[Coral-List] Politics and corals

[David Medio]

Good afternoon list,

as someone who has worked for 25 years in parts of the world where even Acropora colonies sometimes have ears, I think we need to strike a balance here.

Yes to caution, yes to diplomacy, yes to neutrality.

Not however to the extent that informed debate becomes useless in the face of real and imminent danger.

I think both Steve and Melissa have valid points here. On the one hand it is best to be within a system (as opposed to outside it and have no say) to challenge it and aim to amend it when necessary, on the other it would not be prudent to just sit on the fence no matter what. Some serious damage may come from recent decisions; some of it irreversible at which point we would have little to say……….about corals anyway.