CORAL BLEACHING

* Coral bleaching is an issue that is a great contributor in the destruction of the homes of marine creatures. Coral bleaching is caused by the expulsion of zooxanthellae from, which in result leads to the reef dying and fading to white. Different triggers, mainly centered around human activity, are responsible for this decay. Raising awareness through the spreading of information and finding solutions for this problem could save these important marine ecosystems. This blog examines coral bleaching and provides solutions, in hopes of informing readers and showing them what could be done the lessen the threat that coral bleaching imposes for the future.

SOLUTIONS

Some solutions to the issue of coral bleaching are simply to rewrite the current laws protecting much of the world’s coral. Aside from possible zoning restrictions pertaining to the development of waterfront areas there could also be laws put into place about the levels of human activity on or near the coral with regards to divers and snorkelers. If humans and industrial development were taken out of the equation in many of the tropical areas that have a coral bleaching problem the issue would become much less pronounced than it currently is. Coinciding with such laws about human activity levels on or near the coral there would also have to be laws put into place about fishing practices in or around the coral. This would mean no cyanide or blast fishing while also stipulating that if one was to fish in an area with coral there would have to be a very strict procedure on how to do so without damaging any coral.

CAUSES

Coral bleaching is a problem that today plagues many of the worlds tropical oceans and has a variety of causes depending on a variety of factors. For one, coral bleaching is most prevalent in areas where there is frequent diving, snorkeling, or any other aquatic recreational activity that may put humans in contact with the coral. In accidentally kicking or purposefully stealing the coral to sell later the sustainability of many reefs is compromised Another leading cause of coral bleaching is the practice of blast and cyanide fishing to kill and root out fish from the cracks within the coral for commercial use. By injecting harmful chemicals, or firing gunshots into the coral with a combination of explosives as well, the fisherman kill and catch the fish. Finally however, there is the issue of dock and pier building in the tropical areas where coral are located. Through this development of waterfront areas in tropical regions coral cannot thrive or grow, and as a result slowly die off.

ADDITIONAL RESEARCH

Destruction Reasons to Prevent:


Direct Contact

·     Fishing

- overfishing destroys sustainability

-cyanide fishing= squirt cyanide into reefto stun fish kills small organisms on coral

-blast fishing= explosives or gunshotsdirectly destroy reefs



·     Tourist Economies

- coral removed from habitat and sold

- piers and docks built on top of coralreefs

- divers kick coral or drop anchors on coral

AT: Unsustainable Firewood Harvesting

Unsustainable firewood harvesting, while however obscure, is a serious problem in the United State, and most particularly in the Pacific North-West and Australia. As economic societies have developed and companies have emerged which manufacture goods and render services, one such good is firewood. Today firewood is a highly valued commodity when bought at a store due to its convenience and panacetic aspect for those without access to obtain their own wood. Yet, while all this is well and good the fact of the matter that it has reached a point where the environment can no support this. With more and more people “splurging” when they buy their house and opting to get the fireplace, the demand for industrial firewood is greater than ever before and there is no means for replenishment.

Today, logging companies harvest more than they plant and do not always follow the policy of coppicing, or to rotate the areas where they harvest firewood. While governments both in the U.S. and Australia do not condone the negligence shown by the logging companies the agencies that are in charge of regulating them (such as the Forestry service and the Australian equivalent) are too weak to properly enforce such policies. There are no monetary fines for companies that do not follow this policy or even for over harvesting in a particular season and exceeding their maximum tonnage by huge amounts. For this negligence and disobedience of policy and protocol the environment in the U.S. and Australia has had too bear the brunt of it. Agencies concerned with the preservation and furthering of environmental protection in such countries are faced with a terrible problem as the market for industrially produced firewood expands, and in both countries, government contracts thusly further weakening the already dilapidated agencies charged with preventing this. Although perhaps a long-term problem, it may lead to other issues in the near future regarding the strategic forest and lumber supply in both nations.

One proposed solution to the ever-growing problem of unsustainable firewood harvesting lie in the desire to make fireplaces “green”, meaning that they would run on something other than firewood. While firewood is more environmentally friendly than say electricity, it is still causing harm to the environment in other ways. In other respects many are also pointing to the root of the problem itself- the logging companies and their harvesting policies. Many argue that the government should simply step up with regard to enforcing the coppicing policies that are in place and prevent this from becoming a larger problem than it already is. While not the most publicized issue, unsustainable firewood harvesting does indeed pose a great threat to our environment.