Click through the player on the left to view coverage of the conference and exclusive interviews with NCSE Executive Director Peter Saundry, Admiral Thad Allen, a brief segment on NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco, and more.

Click here to view the final breakout session recommendations.

National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) presented its 11th National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment: Our Changing Oceans from January 19-21, 2011 in Washington, DC.  Our Changing Oceans was held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.

Our Changing Oceans provided a forum to address the crisis facing our oceans, new knowledge and innovative tools to address the challenge, and the policy and governance needed to restore and protect the oceans.

Our Changing Oceans brought together over 1,200 attendees, including scientists, professionals, policy makers, university faculty and students, and educated citizens from a wide range of disciplines.  Participants shared their perspectives and developed a set of policy recommendations which will be distributed to the appropriate decision-makers.  NCSE  submitted the recommendations to the National Ocean Council, in response to the call for comments on the Council's Strategic Action Plans.  In an effort to maximize impact, the recommendations were first mapped onto the nine national priority objectives which include the following: Ecosystem-Based Management; Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning; Inform Decisions and Improve Understanding; Coordinate and Support; Resiliency and Adaptation to Climate Change and Ocean Acidification; Regional Ecosystem Protection and Restoration; Water Quality and Sustainable Practices on Land; Changing Conditions in the Arctic; and Ocean, Coastal, and Great Lakes Observations, Mapping, and Infrastructure.   View the final recommendations here!

NCSE utilizes a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach to convene involved scientists and decision-makers from various sectors of society. Our conferences include renowned speakers, topical symposia to explore issues more in depth, and breakout sessions to develop a set of recommendations on how to advance science and connect it to policy and decision-making.