Some Good News In an Ocean of Bad
By David S. Broder
Thursday, April 22, 2004; Page A31
On the theory that you too may be ready for some good news, let me turn from
Iraq, the war on terrorism and presidential politics and call your attention to
a meeting this weekend in Tokyo, where the United States government is leading a
broad international effort to accomplish something that promises benefits for
all nations and people.
That may sound like pie in the sky, but after talking with the two people
heading the U.S. delegation, I'm convinced it could be true.
Mike Leavitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and
retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad Lautenbacher, an undersecretary of commerce and
head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, have gone across
the Pacific to sign an agreement carrying forward plans for an Earth Observing
System. With 46 other nations, ranging from Algeria to Uzbekistan, and 26
international scientific organizations, it represents a remarkable coalition of
often-squabbling partners. Even France is aboard for this one.
The goal, as Lautenbacher explained in a joint interview with Leavitt, is no
less than "bringing together all the systems we have into one global network"
that will monitor changes in the oceans, the atmosphere and everything in
between.
The potential benefits include improving weather forecasts, reducing damage
from oil spills and coastal storms, boosting the safety and economy of shipping
and airlines, and raising the productivity of fisheries that huge populations
depend on for food.
Almost all the industrial countries and some of the nations with emerging
economies have their own systems for checking out the skies, the land and the
water.
But, as Leavitt pointed out, "most environmental issues transcend political
boundaries. This is an initiative where the United States is using its
considerable convening power to overcome those boundaries, both inside our own
government and between our country and others."
Leavitt, who began his job only last year after serving as governor of Utah,
credits Lautenbacher as a persuasive advocate of this initiative, first within
the Bush administration and then on the international scene.
The effort was blessed by the major powers at a G-8 summit, and the first
outlines of the plan came together last summer. The Tokyo meeting is designed to
approve a framework agreement for a 10-year timetable to create the Earth
Observing System, with hopes that the final plan can be ratified next February.
This may sound abstract and bureaucratic, but the U.S. officials make a
persuasive case that it holds enormous potential benefits for both advanced and
developing nations.
Just Tuesday, the congressionally chartered U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy
reported that "major changes are urgently needed" in state, federal and
international policy to protect hundreds of billions of dollars worth of
economic activity -- shipping, fishing, oil and gas, and recreational spending
-- tied directly to the oceans, to say nothing of safeguarding the pleasure
people derive from their time on shorelines or at sea.
Lautenbacher's agency has reported that about one-third of the nation's
economy is at risk from unexpected changes in climate and weather. It said that
consumers could save $1 billion a year in energy costs if the average weather
forecast could be improved by just 1 degree Fahrenheit.
The admiral said that one project coming out of the Tokyo meeting will be a
design to fill in "large gaps" in ocean observations. "We also need biological
sensors around the world and better observations of the upper atmosphere as
well."
Leavitt added, "Not all the gaps are in technology. We also have to overcome
gaps in politics and sociology. The machines can talk to each other; the
challenge is to get people [of different nationalities] to communicate."
I asked why, in a world torn by so many rivalries and disputes, it had been
possible for this vast scientific project to go forward. "It's win-win for every
country," Lautenbacher said. "Improved data is enormously important to
developing countries. Without it, all the aid they're getting for economic
development is useless. But countries like ours can also reap billions in
benefits."
"And learning to share information can itself be of value to us," Leavitt
added. "Inside our own country, maintaining sovereign interests while meeting
global needs is a challenge. Local water districts have to learn to work with my
agency and even the Homeland Security Department in a more cooperative way. The
geographic and political boundaries are crumbling."
We saw that in a frightening way on Sept. 11, 2001. This exercise could give
us a more benign and hopeful example.
davidbroder@washpost.com <
