Keep Hope Alive

Great news today for the future of the oceans.

Stanford University, the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute have together created the Center for Ocean Solutions -- a new collaboration that will bring together international experts in marine science and policy to find innnovative ways to protect and restore the world's oceans.

At the top of the Center's agenda: the effect of climate change on the oceans, the overexploitation of living marine resources (e.g., bluefin tuna and other poorly managed fisheries), and land-based threats to the ocean.

An article about the Center in the San Jose Mercury News notes that, "The concept is somewhat revolutionary in scientific circles, with the center expected to be neither a research institute nor a think tank, but a combination of both.

"'It's a tradition of science to not get involved in the messiness of policy making,' said Meg Caldwell, a Stanford law professor and interim director of the new center. 'But we want to make sure that the work that we're doing within the center and across these institutions is not only offering up practical solutions but also helping to bring them to fruition.'

"'Here is something that demonstrates hope,'  Warner Chabot, vice president of the Washington-based Ocean Conservancy told the Mercury News. 'I would expect the center to be able to bring the best and brightest experts together to address ocean issues.'"

That, indeed, is cause for celebration.