After/Before
Coral reef depletion is a huge problem that faces the world today. I love the ocean and all of the wonders of the underwater world. It is beautiful and people take it for granted. People don't realize how much that they can impact the coral reefs and how important they are to the ocean ecosystems.
I read an article written by Ker Than for National Geographic News on August 18,2011 that was talking about how humans have actually given coral a disease.
(View Atrticle Here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/08/110818-human-waste-feces-bacteria-coral-plos-florida-caribbean-science/ )
Basically the article is saying that humans in the Keys are giving the coral a disease from bacteria that contaminates human blood. It is spreading to the coral by way of human feces. Now, obviously the biggest issue here is the fact that our "waste" is killing an entire species. This is not good. Bacteria is seeping into our oceans from one sewage plant in the Keys and has done this much damage to a species? If thats just one place, just think about how much happens around the world. I am sure that the Florida Keys are not the only sewage plants with this issue.
One thing the article doesn't discuss though is the fact that, if our waste is killing this coral, what is it doing to other species including humans themselves? Then there is the other obvious factor that really grosses me out the most. Our feces is killing coral. Coral is found in the ocean. We swim in the ocean. Therefore, we are swimming in bacteria from our own feces. Doesn't that make you want to go to the beach?
White pox is what they are calling this disease which sounds awful to me because it sounds like small pox or chicken pox. It is so sad to think of all the coral we have lost because of the carlessness of people not making sure that their factories and plants are safe and secure. In the article, it states that Key West has now updated their facilities so that there are no leaks, but they didn't do that until after tests were done to prove that it was in fact human feces and not another animal that was causing the problem. All businesses and people in general need to be aware of the impact they have on the environment because once we lose it, we can't get it back.
Pictures Found At...
http://divegallery.com/coral_colony.htm
http://123rf.com/photo_9552749-phot0-of-a-coral-colony-on-a-reef-red-sea-egypt.html
I read an article written by Ker Than for National Geographic News on August 18,2011 that was talking about how humans have actually given coral a disease.
(View Atrticle Here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/08/110818-human-waste-feces-bacteria-coral-plos-florida-caribbean-science/ )
Basically the article is saying that humans in the Keys are giving the coral a disease from bacteria that contaminates human blood. It is spreading to the coral by way of human feces. Now, obviously the biggest issue here is the fact that our "waste" is killing an entire species. This is not good. Bacteria is seeping into our oceans from one sewage plant in the Keys and has done this much damage to a species? If thats just one place, just think about how much happens around the world. I am sure that the Florida Keys are not the only sewage plants with this issue.
One thing the article doesn't discuss though is the fact that, if our waste is killing this coral, what is it doing to other species including humans themselves? Then there is the other obvious factor that really grosses me out the most. Our feces is killing coral. Coral is found in the ocean. We swim in the ocean. Therefore, we are swimming in bacteria from our own feces. Doesn't that make you want to go to the beach?
White pox is what they are calling this disease which sounds awful to me because it sounds like small pox or chicken pox. It is so sad to think of all the coral we have lost because of the carlessness of people not making sure that their factories and plants are safe and secure. In the article, it states that Key West has now updated their facilities so that there are no leaks, but they didn't do that until after tests were done to prove that it was in fact human feces and not another animal that was causing the problem. All businesses and people in general need to be aware of the impact they have on the environment because once we lose it, we can't get it back.
Pictures Found At...
http://divegallery.com/coral_colony.htm
http://123rf.com/photo_9552749-phot0-of-a-coral-colony-on-a-reef-red-sea-egypt.html
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