Heal the Ocean: Solutions for Saving Our Seas

In "Heal the Ocean", Rod Fujita details the catastrophic state of our oceans as a result of global warming, overfishing, pollution, deep sea mining, military interests, and poor land use. More importantly, he describes the many ways that we can work together to protect and restore ocean ecosystems. As somebody who loves the ocean but has never before taken a marine biology course, I appreciate Fujita's accessible writing style. Thank you, Rod Fujita, for this educational and inspiring book.

A must-read for anyone who visits a beach, lives near a coast or loves the ocean (and who doesn't?). A marine ecologist at Environmental Defense, Rod Fujita unravels the mystery of the sea, revealing its web of life and how we humans are woven into it -- and have shaped it, for better and worse. At the heart of this beautifully-written book lies Fujita's belief in the ocean's resiliency and unwavering faith that we can turn the tide against ocean decline. He shapes the complex science of ocean ecosystems into a tale as mesmerizing as the ocean itself.

Heal the Ocean: Solutions for Saving our Seas by Rod Fujita New Society Publishers 227 pages www.newsociety.com Championing the Seas Dr. Rod Fujita does not write with the detached voice of a scientist, although he is one. He writes with the passion of a champion for the cause of sustainable development and he believes it is possible. Some fisheries such as California's near shore waters collapsed through over fishing. The solution: California's Marine Life Management Act of 1999 that strives to protect whole ecosystems through marine reserves where no fishing is allowed. Fujita calls it "fish in the bank." "Present economic activities should not compromise our own future need for resources or those of future generations," and according to Fujita, it is a view that is gaining acceptance all over the world. It is a view that makes sense. Although the author shows numerous scenarios for environmental disasters, he is no prophet of doom. After showing how ecosystems can and do collapse, he shows solutions, and sometimes brilliant solutions that have worked as well as ideass that have not been tried, but should be. Solving problems with scientific knowledge and political know how makes Heal the Ocean: Solutions for Saving Our Seas an important book. Some of the engineering solutions that Fujita shows are ingenious, yet there is not a single solution that fits all situations. Each problem, each place on earth and in its oceans has unique features that call for creative solutions. Each problem must balance human needs with the conservation of natural resources. Rod Fujita's enthusiasm for his subject shines through. He provides a toolkit full of savvy solutions, some tried and successful and some waiting to be used to remedy modern day assaults upon the seas and their living ecosystems. His book draws upon a body of recent scientific discoveries and provides a wealth of fascinating details about the connections among rivers, oceans, land forms, mangroves, reefs and the life that is interdependent in ways that are understood, and ways we have yet to discover. This alone would make it an interesting book, but Dr. Fujita goes takes his subject further. He shows us a future full of possibilities for healing the oceans. Dr. Fujita gleaned his knowledge from close observations under water and his scientific work at Woods Hole, (he received his PhD from Boston University's Marine Program), and his work as a Senior Scientist with Environmental Defense, an environmental activist group. He has served on many state and federal commissions and review panels. He looks at the big picture drawn from his experience of work on many environmental issues such as protecting marine ecosystems, global warming, ozone depletion, acid rain and new discoveries in the deep ocean abysses. Here is an authoritative author who opens our eyes to the beauty, intricate ecological relatio

Dr. Fujita's highly readable book is full of positive examples of changes we can make to improve the environment. It is a realistic insight into the science of environmental change. The book takes the time to present the problems facing our oceans but also shares success stories for change. This is a wonderful book for a non-scientist, non activist but interested reader.