A coalition, representing the ocean energy lobby, last week (18th December) presented a roadmap for harnessing the power of the ocean to transition teams from the incoming Obama administration. The document details how to fix the confusing  – and sometimes contradictory - array of federal regulations that now govern the industry.  The coalition was convened earlier this year by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to begin a dialogue on ocean energy among industry leaders and conservationists.

"This issue brings together key three priorities of the incoming administration: climate change, creating new green jobs and reasserting US leadership on science and technology. Based on both the selection of President-elect Obama's 'Green Team' and the attention we received from the transition teams today, we believe we will see strong action on these issues," said Jack Sterne of Rising Tide Strategies, the organizer for the group. "We think it's important to learn from the experience of the wind and solar companies who went overseas when they did not receive adequate leadership from this country."

"Ocean energy should be a part of a blue-green future for American energy needs," said Diane Regas, associate vice president of Environmental Defense Fund. "These technologies can help solve global warming, and we can build in protection for healthy oceans from the start.  The key is to test these projects quickly at a small scale, and to use the resulting data with the public to make sure that the technologies meet strong environmental standards. "