Crossing a footbridge in central Jakarta yesterday, there were several supporters of Greenpeace. I stopped and suggested that they write to me whenever they had campaigns that needed some publicity. Thanks, they said, then asked if I wanted to join a demonstration. I pointed out that in setting up this website and through my posts on Jakartass I was doing my bit.
Taking responsibility for our personal impact on Planet Earth is not something all of us can do. For the refugees from manmade disasters such as the landslides and mud flows caused by the greed and incompetence of others it is nigh on impossible. For the rest of us, living in the complacency of our consumerism it is possible if we adjust our needs, aspirations and convictions.
..............................................
The following recognition of personal responsibility was posted by Brandon on Java Jive. Please leave comments on his site.
Environmentally Responsible In Jakarta?
As global warming and environmental concerns sweep across the world, it seems many people have started doing their part. Without realizing, it appears I’ve slowly become part of that crowd.
Growing up in the States, my first two cars were 5.0 and 5.7 liter V8 sports cars - gloriously fast. Each got about 15 miles per gallon when I wasn’t getting into trouble. When I left the States in 2002, gas was around $1.50 / gallon - in 2001 it was 74 cents a gallon at one point. It was literally cheaper to buy a gallon of fuel than a gallon of milk. In an average year I was driving about 20,000 miles with a heavy foot and going through tires as frequently as taxes.
Fast forward to 2008. I now drive a Honda that utilizes two spark plugs per cylinder, effectively burning off even more of the fuel for higher efficiency - around 35 miles per gallon. Much of the week the only driving I do is to the gym, the mall, or perhaps downtown on the weekends. Day to day I actually ride my mountain bike to work. Did I make this life change due to global warming? Not at all. I simply find that I can get to work faster on my bike than in my car. (plus I let Novita have the car). In nearly three years since I bought the Honda, I’ve driven a grand total of 25,000 kilometers, or about 5,000 miles per year.
In regards to waste removal, I simply throw my trash away in the bins in front of my home. I don’t separate anything, nor do I take the time to drive it anywhere. But guess what happens? The trash gets separated for plastic, aluminum, and paper to sell. I’ve never been conscious of this, but it appears that in effect, Jakarta has a fair system for recycling.
Because of the ridiculous cost of dryers here, we simply air dry our laundry, therefore drastically cutting electric usage. This has its downsides; clothes aren’t always nice and soft, they don’t shrink back once stretched, and if the maid leaves them in the back room, they’ll smell like nasi goreng.
I switched to an efficient front-loading washer because I was tired of the el-cheapo washers breaking yearly.
Without huge lawns to water, we aren’t draining the water table for lush greenery - it’s humid enough here to provide ample moisture year round. (Unfortunately, my neighbors feel the need to have their maids water their driveway and wash their cars twice daily).
By living on the equator, we don’t need to heat our homes throughout brutal winters, (but yes, we use air cons quite a lot).
I’ve changed many of our lightbulbs to the compact fluorescent (warmer tone) after years of using scorchingly wasteful 500 watt halogens.
From what I gather, the green lifestyle is quickly becoming an obsession in America. My friends are trading in their Hummers for Pruis. I have other friends who have shifted their entire careers into environmentally oriented start-ups. It seems the world is waking up and the America I left will never be the same again.
What are other ways we who live in Indonesia can help assist this cause? Without meaning to, I’ve improved my own carbon footprint, but surely there are more ways we can improve. Perhaps if I start now, I’ll be better adjusted to the Greening of America if/when I do return.
50 People Who Could Save The World
That headline in the Guardian caught my eye, not least because I really do not believe that the case can be made for just 50 individuals. That was the comment I made on their blog and many more agreed.
Those who are the most articulate may grab the publicity and the grant aid, so for them it's much easier to mount a platform and perform. However, it's all of us who are not in the headlines who are going to save the world.
I'm not a celebrity, but my involvement in environmental issues goes back to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in the 60's, to the squatting movement, Friends of the Earth, the anti-nuclear movement in the seventies into the eighties where I was involved in the Ecology (now Green) Party where I served on the executive committee.
So I do welcome the Al Gores and Leonardo di Cappucinos of this world and I applaud the recognition given to Henry Saragih. He's "a small farmer who has hardly seen his wife and children in 15 years since taking on the Indonesian government and the palm oil barons of Sumatra and Kalimantan. Not only does he lead a union of several million agitated Indonesian peasants, but he also heads Via Campesina, the global movement of increasingly militant peasant farmers which campaigns for land reform in 80 countries."
But then we must also recognise the almost lone voice of Riza Tjahjadi, co-ordinator of Biotani Indonesia Foundation, who is not only actively campaigning against the introduction of genetically modified seeds by major pharmaceutical companies with the backing of Indonesia's military (see my October archives), but was also a lone voice representing those sinking island nations which are too poor to have attended the recent Bali Conference on Climate Change.
I also welcome the inclusion of Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, who has gone from being a far left socialist to an inclusive 'green' innovator, and is championing renewables, energy from waste, heat and power systems, and ways Londoners can adapt their homes. The capital has seen a huge increase in cycling, and from this month most of the city's public buildings will be "retrofitted" to save energy. It's beginning to work, he says: four years ago, more than one in three Londoners used their cars every day; now fewer than one in five do.
Now if Fuddy Bozo, Governor of Jakarta, were to show a similar commitment, then I would call him a hero and by his real name and I wouldn't harp on about how he seemingly managed to amass a fortune during his 30 years as a City Hall apparatchik and said he isn't over-worried about the perennial floods "because other cities get flooded."
I'd also applaud if he could get the city planners to adopt the the architectural principles espoused by Ken Yeang, the world's leading green skyscraper architect. In the tropics especially, high-rises are traditionally the most unecological of all buildings, often wasting up to 30% more energy than lower structures built with the same materials. Yeang uses walls of plants, photo voltaics, scallop-shaped sunshades, advanced ventilation and whatever he can to collect water and breezes.
Here in Jakarta, there is Zenin Adrian whose Design Lab (ZADL) practices green building with specialization on complex geometry and digital fabrication not only to achieve energy efficiency and minimize environmental impact, but also to generate climatically responsible and locally contextual design.
There are many such local heroes, possibly even in City Hall. I mention this because Jakarta is one of the C40 cities, a group of the world's largest cities committed to tackling climate change. This group met in London last month, with Ken Livingstone in the chair. I really don't know who represented Jakarta and I'm sure that the majority of my local readers will nod knowledgeably if I suggest that the local delegates probably spent most of their time in Harrods and other upmarket shopping emporia.
Ho hum, eh?
Those who are the most articulate may grab the publicity and the grant aid, so for them it's much easier to mount a platform and perform. However, it's all of us who are not in the headlines who are going to save the world.
I'm not a celebrity, but my involvement in environmental issues goes back to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in the 60's, to the squatting movement, Friends of the Earth, the anti-nuclear movement in the seventies into the eighties where I was involved in the Ecology (now Green) Party where I served on the executive committee.
So I do welcome the Al Gores and Leonardo di Cappucinos of this world and I applaud the recognition given to Henry Saragih. He's "a small farmer who has hardly seen his wife and children in 15 years since taking on the Indonesian government and the palm oil barons of Sumatra and Kalimantan. Not only does he lead a union of several million agitated Indonesian peasants, but he also heads Via Campesina, the global movement of increasingly militant peasant farmers which campaigns for land reform in 80 countries."
But then we must also recognise the almost lone voice of Riza Tjahjadi, co-ordinator of Biotani Indonesia Foundation, who is not only actively campaigning against the introduction of genetically modified seeds by major pharmaceutical companies with the backing of Indonesia's military (see my October archives), but was also a lone voice representing those sinking island nations which are too poor to have attended the recent Bali Conference on Climate Change.
I also welcome the inclusion of Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, who has gone from being a far left socialist to an inclusive 'green' innovator, and is championing renewables, energy from waste, heat and power systems, and ways Londoners can adapt their homes. The capital has seen a huge increase in cycling, and from this month most of the city's public buildings will be "retrofitted" to save energy. It's beginning to work, he says: four years ago, more than one in three Londoners used their cars every day; now fewer than one in five do.
Now if Fuddy Bozo, Governor of Jakarta, were to show a similar commitment, then I would call him a hero and by his real name and I wouldn't harp on about how he seemingly managed to amass a fortune during his 30 years as a City Hall apparatchik and said he isn't over-worried about the perennial floods "because other cities get flooded."
I'd also applaud if he could get the city planners to adopt the the architectural principles espoused by Ken Yeang, the world's leading green skyscraper architect. In the tropics especially, high-rises are traditionally the most unecological of all buildings, often wasting up to 30% more energy than lower structures built with the same materials. Yeang uses walls of plants, photo voltaics, scallop-shaped sunshades, advanced ventilation and whatever he can to collect water and breezes.
Here in Jakarta, there is Zenin Adrian whose Design Lab (ZADL) practices green building with specialization on complex geometry and digital fabrication not only to achieve energy efficiency and minimize environmental impact, but also to generate climatically responsible and locally contextual design.
There are many such local heroes, possibly even in City Hall. I mention this because Jakarta is one of the C40 cities, a group of the world's largest cities committed to tackling climate change. This group met in London last month, with Ken Livingstone in the chair. I really don't know who represented Jakarta and I'm sure that the majority of my local readers will nod knowledgeably if I suggest that the local delegates probably spent most of their time in Harrods and other upmarket shopping emporia.
Ho hum, eh?
Ah, B*gger It
Did you know that paper bags are worse for the environment than plastic bags? I didn't until today, which shows that Jakartass is behind the times. But then, so is Lucy Siegle, the 'green' correspondent of the UK Observer, who writes about her collection of bags for life, bags for today, bags for tomorrow...
I am in danger of turning into a bag lady. Not sartorially speaking, but because every day brings a slew of eco totes and green shopping bags. I now have more eco bags than I ever had plastic.
The development of 'eco bags' labelled 'This Is Not A Plastic Bag' came about because of a number of reports, including one for the EU in September 2004, brought together in March 2007 following the passing of an ordinance (local law) in San Francisco effectively banning the use of plastic grocery bags at supermarkets and large pharmacies. The objective was to stop environmental degradation and reduce litter, and its solution was to legislate the replacement of traditional plastic bags with reusable bags or bags made from paper or compostable plastic.
In an effort to gauge the impact of the decision, both in terms of environmental impact and litter reduction, the Editors of The ULS Report (Use Less Stuff) ... examined a number of credible third-party research reports, and used the findings to develop their own conclusions and recommendations
Another of the reports ULS used was commissioned by Carrefour, the French hypermarket chain partly responsible for overwhelming localised mom and pop retail businesses here in Jakarta, commissioned a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) report on plastic bags from Price Waterhouse back in 2004.
Some Findings:
1. According to the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), current research demonstrates that paper in today's landfills does not degrade or break down at a substantially faster rate than plastic does. In fact, nothing completely degrades in modern landfills due to the lack of water, light, oxygen, and other important elements that are necessary for the degradation process to be completed.
2. By definition, composting and biodegradation release carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere, increasing the potential for climate change. For example, composted paper produces approximately twice the CO2 emissions produced by non-composted paper.
3. Plastic bags generate 60% less greenhouse gas emissions than uncomposted paper bags, and 79% less greenhouse gas emissions than composted paper bags.
4. It takes 91 percent less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper.
5. Paper sacks generate 70 percent more air, and 50 times more water pollutants, than plastic bags.
Presumably Carrefour noted these findings because they still ply you with umpteen logo-emblazoned bags which are so thin that they're generally only suitable for two uses - one to carry your groceries home and the other to put all the unnecessary packing in so that it can be dumped in Jakarta's landfills in the neighbouring townships.
Or thrown in the rivers, such as this one in Tanah Abang, Jakarta, where they exacerbate flooding before reaching the oceans where they choke sea life such as dolphins and turtles.
As Lucy Seigle notes, over 100,000 birds and a large amount of marine life die each year courtesy of plastic waste, of which plastic bags are a large contributor - not surprisingly, given that less than one per cent are recycled.
The answers are simple, even here in Jakarta.
1. Litter bugs should join 'Clean Up Brigades', as part of a legally enforceable community service.
2. Shops should charge an exorbitant amount for carrier bags, thereby encouraging shoppers to use 'long life bags', preferably made from 100 per cent recycled polyethylene.
And given that those who shop the most are the richer folk, then they can probably afford to use a Voltaic Solar Backpack or two, made from recycled plastic mineral bottles with three or more tough, light weight, waterproof solar panels and a battery pack with 3 voltage settings to store solar power.
It seems to be up to you as to how you use your stored up energy although it is not designed to charge laptops; it will however charge cell phones, sat phones, PDAs, GPSs, iPods, cameras and most other handheld electronics.
At $249 this seems to be a mere snip for those on the go. However, apart from a pocket-sized camera, I haven't got any of those electronic gadgets, so this bag is not for me.
Besides, if I had $249 to spare, I could always employ one of the locally unemployed for a month or two to carry my shopping.
I am in danger of turning into a bag lady. Not sartorially speaking, but because every day brings a slew of eco totes and green shopping bags. I now have more eco bags than I ever had plastic.
The development of 'eco bags' labelled 'This Is Not A Plastic Bag' came about because of a number of reports, including one for the EU in September 2004, brought together in March 2007 following the passing of an ordinance (local law) in San Francisco effectively banning the use of plastic grocery bags at supermarkets and large pharmacies. The objective was to stop environmental degradation and reduce litter, and its solution was to legislate the replacement of traditional plastic bags with reusable bags or bags made from paper or compostable plastic.In an effort to gauge the impact of the decision, both in terms of environmental impact and litter reduction, the Editors of The ULS Report (Use Less Stuff) ... examined a number of credible third-party research reports, and used the findings to develop their own conclusions and recommendations
Another of the reports ULS used was commissioned by Carrefour, the French hypermarket chain partly responsible for overwhelming localised mom and pop retail businesses here in Jakarta, commissioned a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) report on plastic bags from Price Waterhouse back in 2004.
Some Findings:
1. According to the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), current research demonstrates that paper in today's landfills does not degrade or break down at a substantially faster rate than plastic does. In fact, nothing completely degrades in modern landfills due to the lack of water, light, oxygen, and other important elements that are necessary for the degradation process to be completed.
2. By definition, composting and biodegradation release carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere, increasing the potential for climate change. For example, composted paper produces approximately twice the CO2 emissions produced by non-composted paper.
3. Plastic bags generate 60% less greenhouse gas emissions than uncomposted paper bags, and 79% less greenhouse gas emissions than composted paper bags.
4. It takes 91 percent less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper.
5. Paper sacks generate 70 percent more air, and 50 times more water pollutants, than plastic bags.
Presumably Carrefour noted these findings because they still ply you with umpteen logo-emblazoned bags which are so thin that they're generally only suitable for two uses - one to carry your groceries home and the other to put all the unnecessary packing in so that it can be dumped in Jakarta's landfills in the neighbouring townships.
Or thrown in the rivers, such as this one in Tanah Abang, Jakarta, where they exacerbate flooding before reaching the oceans where they choke sea life such as dolphins and turtles.As Lucy Seigle notes, over 100,000 birds and a large amount of marine life die each year courtesy of plastic waste, of which plastic bags are a large contributor - not surprisingly, given that less than one per cent are recycled.
The answers are simple, even here in Jakarta.
1. Litter bugs should join 'Clean Up Brigades', as part of a legally enforceable community service.2. Shops should charge an exorbitant amount for carrier bags, thereby encouraging shoppers to use 'long life bags', preferably made from 100 per cent recycled polyethylene.
And given that those who shop the most are the richer folk, then they can probably afford to use a Voltaic Solar Backpack or two, made from recycled plastic mineral bottles with three or more tough, light weight, waterproof solar panels and a battery pack with 3 voltage settings to store solar power.
It seems to be up to you as to how you use your stored up energy although it is not designed to charge laptops; it will however charge cell phones, sat phones, PDAs, GPSs, iPods, cameras and most other handheld electronics.
At $249 this seems to be a mere snip for those on the go. However, apart from a pocket-sized camera, I haven't got any of those electronic gadgets, so this bag is not for me.
Besides, if I had $249 to spare, I could always employ one of the locally unemployed for a month or two to carry my shopping.
Dive Responsibly
No-one in the UK lives more than 100 kilometres from the sea and 'taking the waters' was embedded in my upbringing, not least because my grandparents lived in Eastbourne, on the south coast. Every year my sister and I would traipse down to the beaches, which are pebbly and really difficult to hobble across, and into the cold briny waves. We were told that it was good for us, but we preferred beachcombing.
Of course, being an island nation, we knew the importance of the sea; it provided the fish to go with our chips and for nine hundred years it had protected us from numerous invaders including the Spanish, the French and the Germans. Our national heroes were Walter Raleigh, Horatio Nelson, and although Johnny Foreigner lived overseas, we were proud that our island status afforded refugees asylum from régimes we didn't support.
The seas and oceans had also allowed us to build the empire which spawned the Industrial Revolution and, ultimately, the ecological mess we're all in now. At school we came to admire the explorers and missionaries who, for reasons I no longer support, opened our eyes to the blue yonder and led to my own curiosity and need to travel.
Twenty odd, very odd, years ago, I visited a friend in Fiji. It was halfway round the world from my then home in London, so I had sampled the waves of Goa and Ko Pha Nang en route and discovered that floating in warm water was actually quite pleasant, although lying around on beaches was still very boring. But a beach bar at sunset is idyllic.
When I arrived it was Easter and my friend had included me in her plans for the holidays - a diving trip to some outer islands. I had read the book and seen the movie Jaws but had never had the desire to breath under water, even in Jacques Cousteau's realm. Did you know that snorkelling and snoring are etymologically related?
However, it was important that I should not appear churlish, so I was taken to a local swimming pool in the capital, Suva, and the duck dive was demonstrated to me. Head down, bum up? Nope, this dope couldn't do that.
Eventually, and probably exasperated by this time, my friend drove us to a beach which gently dipped into the warm sea. I donned flippers and was told, yet again, how to wear a mask and breath through a snorkel tube. I dipped my head into the water and saw a few tiny brightly coloured fish mere centimeters away from my nose, which was fortunately protected by my mask.
With my hands grasping the crunched up coral I carefully crawled after these aquarium sized creatures. It was a comfortable thing to do. I was therefore surprised to find myself out of my depth, and, believe me, I'm tall. Yet when I realised that this beach was protected by a coral reef, that the waves were flat and the life below them was visually stunning, and that the sea was warm and nice to float in and ....wow, I was ready for the trip to some outer islands.
I watched as my friend and her buddies paired off, which is what divers should do. I was given a buddy, too, as well as a pair of arm floats. After they had carefully backflipped into the sea below our boat and disappeared, my buddy and I entered and headed for the reef we had anchored next to. The edge of the reef was a massive wall and I couldn't see its base way down in the darkness. I'm generally scared of heights, but with the comforting embrace of the warm sea I knew I could float above it without fear.
I observed how the top of the reef was little more than half a metre from the surface of the water. This was where my buddy headed for with some alacrity when he spotted a couple of sharks up ahead. Not me, no fear, no siree. I followed them as they cruised nonchalantly past the coral garden and the ever-changing clouds of psychedelically-hued fish.
Wow, I thought. I was hooked on nature's hallucinogen.
Later, on another day, I was strapped into the full gear of a half-empty tank and a beltload of weights. Having watched my new found buddies dive below with no apparent fear, I had to try it. Off the back I went and duck dived below the surface. This was easy, I thought, as I inspected my surroundings; if you don't let yourself panic, things are fine. Just don't panic, don't ... panic, .... panic ... which is, of course, what I did.
Ho hum, but never mind, I can still snorkel and duck dive and I have done this since in innumerable sites around Indonesia in the company of turtles, sea snakes and, yes, sharks.
Clown fish among sea anemones in Indonesia
I've also seen reefs destroyed with dynamite, poisoned with cyanide, bleached by global warming and wrecked by the anchors of sightseers and divers.
Mankind supposedly crawled out of this underwater world eons ago. Thanks to the ravages we have wreaked on the planet, it is increasingly likely that we will soon crawl back.
It was reported recently (again) that acidic seas may kill 98% of world's reefs by 2050 .
"Before the industrial revolution over 98% of warm water coral reefs were bathed with open ocean waters 3.5 times supersaturated with aragonite, meaning that corals could easily extract it to build reefs," said Long Cao, a co-author from the Carnegie Institution in Stanford. "If atmospheric carbon dioxide stabilises at 550ppm, and even that would take concerted international effort, no existing coral reef will remain in such an environment."
In the past changes in ocean acidity have caused mass extinction events. According to a study published in the September 2006 issue of Geology, dramatically warmer and more acidic oceans may have contributed to the worst mass extinction on record, the Permian extinction. During the extinction event, which occurred some 250 million years ago, about 95% of ocean's life forms became extinct. The same fate could befall modern day marine life.
The good news is that this eco-system will recover and thrive for a few million years more until the next supposedly intelligent species emerges. Meanwhile, our final moments as the 'superior species' can be postponed.
Rather than being mere sightseers, we can get involved with the communities we pass through.
For example, a new report, Nature’s Investment Bank published by the Nature Conservancy, "conclusively proves that marine protected areas (MPAs) can help alleviate poverty".
The findings, based on academic studies in Fiji and Indonesia among others, provide recommendations for how to protect unique marine life while improving the well-being of impoverished communities who depend on fishing for food and livelihoods.
They found that MPAs can lead to improved fish catches, new jobs, mostly in tourism, and stronger local governance with resulting benefits to health and for women.
Hopefully, these models can be in place before irrevocable damage is done.
Where damage has occurred, a technique, called Biorock™, was developed by the late architect Wolf Hilbertz in order to provide alternative construction materials. He and Tom Goreau of the Global Coral Reef Alliance later developed its use for reef restoration and shore protection.
Biorock Technology, or mineral accretion technology is a method that applies safe, low voltage electrical currents (from solar panels) through seawater, causing dissolved minerals to crystallize on structures, growing into a white limestone similar to that which naturally makes up coral reefs and tropical white sand beaches. This material has a strength similar to concrete. It can be used to make robust artificial reefs on which corals grow at very rapid rates.
Biorock methods speed up coral growth in damaged areas and restore authentic coral reef habitat and species. Biorock structures become rapidly colonized by a full range of coral reef organisms, including fish, crabs, clams, octopuses, lobsters, sea urchins.
So, the next time you explore a reef, give some thought to how it has developed, how fragile it is and ensure that you aren't making more work those who depend on its vitality, the fish, crabs, clams, octopus, lobster, sea urchins.
Oh, and we people.
...........................................
Further reading
Reef Relief
What you can do - essential read
Coral Reef Alliance
International Year of the Reef 2008
NB. This post has been written as a contribution to Pelf's Group Writing Project - 31 Ways to Save The Oceans.
Of course, being an island nation, we knew the importance of the sea; it provided the fish to go with our chips and for nine hundred years it had protected us from numerous invaders including the Spanish, the French and the Germans. Our national heroes were Walter Raleigh, Horatio Nelson, and although Johnny Foreigner lived overseas, we were proud that our island status afforded refugees asylum from régimes we didn't support.
The seas and oceans had also allowed us to build the empire which spawned the Industrial Revolution and, ultimately, the ecological mess we're all in now. At school we came to admire the explorers and missionaries who, for reasons I no longer support, opened our eyes to the blue yonder and led to my own curiosity and need to travel.
Twenty odd, very odd, years ago, I visited a friend in Fiji. It was halfway round the world from my then home in London, so I had sampled the waves of Goa and Ko Pha Nang en route and discovered that floating in warm water was actually quite pleasant, although lying around on beaches was still very boring. But a beach bar at sunset is idyllic.
When I arrived it was Easter and my friend had included me in her plans for the holidays - a diving trip to some outer islands. I had read the book and seen the movie Jaws but had never had the desire to breath under water, even in Jacques Cousteau's realm. Did you know that snorkelling and snoring are etymologically related?
However, it was important that I should not appear churlish, so I was taken to a local swimming pool in the capital, Suva, and the duck dive was demonstrated to me. Head down, bum up? Nope, this dope couldn't do that.
Eventually, and probably exasperated by this time, my friend drove us to a beach which gently dipped into the warm sea. I donned flippers and was told, yet again, how to wear a mask and breath through a snorkel tube. I dipped my head into the water and saw a few tiny brightly coloured fish mere centimeters away from my nose, which was fortunately protected by my mask.
With my hands grasping the crunched up coral I carefully crawled after these aquarium sized creatures. It was a comfortable thing to do. I was therefore surprised to find myself out of my depth, and, believe me, I'm tall. Yet when I realised that this beach was protected by a coral reef, that the waves were flat and the life below them was visually stunning, and that the sea was warm and nice to float in and ....wow, I was ready for the trip to some outer islands.
I watched as my friend and her buddies paired off, which is what divers should do. I was given a buddy, too, as well as a pair of arm floats. After they had carefully backflipped into the sea below our boat and disappeared, my buddy and I entered and headed for the reef we had anchored next to. The edge of the reef was a massive wall and I couldn't see its base way down in the darkness. I'm generally scared of heights, but with the comforting embrace of the warm sea I knew I could float above it without fear.
I observed how the top of the reef was little more than half a metre from the surface of the water. This was where my buddy headed for with some alacrity when he spotted a couple of sharks up ahead. Not me, no fear, no siree. I followed them as they cruised nonchalantly past the coral garden and the ever-changing clouds of psychedelically-hued fish.
Wow, I thought. I was hooked on nature's hallucinogen.
Later, on another day, I was strapped into the full gear of a half-empty tank and a beltload of weights. Having watched my new found buddies dive below with no apparent fear, I had to try it. Off the back I went and duck dived below the surface. This was easy, I thought, as I inspected my surroundings; if you don't let yourself panic, things are fine. Just don't panic, don't ... panic, .... panic ... which is, of course, what I did.
Ho hum, but never mind, I can still snorkel and duck dive and I have done this since in innumerable sites around Indonesia in the company of turtles, sea snakes and, yes, sharks.
Clown fish among sea anemones in IndonesiaI've also seen reefs destroyed with dynamite, poisoned with cyanide, bleached by global warming and wrecked by the anchors of sightseers and divers.
Mankind supposedly crawled out of this underwater world eons ago. Thanks to the ravages we have wreaked on the planet, it is increasingly likely that we will soon crawl back.
It was reported recently (again) that acidic seas may kill 98% of world's reefs by 2050 .
"Before the industrial revolution over 98% of warm water coral reefs were bathed with open ocean waters 3.5 times supersaturated with aragonite, meaning that corals could easily extract it to build reefs," said Long Cao, a co-author from the Carnegie Institution in Stanford. "If atmospheric carbon dioxide stabilises at 550ppm, and even that would take concerted international effort, no existing coral reef will remain in such an environment."
In the past changes in ocean acidity have caused mass extinction events. According to a study published in the September 2006 issue of Geology, dramatically warmer and more acidic oceans may have contributed to the worst mass extinction on record, the Permian extinction. During the extinction event, which occurred some 250 million years ago, about 95% of ocean's life forms became extinct. The same fate could befall modern day marine life.
The good news is that this eco-system will recover and thrive for a few million years more until the next supposedly intelligent species emerges. Meanwhile, our final moments as the 'superior species' can be postponed.
Rather than being mere sightseers, we can get involved with the communities we pass through.
For example, a new report, Nature’s Investment Bank published by the Nature Conservancy, "conclusively proves that marine protected areas (MPAs) can help alleviate poverty".
The findings, based on academic studies in Fiji and Indonesia among others, provide recommendations for how to protect unique marine life while improving the well-being of impoverished communities who depend on fishing for food and livelihoods.
They found that MPAs can lead to improved fish catches, new jobs, mostly in tourism, and stronger local governance with resulting benefits to health and for women.
Hopefully, these models can be in place before irrevocable damage is done.
Where damage has occurred, a technique, called Biorock™, was developed by the late architect Wolf Hilbertz in order to provide alternative construction materials. He and Tom Goreau of the Global Coral Reef Alliance later developed its use for reef restoration and shore protection.
Biorock Technology, or mineral accretion technology is a method that applies safe, low voltage electrical currents (from solar panels) through seawater, causing dissolved minerals to crystallize on structures, growing into a white limestone similar to that which naturally makes up coral reefs and tropical white sand beaches. This material has a strength similar to concrete. It can be used to make robust artificial reefs on which corals grow at very rapid rates.
Biorock methods speed up coral growth in damaged areas and restore authentic coral reef habitat and species. Biorock structures become rapidly colonized by a full range of coral reef organisms, including fish, crabs, clams, octopuses, lobsters, sea urchins.
So, the next time you explore a reef, give some thought to how it has developed, how fragile it is and ensure that you aren't making more work those who depend on its vitality, the fish, crabs, clams, octopus, lobster, sea urchins.
Oh, and we people.
...........................................
Further reading
Reef Relief
What you can do - essential read
Coral Reef Alliance
International Year of the Reef 2008
NB. This post has been written as a contribution to Pelf's Group Writing Project - 31 Ways to Save The Oceans.
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