Early history of Lambertville, N.J., 1703-1903

The ocean covers more than 72 percent of the Earth's surface and constitutes 90 percent of all the space on Earth capable of sustaining life. The climate of the terrestrial environment is dependent on the ocean, which removes and produces essential gases and modulates heat to produce a productive living zone where humanity and all other terrestrial life can flourish. The oceans also constitute part of the essential structure of human culture, linking global economies through trade and shipping and providing food and resources for humans around the world. The economic impact of the ocean is immense, providing nearly $3 trillion in goods and services each year. Climate change, overfishing, oceanic acidification, pollution, and other human-engineered changes in the oceanic environment threated both oceanic life and the continuation of human society. The question of how to manage, protect, and develop the oceanic environment is one of the most important environmental issues in the history of human culture.