[Coral-List] Education of the masses

Larry at OpenDoorWorld.com Larry at OpenDoorWorld.com
Tue Aug 5 15:37:25 EDT 2008


Well said Moe!

This listserve is packed with salty dogs and ocean lovers who are more than capable of 
"getting the word out" by publishing their own websites... even at no cost.. FaceBook.com or 
similar websites.. public blogs.. etc.. 

The public is depending on and waiting for experts in the field to synchronize the beating of 
the drums... most people will never read a scientific journal.. about half the people i talk to 
in Key Largo are convinced that global warming is just another natural cycle that humans 
had no impact on... nor can we do anything about it anyway... or that "mother nature" will 
decide the future of human kind for us... so ... they say... why work on it... why even try to 
do anything... they just throw up their hands and say with a smirk... hey.. it's not my job 
man, let Mother Earth work this one out.. along with this apathetic and popular opinion... 
many still think "dilution is the solution for pollution"...  (((loud buzzzzer sounding))!

If you already dedicate your life to environmental issues, it seems only natural :-) to share 
your findings, photos and videos, far and wide... these days... it'a blog! that gets the word 
out to the public,  if you have the data sitting on your PC... lets make some ripples... that 
make some waves... that make a real difference...  i would love to see a growing list of 
personal websites that are  dedicated to ocean conservation and reef restoration.    

please check out my home page:

http://OpenDoorWorld.com


Date sent:      	Sun, 3 Aug 2008 05:17:24 -0700 (PDT)
From:           	Martin Moe <martin_moe at yahoo.com>
To:             	coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
Subject:        	Re: [Coral-List] Education of the masses

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Basically, we know what we must do, basically we know how to
do it. What we must do is to build the will of the people to care and to want
make the effort, and the small sacrifices, to do it. We need a Rachael Carson. We need a 
Silent Spring. In fact, we need a
lot of them, in every field of endeavor that touches people where they live, in
science, in economics, in waste treatment, in music, in literature, in the
arts, in communication, and all other interactive fields. And where are these
people. They are you. You´re reading this right now. No one can tell or teach you how to do 
this;
it has to come from within. Do what you gut tells you. It may not be right, it
may not do the job, but then it may give someone else what they need to
understand and to use their talents, which may be much greater than yours and be
more effective in creating the spark that will turn the tide. The will is there,
you can see it in the posts on this list. You must do what you can, however
little, however silly and "unprofessional" it may seem. Reach the young people, it sill soon 
be their world, for good or ill.

 
Martin Moe
 
 
A Tropical Fable
 
Once there was a glorious goose, a goose that laid golden
eggs of unimaginable beauty and value. Each and every day she laid 5 golden eggs.
 
The first one was always a mild climate, never too hot and
never too cold.
 
The second was a series of tropical islands that marched in
a long line out into a tropical sea.
 
The third was warm, clear, shallow waters that bathed the
mangrove studded shores of the islands and sheltered and nurtured all manner of
rare tropical marine and island life. 
 
The fourth was a beautiful barrier coral reef over 200 miles
long that fringes the ocean side of these islands and protects them from storms
and land eating ocean currents.
 
And lastly, the fifth was a unique blend of the natural
marine resources of incredible sea side beauty and limitless fisheries that
made every day a joy of existence.
 
 
A community of good people inhabited these islands and
celebrated a way of life that was one with the glorious nature and seemingly
inexhaustible resources that the good goose provided every day. More and more
people were attracted to these islands, to live and work, to visit and play,
and to profit handsomely from all the people that flocked to enjoy the beauty
and the good life from the golden eggs that the kind goose produced each day.
 
But many people did not realize, or did not care, that the
gentle goose had limits and her very existence depended on a great web of life
and a balance of nature that could adsorb only so many insults before breaking
apart. Through ignorance and greed, the people burned fossil fuels and spewed
out carbon dioxide to the point of impending climate change, they dug canals
and filled wetlands and changed the very character and ecology of the islands,
they pooped and peed in their waters, polluted the roadways, and fertilized
their exotic vegetation and allowed all this to run off into the coastal
waters, they fished the marine resources almost to extinction and many of them
laughed at the efforts to conserve and protect those few resources that
remained, and the coral reef suffered, and finally they took almost every
opportunity to sell their rich heritage through development and exploitation
that imperiled this very heritage.
 
The good goose saddened and sickened. Her eggs grew darker
and smaller. Some days she laid only two or three instead of five. There is
something wrong with the goose, many people cried, the quality of her eggs is
deteriorating, and she may be dying. There are those that say; "She will die,
it is a shame but nothing can be done, we must take all the eggs we can now
while she still has a few, kill her if necessary to get them all, but have fun
now, make money and to hell with the future.".  But fortunately, there are many, many more 
people that know the great
goose can be saved if we can just take care of her, nurture her, and help her
preserve the life she creates. It won´t be easy, it will take knowledge, work,
commitment, sacrifice, and a great amount of caring, but it can be done. You
can help. Learn what you must do.
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