Hawaii reefs doing well but are still in hot water

"The study does not make recommendations, but simply serves as what its authors deem a call to action for state governments".

Since corals are "sentinel species of the planet, rain forests of the sea, breeding grounds for fish, and areas that could hold cures for diseases," could we please have more than more meetings and studies?

Could we spend money instead on fixing broken sewers, poorly designed runoff areas, polluted streams and other problems that cause sediment and human waste to pour into the sea everytime there's a big storm? Could we clean up the beaches? Take alien species off the reefs?

More studies, more pronouncements. More government beaurocrats sitting on the fence saying "tsk tsk tsk" as the reefs get sick and die.

oh but of course 'at the end of the day its all about us' and OUR causing global warming..and we'd better feel as guilty as we can about all these things attributed to us and maybe flog ourselves a little bit to make us feel better about how bad we feel for causing it all..oh yeah, when my ice cream was melting last evening, I had my lady friend flog me for a while because I felt so guilty that it was caused by global warming...then I felt SO much better... :-)

dey seem to be totally concerned ...

about what ?

... dey haven't da slightest clue ...

da ocean is like da weather in dat ...

everyone has an opinion about it ...

but, no body can do anything about it ...

das why hard ....

Call to action for "state" governments? It's a federal study!

And what's the federal government's response to save the reefs? We got it yesterday with Neil Abercrombie's call for off-shore oil drilling!

The reefs are in trouble, so we're drilling as fast as we can. Problem solved! Only in Washington DC...

"While those can be attributed to global warming, most of the problems affecting Hawaii's reefs are more from human use and not major climatic shifts, Clark said, though he acknowledged that "at the end of the day, it's all about us."

This is a good wake up call. Hopefully, we've learned a lesson from the Waikiki sewer fiasco and will take some steps to head off this problem now before it explodes in our face somewhere in the future. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Later this month (July 29-31 at the Hawaii Convention Center), the Hawaii Conservation Conference has as its theme "Island Ecosystems - Year of the Reef." http://hawaiiconservation.org/2008hcc.asp
They need volunteers; if you sign up to help for at least 12 hours, you can get free conference registration.

Save our reefs!!!!!!!!

Call To Action wrote:

"The study does not make recommendations, but simply serves as what its authors deem a call to action for state governments".
Since corals are "sentinel species of the planet, rain forests of the sea, breeding grounds for fish, and areas that could hold cures for diseases," could we please have more than more meetings and studies?
Could we spend money instead on fixing broken sewers, poorly designed runoff areas, polluted streams and other problems that cause sediment and human waste to pour into the sea everytime there's a big storm? Could we clean up the beaches? Take alien species off the reefs?
More studies, more pronouncements. More government beaurocrats sitting on the fence saying "tsk tsk tsk" as the reefs get sick and die.

I agree, to a point. The fact that there's no implementation is not the bureaucrats' fault, it's the fact that elected politicians don't allocate the resources to enforce the laws or pay for what needs to be done to protect the reefs. And that, in turn, is the fault of voters for not holding politicians accountable.

So do something. Call your elected representative today and tell them what you think.

Is there a reason, perhaps political, this report fails to incorporate recent findings that sunblock kills reefs, even one drop, by blocking IR, which reef requires for life? Is the report trying to omit this finding as a way to protect commercial surfing above our reefs on the North Shore and South Shore, etc.?

stop da reef fishing for a while. . . people got to learn catch and release

The Ala Wai canal drains the wetlands that was Waikiki. Hotels are built. Tourists come. Tourists want sandy beaches so hundreds of tons of sand is dumped on the now dry wetland margins. The loss of freshwater flow changes the environment. The sand migrates annually so more sand is dumped on the beach and vulnerable lands are hardened with sea walls and beach groins. The migrating sand fills the reef areas killing coral and algae, destroying habitat, so no fish. Tourism is the engine that drives the economy so that is how decisions are made.

Stop da fishing? catch and release? People should eat from the ocean because what kind of fool would sh*t where they ate from?

Using such highly technical language as good condition, poor condition and such leaves for a certain amount of ambiguity. Being as no-one has ever bothered to make serious global studies of coral reefs until quite recently there isn't all that much known about their various life cycles. There does seem to be a few folks that are pushing a global warming agenda though. Last I heard about the subject the reefs were supposed to all die off when the ocean rose because the polar ice caps were melting. Any significant rise in ocean levels would reduce the amount of sunlight that the reefs need to live. The ocean undergoes a multitude of processes that change the status quo. There is no hard evidence that points to such nebulous speculations as global warming. The hotels in Waikiki haven't had to be moved inland yet. A major tsunami could make that happen though.

Richard Richardson wrote:

Using such highly technical language as good condition, poor condition and such leaves for a certain amount of ambiguity. Being as no-one has ever bothered to make serious global studies of coral reefs until quite recently there isn't all that much known about their various life cycles.... The ocean undergoes a multitude of processes that change the status quo. There is no hard evidence that points to such nebulous speculations as global warming.

Global warming? Maybe. But one thing I think we might agree on is that sediment runoff, overflowing sewer pipes and marine garbage are bad for the reefs and the ocean in general. In the old days we walked Kaneohe Bay for shellfish digs. A few decades later, no more, and who would want to eat it now anyway.

It isn't as if these things can't be fixed. Local politics and entrenched beaurocracies keep them broke. With Obama, and a new political landscape on the horizon, people might wake up and see that they can force change. I hope so.

Call to Action wrote:... "people might wake up and see that they can force change. I hope so."

People "waking up" and "forcing" change doesn't sound all that appealing when they wake up to a bunch of misinformation and start taking action. Instead of doing studies to get headlines it seems that these things need to be understood much better before the studies are used to achieve some sort of political agenda.

Maybe I shouldn't have brought up Mr O :) My point was that there are some obvious, proven things that are polluting reefs and oceans. These can be addressed without more studies. I am hoping that in a more optimistic and energetic political climate, people will get involved in doing tangible things to help out rather than commissioning further research.

Richard Richardson wrote:

Call to Action wrote:... "people might wake up and see that they can force change. I hope so."
People "waking up" and "forcing" change doesn't sound all that appealing when they wake up to a bunch of misinformation and start taking action. Instead of doing studies to get headlines it seems that these things need to be understood much better before the studies are used to achieve some sort of political agenda.

Uh, excuse me, but you have it exactly backwards. These things are already studied to death; we know what the threats to various habitats are (anthropogenic global warming being just one of many, btw -- though you are welcome to keep your head buried in the sand on that one). But contrary to your conception, it is the political agenda(s) that are blocking necessary remedial actions, and the headlines are there to alert people that they need to call their politicians to account. Unfortunately, the misinformation on various issues comes, all too often, from corporate and other vested interests. For the record -- since I will be accused of being a Commie -- I am a successful businessman. But profits should not come at the expense of sustainability, and externalities should be mitigated by the public sector.

Any knowledgeable waterperson can tell you why Hawaii's reefs are dying. DEVELOPERS.

All these other studies seem to ignore simple observations. Take a look at your local reef. All the sediment covering the reef comes from the overdevelopment that is occurring. Huge areas of what used to be reef have been covered.

Why Hawaii's Reef will be Gone in 10 Years.

1) Developer clears a lot or grades off a mountain.

2) Useless fencing is put up around.

3) First rain washes all the sediment into the storm drain

4) Bye Bye REEF !

(Forgot to mention no action by any govt. agency- this is all permitted and is happening every day around our island).

Terabyte wrote: "... you have it exactly backwards. These things are already studied to death; we know what the threats to various habitats are (anthropogenic global warming being just one of many, btw -- though you are welcome to keep your head buried in the sand on that one). But contrary to your conception, it is the political agenda(s) that are blocking necessary remedial actions, and the headlines are there to alert people that they need to call their politicians to account."

I've lived both next to and on the ocean my entire life. I've surfed it, sailed it, dove it and studied it thoroughly. I've read about all the terrible things that were going to happen to it for at least half a century. The predictions of dire catastrophe are not new. People with limited understandings have come to the same conclusions since as far back as I can remember. Just because a theory has media support or is backed by NOAA and congeries people with superfluous academic titles doesn't make them correct. Time has told the truth of their theories. You'll note that windy Paia still breaks over reef. Had the global warming crowd been right when the idea was first suggested about 40 years ago, the waves would be breaking over the roadway.

Richard Richardson wrote:

Terabyte wrote: "... you have it exactly backwards. These things are already studied to death; we know what the threats to various habitats are (anthropogenic global warming being just one of many, btw -- though you are welcome to keep your head buried in the sand on that one). But contrary to your conception, it is the political agenda(s) that are blocking necessary remedial actions, and the headlines are there to alert people that they need to call their politicians to account."
I've lived both next to and on the ocean my entire life. I've surfed it, sailed it, dove it and studied it thoroughly. I've read about all the terrible things that were going to happen to it for at least half a century. The predictions of dire catastrophe are not new. People with limited understandings have come to the same conclusions since as far back as I can remember. Just because a theory has media support or is backed by NOAA and congeries people with superfluous academic titles doesn't make them correct. Time has told the truth of their theories. You'll note that windy Paia still breaks over reef. Had the global warming crowd been right when the idea was first suggested about 40 years ago, the waves would be breaking over the roadway.

Your scientific ignorance is striking. Their "theories" have been demonstrated as accurate, although you are apparently too obtuse or stubborn to acknowlege it. And btw, since you apparently don't even know what a scientific "theory" is, I urge you first to look it up before you put us in the unfortunate position of having to ready whatever inane reply you will make.