[Coral-List] Endangered species status will be considered for 82 corals

[Billy Causey]

Gene,
Let me tell you a little story.  You will recall the Conch Coalition, the so-called "grass-roots" group that formed in the Florida Keys to oppose the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in the early to mid-1990's.  I said so-called and put "grass-roots" in parenthesis because some of their organizers came from out of town and a local investigative reporter found funding links back to the wise-use movement.

But to get to my point, Conch Coalition representatives began a door-to-door campaign, especially in the Upper Keys telling people such things as, "if you loose the roof on your house in a hurricane, the Sanctuary will not let you rebuild!". Or, a real frightening bit of mis-leading, malicious fabrication was "if your car leaks oil on your driveway, NOAA will fine you $100 thousand dollars."  They were full of lies and mis-information and single income or retired individuals believed them at first.

However, when these malicious and false claims did not happen, even multiple hurricane strikes later.... the credibility of the Conch Coalition was affected.  Those that came from the outside are gone and support for the Sanctuary has swung to the positive side.

Now ... I recall you made similar claims about the listing of Acropora species .... Yet your falsely based predictions haven't taken place.

I share this story about how the Conch Coalition tarnished and lost their credibility in the Keys as a long time friend.

Billy

----- Original Message -----
From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov <coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
Sent: Tue Feb 16 09:33:55 2010
Subject: [Coral-List] Endangered species status will be considered for 82       corals

Coral-Listers, Be careful what you wish for and beware of, "The Law
of unintended consequences."  At stake is the listing of 82 species
of corals which is the first step toward making all Atlantic  coral
reefs off limits to divers and researchers (except for an elite few).
Imagine the increased paperwork ect., that will be required to obtain
a permit to study any of these corals or a reef where they live. If
passed the next step will  be designation of critical habitats to
protect these species----from what? and how? Every scuba diver
bubbles Co2 into the water, (exhaled breath contains up to 40,000 ppm
Co2).Down the road we may have to stop scuba diving or mandate the
use of rebreathers. The Co2 battle is being fought vigorously on many
other fronts  so why use corals as pawns to create a new tangle of
government regulations and bureaucrats? What is really behind this?
Job creation? More coral police? The only winners I see will be the
lawyers! I think that this time The Center for Biodiversity has gone
over the top and is more obstructionist than I ever thought they
would be. I wonder who supports them? How do they get their funding?
Now that's something to ponder! Lets be reasonable!  This action is
not going to save  corals. Just look to the geologic record. The
grandest reefs the world has ever known grew during the Cretaceous
when Co2 levels were more than 7 times present levels. To and Earth
scientist this action appears to be just one more issue for people to
disagree on in a country already so politically divided on most any
subject one can think of. No this is not Glen Beck speaking... Gene
--


No Rocks, No Water, No Ecosystem (EAS)
------------------------------------ -----------------------------------
E. A. Shinn, Courtesy Professor
University of South Florida
Marine Science Center (room 204)
140 Seventh Avenue South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
<eshinn at marine.usf.edu>
Tel 727 553-1158----------------------------------
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