The Once and Future Ocean: Notes Toward a New Hydraulic Society

A call to action for a sustainable future, transforming our relationship with the ocean and its vital role in human survival.

The Once and Future Ocean, by Peter Neill, envisions a new “hydraulic society” where the ocean and its inter-connected cycles of water determine how we live. This book explores the ocean's impact on:

• Climate
• Fresh water
• Food
• Energy
• Health
• Security
• Community living
• Cultural traditions

Neill argues for a new ocean ethic and offers concrete solutions for a world looking for alternatives. He challenges us to move beyond concern to action, to embrace a new vision of sustainability that values the ocean as essential to our future.

For general readers interested in environmental issues, policy makers, scientists, and anyone concerned about the future of the ocean.

Peter Neill is Founder and Director of the World Ocean Observatory, a web-based place of exchange about the ocean and its relation to climate, fresh water, food, energy, health, security, economic development, policy, governance, and cultural traditions. He is the past Director of the Connecticut Marine Science Consortium, the Maritime Preservation Program at the US National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the South Street Seaport Museum (New York). He is the author of three novels, numerous books on maritime art, history, and literature, and the ongoing audio feature, World Ocean Radio, available as a blog, podcast, and in distribution in the US and around the world in six languages.