ABSTRACT
The initial development was that of wood as a fuel for heat, solar energy as wind for motive power at sea, and biomass in the form of fodder for animal power. Although the initial stages of transition to new forms of energy have already begun, reliance must be placed on coal and oil. The Pacific Ocean's role in the development of coal as an energy resource had its beginnings in the nineteenth century. As oil replaced coal, the coaling stations all but disappeared, and the role of the Pacific and other oceans in the development of oil resources is of more immediate interest. Any illusions that the oil and gas on the continental shelves would be available as the common heritage of humankind were shattered by the Truman declaration of 1946, which declared United States sovereignty over its continental shelf for the purpose of exploiting oil and gas.
