Green Options

The economic downturn is making it tough to be a member of the middle class, now there’s evidence that ‘middle class’ coral reef fish are hurting too.

According to a new Wildlife Conservation Society study, reef fish levels along middle class coastal communities in Eastern Africa tend to be significantly lower– up to 4 times lower– than along areas bordering wealthy or poor communities.

Reasons for the disparity are numerous, and they involve a complicated interplay between traditional customs, economic development and population dynamics. But middle class apathy could also be to blame.

The action of mussels on water quality is profound – blue mussel reefs, for example, are able to filter an amount of water sufficient to fill the Albert Dock in just two days

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting severe bleaching for parts of the Coral Sea, near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, and the Coral Triangle, causing immense damage to an important global marine environment over the next few months.

“This forecast bleaching episode will be caused by increased water temperatures and is the kind of event we can expect on a regular basis if average global temperatures rise above 2 degrees.” - Richard Leck, Climate Change Strategy Leader for WWF’s Coral Triangle Program.

What a promising and innovative idea is this: use a bit of solar power and the ocean’s natural chemical composition to help rebuild the East Coast’s oyster population.

As have many other parts along the East Coast, the coastal regions of New York City just aren’t what they used to be in terms of biodiversity in general and oyster populations in particular. Oyster reefs used to cover hundreds of square miles off the shore before Europeans settled in the area, but they’re now pitiable shadow of their former selves. Worse still, when the oysters go, water quality suffers (thanks to the oyster’s prodigious water-filtering capabilities.)

While coral reefs around the world are increasingly threatened by pollution, climate change and development, scientists in Bonaire are investigating a coral reef success story.

Aimed at kicking off the International Year of the Reef, the Bonaire 2008 [...]