Today's lecture at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology
inspired me to think more critically. From the lecture this
morning, I focused on what to change in my everyday habits,
or as our lecturer described our "carbon footprint". Our
world is ignorant to the environment issues that are taking
place because we can't physically see them yet. Even
lobbyists for oil companies advocate that our world is fine
and there are no problems that need fixing. But if we ignore
the problems and live comfortably in the present, there will
be long lasting effects in the future. Simple things can be
done to help our world in an eco friendly way, just like
changing your light bulbs frequently is one way to help.
Another hard hitting fact was that coral reefs may be
extinct by 2100. How can you ignore a prediction like that?
Without coral reefs, there would be no fish, sea
critters,well seafood entirely. If seafood was depleted,
humans would need another source of food since people are
dependent on seafood. We must first educate our public so
they know something needs to be done. As our lecturer said,
we need to learn how to manage our resources. This could be
letting the big fish grow and only catching smaller fish.
Also, voting in general can help. Overall this lecture was
very informative and shined a different light on
environmental issues because it can affect my future for
myself and children someday.
Coconut Island had so much to offer, there were numerous
research projects going on at a time but all related to
biological connectivity which was the topic for our lecture.
One of the research projects that I found interesting was
that Tilapia fish have similar nervous systems to those of
humans. This means that one day these fish can serve as
testing organisms for experiments instead of mice. It was
also interesting to see sharks and pufferfish first hand.
The history of the island was intriguing because of the
addition that was added years ago by the settlers of the
island. It is hard work to move reefs and sand to make more
land and also create a lagoon.
It was an honor to know that we were one of the few
people to ever see three kinds of reef in the same place
which were fringe, patch and barrier. I hope all the
research these scientists are conducting can one day save
the environment.
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1 comment:
I agree that the lecture we had made us more aware of how crucial it is to protect the environment. I never thought about the impact the extinction of coral reefs could have on the ocean. I did not realize how much the sea life depends on coral reefs and without them, there may be no sea life at all. I was surprised to learn that coral reefs may be extinct by the year 2100, which makes it more important to protect the environment. I am glad that we all had a chance to visit Coconut Island because it is not an area that many people get to visit. To learn that many marine biologists desire to visit the island made our visit more special. I am glad we had this unique opportunity to visit such a highly desirous area.
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