“Every second breath comes from the ocean,” said Mary Hagedorn, a research scientist with the Smithsonian Institution and the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. Many people don’t realize how much we depend on the ocean for food, health and jobs. With climate change and pollution altering seas and coastlines, the speakers agreed we need to do a better job of monitoring these systems. Scientists and businesses have to work together, according to Michael Jones, president of The Maritime Alliance in San Diego. “There’s always going to be uncertainty with climate change, but uncertainty can’t be an excuse for inaction,” said Jason Scorse, Director of the Center for the Blue Economy at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. “This is immediate, this is now, this is accelerating, and the good side is people realize that.” Jason Scorse, Director, Center for the Blue Economy, MIIS Mary Hagedorn, Research Scientist, Smithsonian Institution/Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology Michael Jones, President, The Maritime Alliance, San Diego This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on October 28, 2013

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