[Coral-List] In regard to article about only 3 of Earth ecosystems are intact

Sat May 8 15:12:26 UTC 2021

Dear Christopher,

You mentioned an important issue "The Value of Coral Reefs".
#CoralReefsOptimism it is about the possibility to stop anthropogenic
threats, because it is in fact an option that every decision maker has
as an alternative.

Coral reefs as all of us know, have very high ecological, social and
economic values. Those have been scientifically proven. Thus, it is
necessary to point at the anthopogenic causes. Perhaps "Parachute
science" favors to leave the unknown causes open to other local
scientists when they evaluate the health of a coral reef without
investigating first potential causes. Respecting social values require
to listen to the communities to engage them with our efforts to
improve management effectiveness and enhancing governance.

The real total economic value of a resilient coral reef is higher than
the benefit of any unsustainable development project. Just try to
recover in a week, the integrity and function of a healthy biodiverse
coral reef ecosystem that took at least 500 years to grow.

The ocean is too big to decide to destroy or impact a coral reef area
to implement  "development" supported by shadow projects that do not
tackle the local and global anthropogenic threats that will keep
affecting negatively the coral reefs and the livelihoods of the
inhabitnats that depend upon fisheries resources and ecotourism. In
the current scenario of hurricanes due to climate change, coral reefs
are natural barriers to protect islands. All these arguments and other
relevant benefits may influence strengthen and reinforcing the
protection frameworks.

2021-05-07 19:35 GMT-05:00, Christopher Hawkins via Coral-List
<coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>:
>  Alina,
> I think many of us see the elephant of anthro-centricity in the room. I
> certainly don't hear a lot of people in Western societies (and some in
> non-western societies) saying "Humans as a whole do in fact believe that
> plants and animals have intrinsic value and therefore don't need to have
> some sort of value to people to be conserved or preserved." I don't see that
> orientation going away, either. So I tend not to spend my time shouting at
> the rain, but rather trying to improve that "bogus" practice of resource
> management. In service of that objective, I again say that while folks can
> keep say all they want that "97% of the earth's ecosystems have been
> destroyed," it's not accurate. Even if it was, good luck trying to get
> people to believe it, given what they see every day. And getting people to
> believe it is important, because Alina Szmant cannot snap her fingers and
> make things the way she wants them to be.
> Chris
>
>     On Friday, May 7, 2021, 12:13:58 PM HST, Alina Szmant
> <alina at cisme-instruments.com> wrote:
>
>
> Chris:
>
>
>
> You are obviously looking at this issue (as you look out your window) from
> the perspective of the human dominator of all things terrestrial, not from
> the perspective of the organisms and ecosystems that existed pre human
> agricultural period when we were part of the natural landscape in only a
> very few places on Earth and there were only maybe a few million of people
> world-wide. That IS the big problem. That IS the ‘elephant in the room”. The
> belief that Homo sapiens can do what it wills with the rest of the Earth.
> Resource management is a bogus field. It just tries to slow down, not stop
> or reverse, the destruction of anything not economically beneficial to the
> wealthier portion of humankind or needed to keep alive the hordes of
> disadvantaged (i.e. poor and hungry) people in overpopulated areas.
>
>
>
> Alina Szmant
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *************************************************************************
>
> Dr. Alina M. Szmant, CEO
>
> CISME Instruments LLC
>
> 210 Braxlo Lane,
>
> Wilmington NC 28409 USA
>
> AAUS Scientific Diving Lifetime Achievement Awardee
>
> cell:910-200-3913
>
> EMAIL:alina at cisme-instruments.com
>
> Website: www.cisme-instruments.com
>
>
>
> CISME IS NOW SOLD BY QUBIT SYSTEMS;https://qubitbiology.com/cisme/
>
>
>
>
>
> **********************************************************
>
> Videos:  CISME Promotional Video 5:43
> min  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAYeR9qX71A&t=6s
>
> CISME Short version Demo Video 3:00 min
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa4SqS7yC08
>
> CISME Cucalorus 10x10 Sketch   4:03 min
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12sAV8oUluE
>
>
>
>
>
> From: Christopher Hawkins <chwkins at yahoo.com>
> Sent: Friday, May 7, 2021 6:07 PM
> To: Douglas Fenner <douglasfennertassi at gmail.com>;
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov; Alina Szmant <alina at cisme-instruments.com>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] In regard to article about only 3 of Earth
> ecosystems are intact
>
>
>
> All,
>
>
>
> Headlines like "Humans have destroyed 97% of earth's ecosystems" do us all
> such a disfavor, because for so many people (the same people we are trying
> to convince there is a legitimate problem), it simply does not jive with
> what they see day-to-day. The absolute destruction narrative doesn't compute
> if the view out your classroom or office window is miles and miles of intact
> or restored pine forest (for example).
>
>
>
> While most of the planet's ecosystems obviously do not function in the way
> they did several millennia ago, many them are none-the-less providing levels
> of services that are more or less acceptable to the societies that live in
> them. Regardless if it makes some among us uncomfortable, the question for
> resource managers in a democracy is "what ecosystem(s) does society want,
> with what costs and trade-offs?"
>
>
>
> All of this is to say that even if we feel differently than the public
> at-large about an ecosystem's objective condition, sensationalism cheapens
> our message and makes our task all the more difficult. Because - it's those
> same people we are trying to convince about the need for (and to abide by)
> various rules and regulations and to fund all of our work via their
> taxpayer dollars.
>
>
>
> Best,
>
> Chris
>
>
>
>
>
> On Wednesday, May 5, 2021, 07:01:27 AM HST, Alina Szmant via Coral-List
> <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> Doug:
>
>
>
> I took a look at to me the most alarming of the articles you shared which
> some Listers might overlook so I want to point it out:
>
>
>
> "Humans have destroyed 97% of earth's ecosystems (well, more like only 3%
> are fully
> intact)https://a.msn.com/r/2/BB1fH7DT?m=en-us&referrerID=InAppShare"
>
>
>
> This is all about human overpopulation changing terrestrial ecosystems to
> accommodate more and more people. Cutting down trees for urban and
> agricultural development; diverting water for human consumption and
> agriculture and industry; changing the hydrological cycle by changes in land
> use; etc etc etc. This is aside from any fossil fuel related issues. If all
> of our energy was from renewables but we continue to increase in numbers and
> destroy the Earth ecosystems in our wake, the Earth is still destroyed
> without even one more molecule of greenhouse gas added to our atmosphere.
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
>
>
> Alina
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *************************************************************************
>
> Dr. Alina M. Szmant, CEO
>
> CISME Instruments LLC
>
> 210 Braxlo Lane,
>
> Wilmington NC 28409 USA
>
> AAUS Scientific Diving Lifetime Achievement Awardee
>
> cell: 910-200-3913
>
> EMAIL:alina at cisme-instruments.com
>
> Website: www.cisme-instruments.com
>
>
>
> CISME IS NOW SOLD BY QUBIT SYSTEMS;https://qubitbiology.com/cisme/
>
>
>
>
>
> **********************************************************
>
> Videos:  CISME Promotional Video 5:43
> min  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAYeR9qX71A&t=6s
>
> CISME Short version Demo Video 3:00
> min https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa4SqS7yC08
>
> CISME Cucalorus 10x10 Sketch   4:03
> min https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12sAV8oUluE
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> From: Coral-List <coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> On Behalf Of
> Douglas Fenner via Coral-List
>
> Sent: Friday, April 30, 2021 3:54 AM
>
> To: coral list <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
>
> Subject: [Coral-List] Watching a pristine reef be killed
>
>
>
> Watching a coral reef die as climate change devastates one of the most
> pristine tropical island areas on earth.
>
>
>
> https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/watching-a-coral-reef-die-as-climate-change-devastates-one-of-the-most-pristine-tropical-island-areas-on-earth/ar-BB1gbsJH
>
>
>
> Doug
>
>
>
> --
>
> Douglas Fenner
>
> Lynker Technologies, LLC, Contractor
>
> NOAA Fisheries Service
>
> Pacific Islands Regional Office
>
> Honolulu
>
> and:
>
> Coral Reef Consulting
>
> PO Box 997390
>
> Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799-6298  USA
>
>
>
> Slashing emissions by 2050 isn't enough.  We can bring down temperature now.
>
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/climate-deadlines-super-pollutants-hfcs-methane/2021/04/15/acb8c612-9d7d-11eb-b7a8-014b14aeb9e4_story.html
>
>
>
> Humans have destroyed 97% of earth's ecosystems (well, more like only 3% are
> fully intact)https://a.msn.com/r/2/BB1fH7DT?m=en-us&referrerID=InAppShare
>
>
>
> Study: One-third of plant and animal species could be gone in 50 years.
>
> (but 2-4 times worse in tropics)
>
> https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/uoa-soo021220.php
>
> https://www.pnas.org/content/117/8/4211
>
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>
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>
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>
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>
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-- 
Cordial saludo,

Nohora Galvis

Directora Observatorio Pro Arrecifes
Fundación ICRI Colombia
Coordinadora Red Internacional de Observadores Voluntarios del Arrecife
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