two small spills occurred in the York River from tankers headed for a refinery in Yorktown, Va. k 40-mile stretch of Cape Cod beaches was hit by oil in mid-April. One theory was that the oil came from a tanker that purged her fuel lines too close to shore. Another theory held that the oil came from a tanker sunk off the New Jersey shore during World War 11; the metal finally rusted through and the crude oil was carried by the Gulf Stream up to the Cape. What was new about the Torrey Cunj.on was the size of the spill-the 118,000 tons of crude dwarfed previous spills. It highlighted the need for new technology to dzal with the larger spills. It will probably also lead to new regulations. Another side
A somewhat different picture was presented in a n article in Nuture (April 29, page 448). As far as coastal marine life is concerned, say A. J. O’Sullivan and Alison J. Richardson, “the use of detergents constitutes a ‘cure’ worse than the ‘disease’ itself.” On April 7, they visited Porthgwarra, a small rocky creek three miles southeast of Lands End. Oil had come ashore 8 o r 9 days previously. According to O’Sullivan and Richardson, “animal life appeared to be perfectly normal and healthy.” Later in the same day, the shore area was sprayed with detergents. When the British biologists returned on April 8, they immediately saw the effects of spraying. “In the pools and hollows between the boulders on the lower shore there were many dead fish, and many dead invertebrates were found in the rock pools.” For coastal marine life, the biologists conclude, the mixture of emulsified oil and detergent is far more toxic than the oil itself. They see two reasons for this: The detergents themselves are toxic. The oil, when emulsified, becomes an actual part of the aqueous environment. Shortly after the incident, the British Government requested a meeting of the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization. The 2-day meeting, h J d in London in early May, outlined for study possible courses of preventive, rL!ixdi.il, and legal action. However, it could be several years before interriltionai h w s are changed because of the
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WEENTERTHEAGEOF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY In the past four years, NASA and Interior have been working closely on the definition of experiments to be performed i n space for the express purpose of exploring and understanding our own planet. Herein lies the hopeful prospect of improving the human condition all over our globe. For no matter how far out we get or how exciting the dis. coveries, in the last analysis it is people to whom we must relate our major efforts at innovation. Our satellite program is beginning to reflect this ultimate concern for the problems of people and their immediate environmental and resource needs. We have succeeded in opening wide the door to outer space, and now we are turning around and looking back. We have made our Earth not just the springboard to space research, but the object of it. This is “the ne“ view of the universe.” This is enlightened man, using his inventive genius not as an assertion of power but as an act of faith-an acceptance of responsibility. The view from space thus becomes not a covetous assessment of earth from a lofty throne of power. Instead, it is an inquisitive, anxious, loving look at the planet we call home. What intrigues me and my Department about this adventure and all the technology that goes with it is the perspective it provides in looking back on our home planet. It is in this area-the exploration of our own environment-that I see the greatest immediate rewards to our citizens for their continued, unstinting support of our space program. One age leads to another with increasing speed. In 1945 we entered the Atomic Age. I n 1957 we expanded into the Space Age. The tremendous block of conservation legislation enacted by the Johnson Administration has today placed us in yet another period which I like to call the Age of Environmental Quality. Each additional new dimension is backed up by the discoveries that came before, so that as we enter the Age of Environmental Quality, we have at our technological fingertips the tools provided by the Atomic and Space Ages. I t makes a good deal of sense that the Space and Environmental Quality Ages are overlapping, for they can be used to complement each other in striking ways. Ecological planning requires the longest look we can manage. Now, at long last, we have the equipment actually to see what we have grasped mentally for some time-namely, the “oneness” of our total environment. The crying need is for faster and better means of survey, and i n looking for it we cannot afford to stop a mere 10 miles above the Earth. Data from space are essential and these data are vital to the welfare of every human being on earth. Their collection cannot be long delayed, for the proper use planning of our environment cannot wait. Less than 3/4 of our nation is adequately mapped, and many of these maps are outdated. I can add only that in the excitement of going out into space, we cannot afford to ignore the problem-ridden Earth, which beckons us back with the knowledge we have gathered from out beyond. STEWART L. UDALL
Sectretary of t h e I n t e r i o r a t t h e S y m p o sium of t h e A m e r i c a n Society of Oceanogr a p h y , H o u s t o n , Tex., A p r i l 6, 1967
CLtn)’on.
Volume 1, Number 5, May 1967 393
