I just read Bruce Ramsey's column about
the coral reefs and was surprised by his conclusions. I saw the same Imax film, "Coral Reef Adventure," a movie by the National Wildlife Federation, about two weeks ago and walked away from the experience thinking if the media were more inclined to incorporate educational tools into entertainment mediums, our culture would be more easily enlightened.
The disputed film explores coral reefs of the south Pacific and generally concludes that they are dying off as a result of our negative effects on their ecosystems in general. The film cites global warming and logging as two primary factors that proliferate the decline of our ocean's reefs.
Ramsey is aggressively defensive when considering these options, citing that
the producers were seeking to promote "a certain social view." Indeed they
are -- the social view of a scientific community that is no longer in the dark
regarding the destruction of our waters.
While President Bush may not be directly to blame for global warming, his ignorant, unscientific policies certainly don't help the cause. Bush is the last person Ramsey should defend in the name of accurate environmental studies.
On the logging front, there is no debate as to whether or not logging increases sedimentation in streams and ocean-bound tributaries. Run off clogs rivers, raises the temperture of the water and creates dead zones around the deltas where it is eventually dispersed. This isn't theory, it's fact.
Like it or not, man is the primary factor in the decline of natural areas. Locally, our resident Orca populations have declined drastically in recent years. Marine biologists cite chemicals and pollutants in our waters as having the greatest effect. While the Candainan government has placed the J-Pod Orcas of the San Juans on its version of the endangered species list, our own government is dragging its feet.
With an oceanic catastrophe so close to our shores, it's hard to understand
where Ramsey gets the gall to defend the shortsighted consequences of man's
exploits at the expense of nature as a whole.
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