First of three parts

To some, the Internet invokes visions of an information revolution, one that will eventually lead to unencumbered access to all that is known.

To others, the Internet is an awkward necessity, fostered upon pen-and-pencil writers who wish to stay in touch with their younger relatives.

For all, young and old, Internet experts as well as those unaware of its existence, the Internet has become an integral part of the lives of practically everyone and everything on Earth.

The Internet affects not only humans, but other living things, such as the Great Barrier Reef. In trying to save the fragile organisms that build coral colonies, such as the coral polyps that have created this reef, organizations are using the Internet to coordinate their research and restoration efforts.

Why take care of far-away settlements in remote seas? What do they have to do with our lives on the mainland? Coral reefs are called the "rainforests of the sea."

They provide a home to 25 percent of all marine life. These species provide food to other species such as tuna, which we humans take in as food. Protecting coral reefs is not just a "save a tree" endeavor. It is also a "save our food" undertaking, a significant part of Earth's food chain and a link to our well-being.

We have come to think of the Internet as a settled part of our lives, supporting trivial pursuits such as Facebook. Other more serious activities have come to rely on the Internet, such as saving the coral polyp, a tiny organism that is refuge to one-fourth of ocean life.

The Internet is there at our asking. On occasion, we may lose a connection to the Internet. A temporary failure, it is usually a local connection problem, or the inability of our mobile device to obtain service from a wireless provider. But the Internet itself has never failed. Its robust architecture keeps the world online almost all the time.

To cite another example of the importance of the Internet, daily newscasts describe how despots look for ways to deny their citizens' access to Internet service. The openness of the Net, as it is called, threatens the authoritarians' ability to control the lives of their subjects. The Internet is a reality, a vital part of human discourse. These rulers treat it as an aberration.

In the long run, by shutting off their citizens' access to the Internet, these autocrats are denying their societies access to information, the wellspring of progress. By their actions, they decrease their citizens' prospects for exploiting the Internet's productivity engines. They assign their nations a significant handicap when competing against others for market share of the earth's products.

Whatever the products may be - cars, transistors, food production, economic power - these short-sighted politicians are consigning future generations to an Internet information vacuum and an associated lower standard of living for their citizens.

The second part of this series will focus on why the Internet is revered by so many people. It will also explain why other people wish to change - and have begun changing - the character of the Internet.