not new news, but still saddening.

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The Jam-is-on said:
Absolutely! Which makes me wonder just how much, if any, real effect our emissions and consumption have on the whole process. I think anyone would have to agree that our irresponsible consumption of natural resources would make the planet far less comfortable for us to inhabit but are we really capable of causing our own extinction? Would we be capable of this within our lifetime? How many generations? If the oil runs out, would we not adapt to other means?

It seems to me that the earth and the universe continually adapt in the favor of sustaining life, albeit at an extremely slow rate, so would it not be plausible that life on the planet would adapt just as well. Dinosaurs were here and now they aren't. We are here now and may very well be gone eventually. Science tends to show a trend of species thriving and facing eventual extinction. Should we be any different? Our time here may just be another blink of the eye of existence paving the way for little green earthlings.

AMEN!
 
The Jam-is-on said:
Absolutely! Which makes me wonder just how much, if any, real effect our emissions and consumption have on the whole process. I think anyone would have to agree that our irresponsible consumption of natural resources would make the planet far less comfortable for us to inhabit but are we really capable of causing our own extinction? Would we be capable of this within our lifetime? How many generations? If the oil runs out, would we not adapt to other means?

It seems to me that the earth and the universe continually adapt in the favor of sustaining life, albeit at an extremely slow rate, so would it not be plausible that life on the planet would adapt just as well. Dinosaurs were here and now they aren't. We are here now and may very well be gone eventually. Science tends to show a trend of species thriving and facing eventual extinction. Should we be any different? Our time here may just be another blink of the eye of existence paving the way for little green earthlings.

I agree that the world adapts however, usually everything will die off and the few things that are left evolve. Not something I would want to see. I say save the planet and watch what is alive now evolve to the next stage.
 
I agree that the world adapts however, usually everything will die off and the few things that are left evolve. Not something I would want to see. I say save the planet and watch what is alive now evolve to the next stage.

I agree and don't get me wrong, I think we should absolutely be doing all we can to protect and preserve our planet and its inhabitants. It just so often feels futile. Humankind is so riddled with ego, greed, hypocrisy, and ignorance that it seems to smother any resemblance of the "big picture". We stress and struggle daily over finances and how we decorate our individual homes that we fail to realize that we are all living together.It's highly likely that in the blink of eye, none of it will even matter. Unless our Gods do exist as we believe them to, most of us won't even remain a memory past our grandchildren. All our successes and failures reduced to an entry in a log book which will inevitably be incinerated along with the rest of the planet.

With that being said, I try to embrace the moment. The here and now is all we truly have so yes, we need to save the reefs, the whales, the rain forests, and the whole lot. It sure would make our fleeting time here a little more pleasant.
 
Wow great thread. Now my 2 cents We are repeating history we came from Mars, were we did the same thing screwed the planet over used it up without regard for the next gen
Look at the signs...... Space men it was us! (Nature waste nothing yet we use only 10% of our brain? make sense?) We destroyed one planet and we now destroy another. The history is written we just just chose to ignore it (or hide it ) in order to make a buck.
We have almost come full circle when we finely kill this planet the wise will go to yet another and start over but they will leave the high tec crap behind just like before. Because if we can rape our world we will.
Better to start in the Stone age it will take thousands of years to get were we are now, and maby just maby we'll learn this time. before it's to late..........

Neuroscience For Kids - 10% of the Brain Myth

It is basically fact that the sun will swell and heat the Earth to the point where it will be uninhabitable. This will happen far before the sun will swallow the Earth.

There is defiantly no advance life on other planets in our solar system IMO. But as for microorganism and simple life I do not know. Stephen hawking believes that there is a great possibility with the size of space that there has to be intelligent life somewhere.

This video can give a little insight on how vast space is.
How Big is the Universe? Science of Space. - Video

Great article Mr X. We as reefers need to establish a way to preserve and give back to the reefs that allow us this hobby. Maybe we can collectively put our heads together and figure out a way to do so. Any ideas?
 
A new reality show! "Reef Wars!"

Seriously though, didn't mean to hijack the thread into the cosmic debate. I have recently come in to the hobby and have fallen in love with it. Reef keeping is still down the road for me and I would like see them well taken care of!

What are the most common threats to our reef systems?
 
PistolPete said:
Pollution, Overfishing, Destructive Fishing Practices, Careless Tourism, Sedimentation, Erosion, Coral Mining, Drastic Climate Change, Disease, Coral Bleaching and Costal Development.

Destructive fishing practices and sedimentation are big one for the cold water reefs in the mid atlantic.. speaking of..how was the trip to obx? Next year if we go at same time we should catch a bite to eat and talk tank.
 
Destructive fishing practices and sedimentation are big one for the cold water reefs in the mid atlantic.. speaking of..how was the trip to obx? Next year if we go at same time we should catch a bite to eat and talk tank.

That sounds like a good idea. My trip was great. I was at Awful Arthurs with my family and I heard someone say they were from Erie and I though of you haha. By that time my tank will be over a year old and hopefully thriving!

Why don't you PM me. I don't want to hijack the thread, especially Mr X's.
 
I kind of understand feeling guilty keeping a home aquarium, but am I the only person here who sees responsible reef keepers as a good thing? We are helping to preserve some species in the home environment. That being said, for every responsible aquarium owner there are probably three bad ones. The key is to research and make sure that livestock you buy is going to thrive. Not perish needlessly.
 
I kind of understand feeling guilty keeping a home aquarium, but am I the only person here who sees responsible reef keepers as a good thing?

I think we are trying to be responsible, but we need to find a way to give more to the reefs than we take from them. Kind of like the theory if you cut down a tree you should plant two in its place. This is an issue that needs to be addressed and if we can't solve it we need to stop exploiting the reefs IMO.

Things are going to happen naturally that will harm reefs. We don't have control over that. But I think we need to keep pollution out of the reefs and give them a chance to thrive.

I there a way to grow coral and reintroduce it to the wild. I know thats not the whole issue but it could help.
 
Excuse my ignorance on the matter, but what are frags? If they grow, do our natural reefs grow and expand as well? Or are we preventing that?
 
Conditions prevent the reef from recovering. Most of the coral species grow like weeds if allowed to. A "frag" is basically a cutting, like you might do with a plant, that can be fastened to a small rock or piece of plastic. That frag will then grow into a new piece of coral. The mother coral, should just keep growing.
 
Fragging is a little piece of coral that taken off a larger piece and then placed on a frag disc, plug or rock (im not sure if other people use other things). That way coral doesn't have to harvested it can just be fragged and many people can have reef at home.
 
One of the biggest things you can do is check your laundry detergents, dishwasher liquids, etc. Most detergents have phosphates which are causing massive algae blooms all over our water ways, choking out natural plant life.
 
A new reality show! "Reef Wars!"

Seriously though, didn't mean to hijack the thread into the cosmic debate. I have recently come in to the hobby and have fallen in love with it. Reef keeping is still down the road for me and I would like see them well taken care of!

What are the most common threats to our reef systems?

Not sure if I missed it, but just wanted to add, one of the most detrimental threats to the reef systems is the acidification of the ocean. I forget the number, but a large percentage of the CO² released into the enviroment gets absorbed by the ocean. This lowers the pH of the ocean, which interfers with the corals ability to get the calcium and minerals they need from the water.

When scientists talk about reefs only surviving in aquariums, I believe thats the effect they expect to cause it. If we are able to reverse it later to the point where coral could survive in the wild again, then the home aquariums could be a treasure trove of species for re-introduction.
 
The Jam-is-on said:
Excuse my ignorance on the matter, but what are frags? If they grow, do our natural reefs grow and expand as well? Or are we preventing that?

I'm pretty positive it is possible because while I was in cozumel Mexico for vacation a few years back they had started a program with the local high school where as a project the students would says culture a piece of coral then drag it and place the drags back into the ocean where they had doubled the size of an existing reef. Or that's what the tour guide told us
 
There are several groups that are reseeding reefs. They build artificial reefs out of hydraulic concrete, or sink old ships and then if the natural environment doesn't take over, they can reseed with frags.

It is kind of weird karma that the oil derricks in the ocean, that threaten the natural reefs are themselves artificial reefs.
 
Thats a great idea. my tank is boring because i will only keep CB fish and corals would love a Hippo tang but untill there captive bred i wont do it.
 
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