I was inspired to write The Adventures of Maritime Domain Awareness Man as a means to a very specific end: greater awareness about the challenges and opportunities facing the planet and its oceans. The challenges are easy—we all grew up with tales of piracy and peril at sea, and get regular news reports about oil spills, plastic pollution, and the threat of animal extinction. We hear much less about solutions to these problems, and even less about the untapped resources that the oceans have to offer. I wanted to motivate readers (especially young readers) to think creatively about their planet. I wanted to educate while also entertaining. I wanted to explore ways to strengthen natural systems, like coastal mangrove forests that can create healthy environments where species can thrive and be harvested, sustainably, to create economic development for communities struggling with the decline of traditional fisheries.
I live in coastal California, about 100 miles south of San Francisco, where over one trillion (1,000,000,000,000!) gallons of water flow back and forth under the Golden Gate Bridge with the tides—every single day! How can we harness this energy? How can we build floating buoy power stations that turn turbines as they bob up and down with the waves? What other new ideas and emerging technologies can we come up with? How might we inspire innovation, conservation, and opportunity for all through the protection of the greatest source of life on our planet—the oceans? I hope that you will join me as we search for answers to these questions. Along the way we will build partnerships, friendships, and opportunities—it is sure to be an exciting journey!
