[Coral-List] Why people care so little

[Eugene Shinn]

Dear Ehsan KAYAL, I have been asking myself the same question for many 
many years. I keep coming back to the conclusion that the problem is 
because no one has figured out how to make money fixing the problem. If 
someone could come up with a gizmo that fixes the problem, get it 
patented, and then get state governments and congress to make the gizmo 
mandatory then someone could get rich and make good things happen. That 
does not seem likely. I first learned tofollow the money way back when 
automobile seat belts became mandatory. Before then many people did not 
want them and the auto industry was reluctant to add them. That was all 
before most coral-list readers were born. Yes they save lives and I 
assume someone made a lot of money making them. Consider the history of 
the multitude of gizmos we use everyday and how they benefited the 
inventor as well as the users. Development of mooring buoys was a good 
start but they did not stop the spread of diseases. My team faced a 
similar issue with African dust and its affects on coral as well as 
human health. No gizmo will stop that short of preventing climate change 
but that is not likely during our generation. Unfortunately, a scary 
solution is one that might wipe out the entire human race including the 
reefs. It is also difficult for the average non-diver living in the 
middle of the US to really worry about reefs when there are larger 
world-wide issues to worry about. Meanwhile, us coral reef people will 
continue to remain concerned about reef health. I hate to be so 
pessimistic but one has to be realistic. What is left is for each one of 
us to do our best and hope it all adds up. Don't hold your breath. Gene