We should not pollute the ocean simply because there are more people for it. People need to stop using fix-it-for-now methods and should start considering the butterfly effect such actions will have. In the end they will only spend more money on repairs.
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Are artificial reefs good for the environment?
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That rationale has frustrated some experts. "The artificial reefs have been sold by a number of specific interests that benefit from them," says Jack Sobel, director of conservation science and policy at the Ocean Conservancy. "The oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico, the sports-fishing and recreational-diving industries up and down both coasts, and the people who need to dispose of old cars, bridges and boats, all make out better than the fish and sea anemones do."
Ultimately, artificial reefs are no replacement for natural ecosystems, says Sobel. "We'd be getting much more bang for our buck by focusing on the things that we know work." That is, by establishing more marine reserves, which have been proven to restore overfished populations, even if they don't spur the same economic gains that artificial reefs do.
© 2008
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