is fitting--as we near the beginning of the 21st Century--that we undertake the exploration of two great unknowns: the magnificent oceans of the world; and new relationships with the students in our public school systems. In each case technology has presented us with unique opportunities to re-define what we know and how we realte.