Book excerpt: Jacques offers a unique analysis of the connections between global marine and atmospheric science to global political phenomena. He shows how human survival is intricately linked to the sustainability of the world ocean, a singular connected body of regional oceans that is by definition a global resource that touches all other ecosystems. Jacques warns that the world ocean now offers evidence of several existential crises for global human populations, including declining global fisheries, coral reef losses, and climate change, but there has been a lack of global or regional cooperation in sustaining this complex ecosystem. He suggests how we can synthesize and coordinate global ecological information, exploring three regional areas in their local and global context: the South Pacific, Caribbean basin, and Southeast Asia. His book will be a valuable resource for researchers and students in environmental studies, marine sciences, and globalization studies.