Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau: Oceanographer

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Upon completing his address,Captain Cousteau opened the meeting to the audience. Almost immediately, he called Alice Ballard – a student at Radcliffe – to the microphone for the following exchange.Miss Ballard,then,speaks for PLOWBOY in this interview. 

PLOWBOY: Captain Cousteau, I would like to make a comment on behalf of the six Harvard students here today. We came to this conference concerned with the goals of oceanography; we have felt that some of the most important points have been neglected during most of the speeches.

COUSTEAU: Come over here! Come over here! Take the mike!

PLOWBOY: We feel that in the next 30 years, oceanography should be directed towards the peaceful and wise use of the natural resources of the ocean for the benefit of all mankind and not to the specific exclusion or profit of any one group. What we mean by this are such measures as proper international management and recycling, not exploiting, of the resources of the sea and prohibition of all arms and weapons systems on the ocean floor. We must realize that our planet is a finite system and that the ocean is just a part of that system. Its use should be directed through international cooperation such that its quality is in no way impaired, and its stability as an ecological system is in no way endangered.

The use of the ocean must not be denied to future generations by ecological backlash through today's mismanagement and ignorance. Because the earth is a finite system, we must also realize that it can support only a finite number of people. All that we have suggested here will be done in vain unless the population of every nation on earth is stabilized soon. The United States as a world leader must be as dedicated to this commitment, as to any other. The best offense in a nation is the defense of the environment of the world.

COUSTEAU: Very good. I thank you for your statement, but I'm still waiting for the question.

PLOWBOY: I think probably the most important question would be, do you have any suggestions as to how we could best implement, in a political way, these ideals which we've set forth?

COUSTEAU: Yes, miss, I have. There is only one way. It's public opinion. There is no other way. Already now, conservation is a necessary item in the electoral programs of every party. That's a big victory, so the more we spread around ourselves in our vicinity these ideas, the sooner the public powers will take this into consideration and give us satisfaction. It's a matter of public opinion. I'm working with television. Please work with other means. We need all the medias to convince people.

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