It is time to do something.

[Yellowtang]

The way that movie was presented didn't apear to have anything to do with this hobby. They were concerned about CO2 emmisions. In that even if no other corals were collected for any reason. The reef would still die because of elevated CO2. With all the other factors creating green house gases. Polluting the air with all the factories, and cutting down rain forest to support growing of food for 6.8 BILLION people. The astronomical rise in CO2 alone is gona kill us all if nothing is done.

JR,

 

[kiraburk]

^ +1

There are a lot of different things that impact the reefs - and while reefers collecting wild corals may not be helping - it's one of the smallest impacts made on the reef.

But hopefully - with all the aquaculture and corals in the hobby already - if the reefs do die off - I would hope that we as hobbyists, would donate some corals to help seed the reef - if it ever came down to it at least.

 

[reefdan]

i think we need to consider levels of energy consumption -this was touched on earlier but is often overlooked.

many reefers (including myself) have lots of equipment and some very powerful lighting systems. switching to renewable energy sources (solar, hydrogen, etc.) provided by our utility companies does a lot to offset the carbon footprint of our addiction. this, along with aquaculture, is a great place to start.

efficient aquaculture (that done outdoors like ORA) does a lot to reduce carbon emissions. there's no huge electricity usage and corals need not be flown across the ocean overnight in temperature controlled jumbo aircraft.

temperature changes have a huge impact on reef bleaching and death. while the source of these changes are in dispute, doing more to decrease energy consumption can only have a positive impact. imo, it's just the way everyone should live: sustainability based instead of consumption based.

part of the problem: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_work_ethic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Protestant_Ethic_and_the_Spirit_of_Capitalism . lol that really brings me back to college sociology

 

[GrouperGenius]

That fish/coral collector has a family to feed also....jus' sayin'

 

[JNye]

i think our hobby is good for the reefs as long as collection is done in a sustainable way. No different than harvesting any other sustainable natural resource.

the surface of earth recieves more energy in on hour from the sun than we use in a year. i heard that one on some program, pretty amazing to think we aren't farther along in harnessing that energy more efficiently.

 

[reefdan]

That fish/coral collector has a family to feed also....jus' sayin'

very true. i hear a lot of collector areas are developing programs on mariculture in order to shift communities away from collecting and into more sustainable businesses. it's a step in the right direction and i think those communities realize the reefs are their lifeblood.

 

[reefdan]

also, i think that this discussion has proven that many of us are going in the right direction with our approach to reefing. as long as we keep discussing it and educate ourselves/others, we can make it work. just 10 years ago no one cared about reef sustainability -the only thing i remember hearing about was the ozone layer. now there are a lot of programs out there trying to save the reefs (and us).