[Coral-List] 20 newly listed coral species

[Steve Mussman]

   Dear Alina,
   Your depiction presents a sobering reality, but I would prefer to stress
   that the plight of the grey wolf and the world's coral reefs are one in the
   same. We could evaluate and prioritize the implications for any number
   of individual threatened or endangered plant or animal species, but the
   prospects for all ultimately depend on our ability to educate, raise public
   awareness and alter some of humanity's fundamental beliefs and behaviors. No
   small task and perhaps too much to justify any reasonable expectation of
   success. But if we don't continue to get "worked up" by even the least
   egregious of these insults then we in a sense become complicit and in my
   view share responsibility for the ecological atrocities that you mention.
   Even if we choose a benign lifestyle in order to distance ourselves from
   society's indiscretions we can't escape the fact that we remain fully aware
   of the transgressions occurring everyday all around us. So it may well be
   pretentious to think that we can save what is left of our coral reefs, but I
   see  no  option  but  to keep  trying  to  raise the issue with dogged
   persistence. After all I don't consider it hyperbole to argue that the fate
   of grey wolves and coral reefs are essentially the precursors that shed
   light on the path of our own destiny.
   Regards,
   Steve
   -----Original Message-----
   >From: "Szmant, Alina"
   >Sent: Sep 19, 2014 4:08 PM
   >To: Steve Mussman , Shaye Wolf , "coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov"
   >Subject: RE: [Coral-List] 20 newly listed coral species
   >
   >I'd  like to point out the irony about all this ESA stuff with the 20
   species  of  corals, each of which have probably millions of remaining
   individuals spread out over large geographic areas, and most of them have a
   number of congeners, compared to that of a terrestrial mammal, (formerly)
   ESA species, the grey wolf: there are now after decades of ESA recovery
   programs (many Millions of $) only a few hundred individuals remaining in
   most of it subpopulations, yet it has now been delisted in several US states
   (notoriously Idaho, Wyoming, Alaska) and now are being exterminated by
   shooting  them  from helicopters! What sense does this make? These are
   keystone  predators,  with  documented important structural ecological
   importance in North American wilderness (what little there is left of this),
   and yet all these laws and programs really mean nothing if a single wolf
   happens to impact any human interest at all. There are many hundreds of
   corals species; there is only one grey wolf species and maybe only one to
   three  additional  species  of  wolves world-wide, and all of them are
   threatened or endangered yet they are still hunted by Federal and State
   agencies as well as trophy hunters. I honestly cannot get too worked up
   about the plight of these 20 coral species, or the reefs they are living on,
   as long as most people (including the members of coral list) give a blind
   eye  to  the  ecological  atrocities we perpetuate daily all around us
   everywhere we live. Take off your blinders folks. If we can't save the few
   remaining members of an ecological critical species, the species that gave
   origin to our beloved domestic dog, how can we pretend we are going to save
   a few coral species which most people can't tell apart from all the similar
   looking coral species.
   >
   >
   >
   >"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds
   discuss people." Eleanor Roosevelt
   >
   >"The time is always right to do what is right"  Martin Luther King
   >
   >*************************************************************************
   >Dr. Alina M. Szmant
   >Professor of Marine Biology
   >AAUS Scientific Diving Lifetime Achievement Awardee
   >Center for Marine Science
   >University of North Carolina Wilmington
   >5600 Marvin Moss Ln
   >Wilmington NC 28409 USA
   >tel:  910-962-2362  fax: 910-962-2410  cell: 910-200-3913
   >http://people.uncw.edu/szmanta
   >*******************************************************
   >
   >
   >-----Original Message-----
   >From:                          coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
   [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Steve Mussman
   >Sent: Friday, September 19, 2014 3:30 PM
   >To: Shaye Wolf; coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
   >Subject: Re: [Coral-List] 20 newly listed coral species
   >
   >
   > Hi Shaye,
   > Thanks for your clear explanation relating to the purpose and objectives
   of
   > the Center for Biological Diversity and of the impending impacts of the
   ESA
   > listing. Seems pretty straight forward to me. Listers have been discussing
   > ways to increase public awareness of the issues affecting coral reefs for
   > some time, so let's hope that this step will lead to broader concern and
   > ultimately the implementation of a much needed plan of action. I would
   like
   >  to  point  out  that  the NY Times recently ran an Op-Ed piece that
   illustrates
   > that at the very least the recent ESA listing is increasing exposure to
   the
   > urgency of the issue at hand.
   >
   http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/18/opinion/we-can-save-coral-reefs.html?smid=
   > fb-share&_r=0
   > Now, we just need to get behind the effort and continue to explore
   > additional ways to enhance public awareness and sensibilities so that
   these
   > 20 corals may one day be added to the auspicious list of recovering plant
   > and animal species .
   > Regards,
   > Steve
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