Environmental scientist, marine ecologist and biologist, Jane Lubchenco was named administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in early 2009, the top political job in the country on ocean issues. She is using everything she has learned from her many days on the sea as a scientist and activist to try and shape a national ocean policy. Can politics really make a difference? An excerpt from our new book, companion to the DisneyNature release, "Oceans, The Threats to Our Seas and What You Can Do To Turn the Tide."
Jon Bowermaster: Is it easy for you to name a highest priority?
Jane Lubchenco: There are multiple. One is definitely oceans, another is climate, and obviously they intersect with one another. Those are the focus of NOAA's responsibilities and are just so incredibly timely right now because of the importance of oceans and the importance of addressing climate change, both on the mitigation side as well as the adaptation side.
JB: Which is easier mitigation or adaptation?
JL: Well it's not an either/or, they are both incredibly important. I think that one way to think about them is: Mitigation is really about avoiding the unmanageable and adaptation is about managing the unavoidable.
Read the complete interview at The Huffington Post.