WiLD Blog

Gray whales are being threatened again. Their yearly 12,500-mile migration brings them up and down the coast of North America, as they feed in the waters by Vancouver and Seattle during the summer and migrate down to breed in Baja California during the winter months. Scientists have discovered that the grey whales are arriving in their calving grounds thin and exhausted.

Scientists believe this is due to a lack of food for the whales when they are in their traditional feeding grounds. Consequently they are forced to look for food when they should be breeding.

The source of the problem is unknown but the consequences could be devastating. The gray whale is symbolic of Mexico’s natural heritage as Baja California is home to the world’s last undeveloped calving ground, San Ignacio lagoon. This problem has not only consequences for the future of the gray whale species but for the economic wellbeing of the tourism industry in both Baja and California.

Lack of food in their traditional feeding grounds is a serious threat to the survival of gray whales.

To WiLDCOAST, the grey whale has a special place in the organization. In our offices, on the walls are various articles relating the struggles and successes the grey whales have been through. WiLDCOAST has been heavily involved in the preservation of the coastal environment and protecting species such as the grey whale. The Baja California coast and lagoons are unique in being the last undeveloped calving sites of the gray whale. In addition the presence of the gray whale brings in tourists willing to spend money to see the whales. Not only do people enjoy whale watching in Baja California, but also in California, whale-watching tours are very popular during the winter months.

But economics are just a small part of the immense value these whales have to human beings. These whales are economically valuable to us for a deeper, intangible reason. It is impossible to put economic value on the sense of excitement and wonder when people spot these whales and the memories and impact they have on us. The beauty and excitement these whales bring to our lives reminds us that we are simply one part of the natural world, and that we also share the same world. Our actions can have consequences for these amazing animals that have been repeating their yearly migrations before humans even arrived on this continent. That is why it’s crucial to support conservation, ecotourism and conservation efforts to protect these whales.

-Calvin Lee

When people support and join WiLDCOAST, they make an important comment to keep their neighborhood clean.  When celebrities like Jorge Campos, famous soccer player, Dorismar, famous model, Santo, famous wrestler, Diane Feinstein, California Senior Senator, and our latest addition Mitch Yost, surfing legend, support and join WiLDCOAST, this becomes an international case.  WiLDCOAST has been proving the importance of saving sea turtles & gray whales, cleaning water around U.S.-Mexico border region, establishing marine protected areas since 2000 and will continue to do so.  

Sea turtles come from places as far as Japan, southern Mexico, and Hawaii.  WiLDCOAST wants to help preserve their land to allow Sea Turtles to breed and reside in the environment they are comfortable with.  Currently illegal hunting kills 35,000 turtles every year on the coast on northwestern Mexico alone.  Over 10,000 turtles are killed in the entanglement of fishing nets every year.    As it is, only 1 of every 1,000 turtle eggs becomes a full grown adult, and the loss coastal habitat, water pollution, and people thinking turtle eggs are aphrodisiac does not help towards saving these endangered lives.

Join WiLDCOAST to protect and preserve the coast and ocean.

- Sam Shah

 A crew of Brazilian fishermen was caught on tape, purposefully capturing dolphins in nets and suffocating them. The dead dolphins were then dragged onboard, where the cameraman caught the fishermen laughing after someone said “Everyone’s going to jail after this filming!” The dolphin meat was most likely sold to other fishing boats as bait.

It is frightening to think about how heartless people can be. The depth of human cruelty is aptly demonstrated by the lack of remorse and the conscious decision these fishermen made to drown these animals. Dolphins are highly intelligent creatures that share our costal waters with us.  We can sometimes see them surfing the same waves we do. It’s astounding to me how cruel these men were to animals that share the same pleasures and food we do.

Thousands of dolphins are killed around the world every year

Unfortunately this just demonstrates one of the regular clashes between human and nature. We are fortunate share the oceans with a large variety of creatures, which brings great pleasure and enjoyment to those who regularly snorkel, scuba dive and “use” the ocean. However there are many people who make a living from the ocean that see these creatures as a threat to their livelihood. I’ve heard stories about fishermen off our coasts that have shot at dolphins and sea lions simply because they “stole” their catch. That’s like shooting a dog for eating scraps.

To me, this is just another sign of disrespect people show for the environment that we share with other creatures. These animals are just doing what they were meant to do, to survive. It’s their home, their habitat, their lives. For us to come in and take their food, pollute their waters and even slaughter them is simply despicable. There are viable alternatives to this conflict between man and nature.

It’s the idea that we “own” nature that allows us to abuse it. People need to realize that ideas about “owning” land and water rights are man-made concepts. Animals and plants don’t care if you own a piece of land. Whether we like it or not, we share these spaces with other people and with other creatures. It’s crucial to form a healthy respect for the living things that we share the world with. They are no better than us, nor are we better than them. We all are trying to make a living on this planet, we need to recognize and respect that.

At WiLDCOAST, that’s why we work to protect the coastal land and species of Californias. That’s why we have educational programs for young children. These creatures share the same planet as us, and we end up affecting them in very significant ways. We need to focus on protecting, preserving and learning to live with the natural world, rather than destroying it.

-Calvin Lee

Okay, we all know about global warming. We’ve all heard about the extreme weather. We’ve seen the hybrid car commercials on TV. We’ve heard about the Live Earth concerts. We’ve changed our light bulbs, turned off the lights when we leave the room, etc. But honestly… do you care?

A day before the Live Earth concerts, a poll showed that 56% of people in the UK believed that there is no scientific consensus that human beings are causing climate change. More people felt that dog messes and litter were bigger problems than the destruction of our planet. That same day, Michael McCarthy, the environmental editor of a British newspaper, wrote an article on why we shouldn’t be shocked by public apathy, by bringing up the differences between activists and citizens.

The greenhouse effect (graphic by NACC/USGCP)

“Activists are on top of the agenda, hyper-aware of problems and issues, and because they mainly talk to other activists, they think everyone sees the world the way they do. But most people don’t. Most citizens, most ordinary people, are not idealists, never mind activists; their main concerns are naturally self-regarding. Thus polls tell us they care most about their income, and then about their health, and then about the education of their children.”

“It is not evil, or even lamentable; it is the human condition. If people seem unconcerned at the greatest threat to their well being of all, it is for a simple reason: money, health and schools are now, but global warming takes place in the future.”

All of us here at WiLDCOAST can be considered activists. We are passionate about protecting and preserving the coast and wildlife. We read the news and blog about the environmental degradation going on, we work with and educate people, and we fight hard to protect the things important to us. But we understand that not everyone agrees with us, we understand that people don’t know or haven’t seen the things we have and we understand that everyone has different priorities. Not everyone is as passionate about the environment as we are. When is the last time you’ve heard a question about the environment at a presidential candidate debate? It’s because people have other, more immediate concerns about their lives.

Graph showing increase in economic losses due to weather related events (source UNEP)

To me, that’s why the Live Earth concerts are so important and why the work we do is so important. We need to raise the issues, we need to generate the discussions, we need to get the people thinking and looking at not only their own lives, but also the lives of other people and of the environment. Even if you’re not extremely passionate about the environment there are still ways you can help. Education is key here, the more you know, the better educated and aware you become of your actions and the actions of others. From there you can take action.

Taking action isn’t all about angry protests and carrying signs. There’s more to action than being loud and verbal. Take action by being responsible for your actions. Make the effort to reduce your carbon emissions, support make the educated choices to be more environmental friendly and conscious. Taking action also means generating discussion and educating others. Be willing to listen and discuss. Some wise advice I got from a friend once was to avoid discussions that generate more heat than light. Just helping others become aware of their impact on their environment is a step in the right direction.

McCarthy observed that: “… by the time most ordinary people see their own vital interests are indeed threatened, it may be too late.”

Lets make sure it’s not too late.

-Calvin Lee

 

Help Defend Our Coast and Ocean! Visit the WiLDCOAST booth at the US Open Sandcastle Competition in Imperial Beach, CA this Saturday and Sunday July 28th-29th.

WiLDCOAST's Clean Water Now! program is intent on bringing about a solution to the problem of contaminated ocean water. We do believe that you can make a difference by signing our petition and writing to your representatives. Government offices log the receipt of letters from constituents, and the more letters they receive asking for clean water, the more they will recognize how important this issue is to the residents of Imperial Beach and Coronado. In this day and age it may seem like voting and signing petitions has little effect on government decisions, but with your support WiLDCOAST is a voice that cannot be ignored by Senator Feinstein, Bob Filner, or anyone else whose position can effect the future of our environment.

Senator Dianne Feinstein is proving to be an asset to the clean water cause in Tijuana and Imperial Beach. Last week, she publicly declared her support of the federal government providing funds to have an additional sewage treatment facility built along the United States side of the border. However, Senator Feinstein has come up against opposition in the form of Bob Filner and the Bajagua project.

The Bajagua Wastewater Treatment and Water Reclamation Project is a plant intended to be built in Mexico in order to treat sewage generated in Tijuana. The private partnership contends that "the Bajagua Project will meet or exceed all U.S., California and Mexican clean water and environmental standards and additionally will be monitored by the responsible U.S. and California Agencies." Despite support from Representative Bob Filner of San Diego, the Bajagua project has come up against many obstacles, and many believe that the plant will not stop beach closures or cause a significant change in the water quality of Imperial Beach and Coronado.

Senator Dianne Feinstein has recently lent her support to a different option: the appropriation of $66 million to upgrade and improve the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) in San Ysidro. The South Bay IWTP treats sewage originating in Tijuana, but has yet to meet federal water quality requirements. Susan Ritschel of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board contends that aiding the San Ysidro plant is the best way to improve the water quality in Imperial Beach and Coronado.

Because she is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Feinstein wields budget influence on the San Ysidro facility project. She has also requested that the Government Accountability Office compare the Bajagua proposal with the San Ysidro expansion plan in order to ensure that the government is supporting the project that will have the greatest impact on the environment. We too want to support the project that will lead to less beach closures and cleaner water.

Please visit the WiLDCOAST booth to sign the petition and write letters to government representatives at the US Open Sandcastle Competition this Saturday and Sunday July 28th-29th.

You can make a difference and help us to get Clean Water Now! We'll see you there!

Submitted by Carlee Cameron

Redefining and remembering community for SoCal surfers.

On a recent surfing trip to the wild Pacific coastline of southern Mexico, I met a group of surfers who are so committed to their vision of community that it made me reevaluate my own notion of surfing as sport. For members of the Black Surfing Association, in whose company I was lucky enough to spend two mornings surfing a remote left point break, surfing is, in the words of BSA’s Rick Blocker, about, “teaching, mentoring.”

In between multiple surf sessions (it stayed offshore until 1p.m.) and watching BSA member Rusty White rip the head high perfect lefts, I chatted with Rick and Will Lamar about their passion and the history of black surfing in Southern California.

Rick and Will are some of the most interesting and perceptive surfers I’ve met. Rick is the BSA historian and according to Wetsand.com:

In the early '60s, Blocker and friends Max McMullin and Marc Thompson began skating streets and banks all over west Los Angeles. Rick's childhood "play cousin", Marty Grimes, close friend of the Dogtown crew and perhaps the first black professional skateboarder, credits Rick with introducing him to the surf/skate lifestyle. A few years later, a friend of Rick's mother took him surfing for the first time, at Malibu. Rick was instantly "stoked just being in the water, seeing the sights, seeing the perspective." Rick began commuting by bus from inner city LA to Santa Monica, where he kept an old board in a "board locker" at the pier. In 1968, when he was 13, Rick saved up enough money ($150) to buy his first new stick, a Dewey Weber longboard.

Will was shooting video for a documentary and discussed how African Americans were a key part of the Southern California beach scene in the early part of the 20th century -- but were physically barred from using the beach after the first black surfing resort, Bruce’s Beach, was destroyed. This history of Bruce’s Beach in Manhattan Beach is an ugly chapter in the often sordid history of Southern California, in which racism is a neglected theme in the often Disneyfied accounts of our past -- especially as it relates to what some geographers call “Surfurbia.”

According to the City Project, from whose executive director, Robert Garcia, I had first heard about Bruce’s Beach:

When Manhattan Beach was incorporated in 1912, a two-block area on the ocean was set aside for African-Americans. Charles and Willa Bruce built a black beach resort there, the only resort in Southern California that allowed Blacks. Bruces’ Beach offered ocean breezes, bathhouses, outdoor sports, dining, and dancing to African-Americans who craved their fair share of Southern California’s good life. As coastal land became more valuable and the black population in Los Angeles increased -- bringing more African-Americans to Bruces’ Beach -- so did white opposition to the black beach. The black beach was roped off. The KKK harassed black beachgoers. The City of Manhattan Beach pressured black property owners to sell at prices below fair market value and prevailed in the 1920s through condemnation proceedings. Bruce's Beach and the surrounding black neighborhood were destroyed. Black beachgoers were then relegated to the blacks-only section of Santa Monica beach known as "the Inkwell." Manhattan Beach tried to lease the Bruce's Beach land to a private individual as a whites-only beach, but relented in the face of civil disobedience organized by the NAACP. Bernard Bruce has spent his life telling people about Bruce's Beach, the beach resort that his family owned. No one believed him because they did not believe black people owned beach resorts. This is why it is important to tell the story of Bruce's Beach.

On March 31, 2007, the city of Manhattan Beach renamed its ocean front park Bruce’s Beach Park in memory of the pioneering African American community there. At least in Los Angeles, there is an awareness of how to redress the racist wrongs of the past. In San Diego, when it comes to the racist heritage of coastal exclusion (in such enclaves as La Jolla), we are in total denial.

The spirit of Bruce’s Beach lives on in the BSA and in surfers like Will and Rick, who are attempting to build a inclusive surfing community in Southern California rather than one that includes a select few.

-- SERGE DEDINA

If you’re a sleazy wannabe federal contractor begging for earmarks who has benefited from close personal friendships with Dick “Shotgun” Cheney, Duncan “Baseball Bat” Hunter, Duke “Jailbird” Cunningham, and Brian “Skiploader” Bilbray, it has to hurt when Fox News (national that is) turns on you.

That is exactly what happened to Bajagua last Friday when Fox News did a hit piece on the Rancho Santa Fe company. Things are so bad at Bajagua these days that the company could only field its hapless CEO, Jim Simmons, for the Fox cameras instead one of his younger surrogates such as Craig Benedetto, Gary Sirota and Marco Gonzalez.

For a company in a free fall like Bajagua, getting hammered by the “fair and balanced” folks at Fox is like having someone throw you a cement life buoy when you are drowning.

The Fox News piece was almost as bad for the company as the headline in the U-T on July 15, “Bajagua Plan Maybe be on the Brink.” According to the article:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein could deal a decisive blow to a decade-old proposal by Bajagua LLC of San Marcos. Bajagua has spent millions of dollars pushing its plan to build a U.S.-funded sewage-treatment plant in Mexico instead of upgrading a troubled facility in San Ysidro. But now, Feinstein wants Congress to spend $66 million on improvements at the San Ysidro site, which the federal government owns. She wields budget influence as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The San Ysidro project “offers the most certainty to the people of Imperial Beach and Coronado that the wastewater coming in from Mexico will be treated to U.S. standards,” Feinstein, D-Calif., said in a statement to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

What the UT story did was also provide more detail on the GAO study:

Although Feinstein backs the San Ysidro expansion plan, she asked the Government Accountability Office on Friday to compare it with the Bajagua proposal. She wants the GAO to look at factors such as cost-effectiveness, practicality and timeliness of completion.

The most interesting part of Feinstein’s GAO letter with implications for the army of consultants, lawyers and lobbyists on the Bajagua payroll was this question:

Are Bajagua LLC investors, employees, consultants or legal counsel associated with organizations participating in lawsuits against the International Boundary and Water Commission regarding the Tijuana River sewage?

Next up in the bad news train for Bajagua was the letter from the Regional Water Quality Control board that the UT reported on,

Also on Friday, regional water-pollution officials said for the first time that Bajagua does not seem to be a viable option. Improving the San Ysidro plant “is the best way to move forward expeditiously,” Susan Ritschel, chairwoman of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, said in a letter to Feinstein.

A few year ago when Bajagua landed Cheney and company to shill for its sole-source no bid contract (after sending them fat campaign checks), Simmons and his partner Enrique Landa must have partied like Wayne and Garth backstage with Def Leopard . Now, they are like the only guys at an N’Sync concert -- feeling pretty lonely and a little ripped off.

If you are going to tie your fortunes to a bunch of San Diego congressmen who assure you they have a “lock” on the White House to deliver your fat government contract, you better make sure they really do before you put them on the payroll. Since the White House forbade former Surgeon General Richard Carmona from helping the Special Olympics because of its connection with Ted Kennedy, do you think Bush and Rove are going to do anything to help Hunter and Bilbray, when the North and East County duo helped kill their immigration bill? Why would 43 reward Bob Filner with a contract for his campaign donors when the Chula Vista congressman opposes the war in Iraq and the expansion of the border fence?

Bajagua has been a great deal for a few elected officials and lawyers who have collected big checks by making all kinds of promises they couldn’t keep. To save face, the Bajagua team made a show of badgering a couple of bureaucrats for show in congress recently when the contract didn’t get signed. Maybe Simmons and Landa can have the following bumper sticker made up for their Cadillacs, “I spent $40 million and all I have to show for it was a lousy congressional hearing.”

-- SERGE DEDINA

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE VOICEOFSANDIEGO.ORG 

Did you know that... 

Of the 350 or so shark species, about 80% grow to less than 1.6 m and are unable to hurt people or rarely encounter people. Only 32 species have been documented in attacks on humans, and an additional 36 species are considered potentially dangerous.

Almost any shark 1.8 m or longer is a potential danger, but three species have been identified repeatedly in attacks: the Great white, Tiger, and Bull sharks. All three are found worldwide, reach large sizes and eat large prey such as marine mammals or sea turtles. More attacks on swimmers, free divers, scuba divers, surfers and boats have been reported for the great white shark than for any other species. However, some 80% of all shark attacks probably occur in the tropics and subtropics, where other shark species dominate and Great white sharks are relatively rare.

An estimated 80% of all life on earth is found under the ocean surface and the oceans contain 99% of the living space on the planet. Less than 10% of that space has been explored by humans. 85% of the area and 90% of the volume constitute the dark, cold environment we call the deep sea. The average depth of the ocean is 3,795 m. The average height of the land is 840 m.

The oceans cover 71% of the Earth's surface and contain 97% of the Earth's water. Less than 1% is fresh water, and 2-3% is contained in glaciers and ice caps.

90% of all volcanic activity occurs in the oceans.

The speed of sound in water is 1,435 m/sec - nearly five times faster than the speed of sound in air.

The highest tides in the world are at the Bay of Fundy, which separates New Brunswick from Nova Scotia. At some times of the year the difference between high and low tide is 16.3 m, taller than a three-story building.

Earth's longest mountain range is the Mid-Ocean Ridge more than 50,000 km in length, which winds around the globe from the Arctic Ocean to the Atlantic, skirting Africa, Asia and Australia, and crossing the Pacific to the west coast of North America. It is four times longer than the Andes, Rockies, and Himalayas combined.

The pressure at the deepest point in the ocean is more than 11,318 tons/sq m, or the equivalent of one person trying to support 50 jumbo jets.

The top ten feet of the ocean hold as much heat as the entire atmosphere.

The lowest known point on Earth, called the Challenger Deep, is 11,034 m deep, in the Marianas Trench in the western Pacific. To get an idea of how deep that is, if you could take Mt. Everest and place it at the bottom of the trench there would still be over a mile of ocean above it. The Dead Sea is the Earth's lowest land point with an elevation of 396 m below sea level.

Undersea earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides can cause tsunamis (Japanese word meaning "harbor wave"), or seismic sea waves. The largest recorded tsunami measured 60 m above sea level caused by an 8.9 magnitude earthquake in the gulf of Alaska in 1899 traveling at hundreds of km/hr.

The average depth of the Atlantic Ocean, with its adjacent seas, is 3,332 m; without them it is 3,926 m. The greatest depth, 8,381 m, is in the Puerto Rico Trench.

The Pacific Ocean, the world's largest water body, occupies a third of the Earth's surface. The Pacific contains about 25,000 islands (more than the total number in the rest of the world's oceans combined), almost all of which are found south of the equator. The Pacific covers an area of 179.7 million sq km.

The Kuroshio Current, off the shores of Japan, is the largest current. It can travel between 40-121 km/day at 1.6-4.8 kph, and extends some 1,006 m deep. The Gulf Stream is close to this current's speed. The Gulf Stream is a well known current of warm water in the Atlantic Ocean. At a speed of 97 km/day, the Gulf Stream moves a 100 times as much water as all the rivers on earth and flows at a rate 300 times faster than the Amazon, which is the world's largest river.

A given area in an ocean upwelling zone or deep estuary is as productive as the same area in rain forests, most crops and intensive agriculture. They all produce between 150-500 grams of Carbon per square meter per year.

The sea level has risen with an average of 10-25 cm over the past 100 years and scientists expect this rate to increase. Sea levels will continue rising even if the climate has stabilized, because the ocean reacts slowly to changes. 10,000 years ago the ocean level was about 110 m lower than it is now. If all the world's ice melted, the oceans would rise 66 m.

The density of sea water becomes more dense as it becomes colder, right down to its freezing point of -1.9°C unlike fresh water which is most dense at 4°C, well above its freezing point of 0°C. The average temperature of all ocean water is about 3.5°C.

This information was copied and pasted from http://www.marinebio.com/MarineBio/Facts/

Submitted to blog by Arturo Angeles

Google Earth is a virtual globe program that maps the Earth by superimposing images. All images are taken from satellite imagery, aerial photography and GIS 3D globe. Google Earth is available on a personal computer as long as it meets system requirements and because it is downloadable via the Internet anyone can use it. Google offers three different licenses: Google Earth, a free version with limited functionality; Google Earth Plus, which includes a few more features; and Google Earth Pro, intended for commercial use.

Image of Baja California produced using Google Earth

One practical application of the program is for realtors selling property over the Internet. With Google Earth one can look at a plot of land and its surroundings anywhere in the world with resolution from 45 ft. to views as precise as 6 inches. Many people are adding their own data on images to highlight specific locations and sites of interest. In addition, one can view an area, such as mountain ranges, in 3D and not just directly from the top.

Recently, Google has launched an outreach campaign to benefit the public and non-profit organizations. Through their Earth Pro license grant program Google is offering free use of their new photographic software to any U.S. based non-profit which aims to benefit the public. The only other requirement in applying for the grant is that there is a working employee who has experience with HTML and Google Earth/KML.

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation is a tri-lingual non-profit created by Canada, Mexico and the United States under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation. They have utilized Google’s generous offer and today use Google Earth Pro to map industrial pollutants from over 30,000 industrial facilities. Anyone can now see a current map of pollution sources and accumulation anywhere in North America. The Commission for Environmental Cooperation has created an interactive map by including what pollutants are generated and how each of the facilities handles them.

Google Earth updates images so that none remain more then three years old and most are undated annually. Many public organizations are using them to create a visual tracking method of changes in our environment. For example, WWF now provides a virtual tour of the Amazon in order to enhance awareness of deforestation and to better describe the projects in the region. Once baseline images are created each consecutive year can be compared to the previous and members as well as web surfers are able to track progress or, in a more depressive case, observe environmental destruction as it happens today.

At WiLDCOAST we are working to raise money to preserve land in rural Mexico at risk of turning into resortland Mexico. Along with site-specific scenic photos, it is incredibly beneficial to be able to show people aerial views of these unique areas found nowhere else in the world.

Just as Al Gore states in his presentation of An Inconvenient Truth, satellite photographs of the Earth were the single most influential images in the environmental movement. Today we continue to view our world from new perspectives in order to understand it better. Images of glaciers five years ago as compared to today are prime example of an argument that needs no words. I applaud Google for providing such a valuable service at no charge and hope everyone takes the time to take a step back and look at the earth every now and then.

If you’re a working on conservation in a non-profit visit the Google Earth Outreach program website.
Corina Marks

 

U.S. Army, Nay and Coast Guard are beginning the process of removing an artificial tire reef from the coast of Fort Lauderdale. The tires were put in 40 years ago to help promote tourism and to help bolster the local fish population. Officials had hoped that the artificial reef would be a success in helping restore the natural environment and disposing of unwanted trash but instead have been causing more problems than initially anticipated.

The tires were originally bound together using nylon straps or steel cables, but in the ocean environment the tires have broken free. After hurricanes, tires would litter the beach, and in the Fort Lauderdale area, the tires have run into a living reef, destroying whatever was along their path.

Divers explore the underwater tire reef which comprises approximately 34 acres (photo South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

While using our old trash to create new environments seems like a great idea, it should have been researched more extensively and thought out more thoroughly. This latest case is another example of good intentions gone wrong. That isn’t to say that efforts like these should be stopped or anything. Innovation is crucial to helping save the environment, but at the same time innovation has to be properly thought out.

Tire waste in the coast of Florida (photo South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

The most unfortunate part of this story is the fact that while people meant well; they actually ended up doing more harm than good. This is a common theme throughout world’s history. One blatant example would be introduced species which are meant to provide a means of biological control but can quickly get out of hand. Cane toads in Australia were meant to control pests that were destroying the cane crop, but ended up as a nightmare killing domestic pets and destroying native wildlife.

I think the lesson here is that we simply don’t know enough about the natural world to be making such large changes to the ecosystem. Recently, I was discussing with an elderly gentlemen about how some scientists believed by dumping huge amounts of iron into the nutrient deprived waters off South America they could cause huge algal blooms that would absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and thus helping to solve global warming. The gentleman seemed very much sold on the idea, even as I explained that such large scale algal blooms could radically change the ocean ecosystem and that the consequences were unknown. I don’t think he fully understood the idea.

To me, stories like these serve as a caution sign to the part we play in trying to the save the environment. In my opinion, sometimes it’s just best to leave the environment alone, to have it unaltered and in its true natural state and not imposing what we believe is natural for it. That’s why it’s important to support efforts to protect and preserve land, especially in areas like Baja California, where development has been steadily accelerating. If one day those lands are gone, and we realize what we have lost, efforts to restore it could be as futile as these efforts in Florida.
Calvin Lee