Jeremy Jackson is the William and Mary B. Ritter Professor of Oceanography and Director of the Geosciences Division of
the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He is also a Senior Scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in the Republic of Panama.
Professor Jackson begins his presentation with a reflection on the neglectful attitude toward the destruction of systems
in the ocean, but he asks us to consider what we are losing and what the world will be like in thirty years if we do not alter our
behavior. In a book entitled Silent Spring, Rachel Carson describes widespread ecological destruction and asks two crucial
questions. The first of these questions concerns what is going on in the world that is new, different, and scary, and Professor Jackson
explores six answers to this question. These six examples include the loss of all big creatures, the destruction of benthic islands, the
globalization of species, ocean warming, the poisoning of food webs, and the rise of slime.
Professor Jackson discusses the rise of slime in detail, emphasizing that it poses the greatest threat to ocean systems.
Using the former oyster reef of the Chesapeake Bay as an example, he explains that oysters naturally filter ocean water, keeping it
clean. However, there are now more than fifty dead zones (areas of the ocean in which only jellyfish and bacteria thrive) around the
world that are causing the rise of slime in the oceans. Coral disease is another version of this problem. Research on fourteen coral
reefs from around the world, shows clearly that creatures are becoming ecologically extinct. "That means there are no big carnivores, no
big herbivores, no small carnivores, no small herbivores, virtually no coral, virtually no sea grass, and virtually no other big
suspension feeders. In other words, dirty water," Professor Jackson says. This degradation is a linear and cumulative function of human
cultural advance.
Rachel Carson's second question concerns the possible outcomes if these new developments persist, and Professor Jackson
describes oceans inhabited only by jellyfish, bacteria, and slime. Discussing the possibility of the sustainable use of coral reefs,
Professor Jackson states that it would take decades to reverse the trajectory of degradation, and he expresses skepticism about the
willingness of people and scientists to initiate the necessary changes. He explains that the reversal of this damage is not a scientific
concern, but rather "a question of making it worth people's while, because, if it's not worth your while to do it, no amount of
regulation and crying about lost species is going to make any difference at all."
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