Sam Farr: “I think in light of tonight's discussions, which really have wonderful populist appeal about issues of drug sales in…”

“I think in light of tonight's discussions, which really have wonderful populist appeal about issues of drug sales in America and about the practices of licensing telecommunications in this country, it is also appropriate that we focus a little bit on the politics, the big politics of the oceans, that is, that the meeting of land and water, of the two massive forces on Earth, takes place in coastal zones. Coastal zones are also where most of the people live, that is, where most of the voters are, most of the taxes are raised. That is where we find the most U.S. population, on the coast, which comprises about 17 percent of our entire land mass. We also find that people are moving to coastal areas faster than any other place. There is an increase of about 3,600 people a day that move to the coastlines. I think coastlines are also important from an economic standpoint if we think about that is where fishermen make their living, that is where tourism attracts people to swim in the oceans. The largest recreational areas in the United States are the publicly owned beaches of this country.”