For many years, scientific shills for certain interest groups have been
blaming all sorts of monsters for the die off of coral reefs:
crown-of-thorns seastars, the disappearance of Diadema urchins, global
warming, the eggplant that ate Chicago, etc.

The fact is that the monster is us.

For millons of years, the corals have developed in an environment that
is extremely nutrient-poor. Over the past few decades, we have begun
dumping huge amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous, and other nutrients onto
the near-shore coral reefs. Here in south Florida, we pump 400 million
gallons a day of partially treated sewage onto the reef system. Add to
that the runoff from lawns and golf courses. Plus, we have re-routed the
flow from  what was once Everglades and is now sugar cane fields
directly into the ocean.

At very specific and measurable threshholds, the level of nutrients
causes sudden and serious damage, most visibly by the explosion of
certain algae and cyanobacteria.

If we want to use the oceans as a dumping ground, we have to be willing
to kiss the coral and most of the other life there goodbye. It's as
simple as that.

At Reef Rescue, we are working to close down - with success - the ocean
outfalls contributing much of the pollution to our reef system. See
http://www.reef-rescue.org/  We face off with very expensive scientific
studies paid for by the sewage utilities, blaming everything but the
sewage  dumping. One actually tried to prove that the Gulf Stream flows
south!

Only if we are willing to pay the cost of containment of human waste
will the reefs survive.

m

mike gray

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