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.

SS: Coral Bleaching

How Reefs Form:

• Form in shallow waters
• Tropical waters
• Along islands and continents
• Corals, made of Calcium Carbonate die and bodies stay
• Corals living

Importance of Coral Reefs:

• Biodiversity
• Home for vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants
• Productivity
• Recycling of resources
• “Tropical Rainforests of Oceans”

Background to Life:

• Calcium Carbonate skeleton
• Covered in Zooxanthellae which give it color
• Cnidaria
• Capture planktonic organisms with nematocyst

Degradation:

• Overexploitation
• Overfishing
• Sedimentation
• Nutrient overloading

Bleaching:

• Stress response
• Densities of Zooxanthellae on coral declines
• Concentration of Photosynthetic pigments falls
• Clear color from calcium carbonate skeleton
• No pigments on top if photosynthetic gone
• Causes death of coral

Causes:

• Temperature
• Solar irradiance
• Sub aerial exposure
• Sedimentation
• Fresh Water Dilution
• Inorganic Nutrients
• Xenobiotics
• Epizootics

AV: Desertification

Desertification is an environmental issue regarding the destruction of once useable land, where fertile ecosystems become arid and desert-like. This issue has lead to both drought and famine, taking a toll on many underdeveloped countries around the world.

The cause of desertification is the result of several discrepancies to the very fragile ecosystem at hand. The susceptibility of land to desertification is based on the current climate, relief, and the state of the soil and natural vegetation. From there, the occurrence of natural processes such as soil erosion and other processes affect the land. However, the addition of destructive human activity is the main cause of desertification. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the process can be held accountable by one or multiple of the following human activities:
♢ cultivation of soils that are fragile, or exposed to erosion by wind or water;
♢ reduction in the fallow period of soils, and lack of organic or mineral fertilizers;
♢ overgrazing - often selectively - of shrubs, herbs and grasses;
♢ over exploitation of woody resources, in particular for fuelwood;
♢ uncontrolled use of fire for regenerating pasture, for hunting, for agricultural clearing, or for settling certain social conflicts;
♢ agricultural practices that destroy the soil structure, especially the use of unsuitable agricultural machinery;
♢ agricultural practices that result in the net export of soil nutrients, leading to loss of the soil fertility, such as cash-cropping;
♢ diversion of rivers to create irrigation schemes; or
♢ irrigation of soils prone to salinization, alkalization or even water logging.

The depletion of soil fertility can also be traced to the interference by nomadic peoples, increase in population and livestock, factors affecting erosion rate (rainfall, wind, solar radiation), reductions in percolation of soil due to livestock hooves, and to a lesser extent, droughts.

A well known example of desertification is the Dust Bowl that swept the Great Plains and most of America in the 1930s. Improper farming practices that were harmful to the soil affected the natural balance of the land. In 1932, a cycle of drought in the Plains began was noticed. The combination of drought and poor soil status lead to the creation of the Dust Bowl, forcing millions of people to leave their homes and livestock for healthier living conditions.

The same effect the Dust Bowl had on the people of the 1930s can be seen happening around the globe today. Unlike developed countries, developing countries do not have the capability to plant trees at nearly the same rate they are being torn down. The lack of steady tree regeneration leads to heavy desertification, especially in areas undergoing constant erosion.

Raising awareness of desertification and its devastating effects is one of the main solutions to the problem. Because the issue is heavily attributed to human practices and interactions, and the solution clearly lies in the hands of the cause, educating people can stop desertification from occurring. In addition to the spoken solution, action can be immediately taken. Planting strips of trees to trap soil and prevent heavy erosion around the fertile environments bordering deserts will save them from becoming unusable. A wall of trees being planted called the "Green Wall" in northeastern China will eventually stretch farther than the famous Great Wall of China, to protect still active areas bordering desert lands that have already suffered from desertification.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (1993). Sustainable development of drylands and combating desertification. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/docrep/v0265e/v0265e00.htm

United States Geological Survey (1997). Desertification. Retrieved from http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/deserts/desertification/