Zap! Electrified coral is next under the topic of Wildly Creative Solutions to Marine Conservation.
The jury is still way out but engineers from Biorock are running electrical currents into a Florida reef to promote coral growth and it seems to be working.
Of course it would be great if it succeeded.
As noted on CBS Miami: "Around the world coral reefs have suffered sharp declines from pollution, overfishing, ship groundings, global warming and the acidification of the ocean from increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Although no one expects artificial reefs such as the one off Lauderdale-by-the-Sea to single-handedly save coral habitats, supporters hope they can be part of the solution."
By the way, the current is small enough not to impact people, though I wonder how it works on fish.
Next question: Is the electricity generated from a clean source? Ok, that's a question for later but wouldn't it be a silly Catch 22 if the electricity came from fossil fuels which cause climate change which cause ocean acidification which in turn hampers reef building? Let's just see if it works first!
Image: tactile.posterous.com
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