TOFO Abstract

THE ONCE AND FUTURE OCEAN
Notes Toward a New Hydraulic Society
by Peter Neill

With a foreword by Dr. Paul Mayewski, Director,
Climate Change Institute, University of Maine
398 Pages. Formats: Hardcover, Trade Paper, Mobipocket
and EPub. Hardcover: $24.95, Trade Paper: $18.95, EPub: $9.99.
ISBN 9780918172563

"We live on an ocean planet, though most of us rarely remember it; that blindness is one of the reasons we've stood by as the seas acidified, one of the great environmental crises in human history. This powerful book reminds us that our maritime identity is one important way we can start rebuilding a damaged planet.”    ~ Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth, Founder of 350.org

 "...This book represents an interesting and important contribution for a better public awareness of the great importance of the Oceans – and Water itself – for the survival of our Planet. It is essential to change into a new development paradigm, based on the values of sustainability and democracy."  ~ Mario Soares, Chair, Independent World Commission on the Future of the Oceans

“…”The Once and Future Ocean” is not just a pleasure to read, it is a critical waypoint in our hoped-for passage into the climatically stressed future…In the spirit of Rachel Carson’s “The Sea Around Us”, Neill not only raises concern for our rapidly deteriorating marine environment, but also offer the concept of a “New hydraulic society” and its great potential for a world looking for an alternative solution.” ~ Dr. Paul Mayewski, Director of the Climate Change Institute, University of Maine

WHY THE OCEAN MATTERS
The ocean holds the key to humanity’s survival. At a time when the world faces a multitude of potential calamities, from climate change to a struggling oil industry to rapid population growth, author and environmentalist Peter Neill of the World Ocean Observatory argues that the time is now to begin organizing our social, financial and political order around water in all its forms, places and uses.

Neill’s new book offers a bold vision for a practical and possible future, based on a revolutionary paradigm shift toward a new hydraulic society that can be implemented through the political will of individuals who understand the necessity for change, the logic of a new moral alternative, and the reality of the consequences if we fail to act in time. Ambitious in scope yet grounded in actionable, specific ideas and solutions for preserving the health of the world ocean, it aspires to do nothing less than transform our relationship with the world’s most promising and imperiled natural element: the ocean and the inter-connected cycles of water, essential for all aspects of human survival. THE ONCE AND FUTURE OCEAN argues for invention and new solutions, for new answers to fundamental questions, and for a new relationship built around the ocean as a source for new modes of living that are within our grasp if only we have the courage to take hold. Purchase a copy today, and please leave a review!

PETER NEILL is founder and director of the World Ocean Observatory, a web-based place of exchange for information and education about the health of the ocean. Neill previously served 20 years as President of the South Street Seaport Museum, New York, is co-founder of The Sound School and The Harbor School, and has dedicated his career to marine affairs. He lives in downeast Sedgwick, Maine with his partner Mary.