While sifting through my e-mails I came across one from the Nature Conservancy the subject line titled: Adopt a Coral Reef. As I began to read the e-mail I started to think about how many organizations and groups there are out there working to protect our environment. Every organization claiming they can fix the environment one by one. They show us how to recycle or create our own compost but little show any real direct dramatic change. I think that part of the reason many are reluctant to take these small steps toward helping the environment is because they don’t see any direct positive change that occurs. Adopting a coral reef is particularly interesting to me because in this case only a little money can make a big change. With this small effort we can actually see the direct impact it has on preservation of the environment.
In class and talking with people in general it seems that the majority of us want to help save our environment but don’t know how. Or we know of little things we can do like recycle or carpool but none of these seem to have any direct impact that we can see. With Adopt a Coral Reef, you can adopt an entire acre for $50. Some people may say $50, no way I can afford that, especially if you’re a college student. But think about it, for one less burrito a week in the cafeteria, in a little over a month you would have enough money to buy an acre and directly save part of our environment. I mean just check out the site; look at the beautiful places and animals you would be saving.
The idea of adopting a rainforest or a coral reef in order to preserve it seems to be coming back. Doesn’t everyone remember collecting pennies for the rainforest back in kindergarten? I think bringing some of these organizations back to the front burner of environmental activism would be a wise move. It would save acres of rainforest and coral reefs from destruction and pollution. On top of this I think it would get people more interested in environmentalism. They would be able to donate a small amount of money and know they would be saving a piece of our world from destruction. For many I think this would be an easy way for them to help our environment and feel like they actually contributed to the process. I knew I certainly felt like I had helped save a few toucans and sloths back in Kindergarten with all the pennies I saved.
I invite everyone to check out this site and everything the Nature Conservancy does. It really is interesting. Maybe you would be interested in adopting part of a coral reef. Or maybe you and your friends could get together and each chip in for an acre.
nature.org/coralreef
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10 comments:
Your blog demonstrates one of the main reasons why environmental blogging is becoming a widespread phenomenon and that is because when used correctly, it can open people’s eyes and encourage them to act not only in small ways but also in larger ways as well. For example, you wrote about an environmental organization whose main project does not merely save one tree at a time (still a helpful thing) but actually helps preserve an entire acre of rainforest or coral reef using as little as a $50 donation. I had never even heard of the Adopt a Coral Reef project until reading your blog but now I am highly considering saving up enough money to adopt an acre of coral reef in Palau. And I doubt I am the only one who will consider it as well after reading your blog. You chose to write about a project that not only interests you but one that will also interest many others because it allows people to directly see what their money will be used for and where it will go. The project also helps individuals understand that their small efforts can actually bring about change on a large scale. It reminds me of a local program that my grandma is a part of, which is the Foster Feeder Program at the Santa Barbara Zoo. As a member of the program, she sponsors specific animals and this enables her a more intimate look at the recipients of her donations. And this program is not only available at the Santa Barbara Zoo as most zoos have similar programs, and like the Adopt a Coral Reef project, they are great ways for people to help in both small and large ways.
Hi Katelyn,
Thanks for your post. I didn't know about this organization, either! Tiffany, you make a great point about blogging as an effective tool for communicating these issues to a large audience.
Katelyn, I'm wondering if you could give us a little background on coral reefs. Most of us probably know that coral reefs are in trouble all over the globe. What about reefs makes them so sensitive to human impacts? Why are coral reefs so unique, so "valuable," ecologically speaking?
In class last week we discussed the American-inspired concept of "wilderness preservation." Your post reminds me that "setting a place aside" is much more difficult-maybe impossible- when we're talking about the ocean. Human activity (including pollution) tends to happen right where reefs flourish- near the shore. You can "put a fence up," so to speak, by not allowing certain kinds of boats or fishing to occur in a sensitive reef area, but you would also have to address the pollutants (and their myriad sources!)that affect reefs. I'm curious how the Adopt a Reef program works- how does the Nature Conservancy go about protecting and restoring these habitats?
The Nature Conservancy does a lot of good work, given its mission to preserve land (and coral reefs) from development and other dangers to ecosystems. As I mentioned in class, for example, they're purchasing huge tracts of former ranch land and restoring native grasses, so that buffalo can return to their native habitat.
The coral reefs present a unique challenge, for all the reasons Juliet mentioned. I'm also curious about how the Nature Conservancy plans to protect and restore the reefs. Though I've supported the Nature Conservancy in other campaigns, I'm also ambivalent about its mission to set aside land in perpetuity, and to restore certain areas to the way they were "before." (Before what?) This model of preservation still belongs to the wilderness ethic that assumes nature and culture are necessarily antagonists. (Remember it was the Nature Conservancy that prevented the destroyed pine forest in Michael Pollan's town from being "touched" after the tornado). I'm wondering if their campaign for the coral reefs also involves changing the human behavior and ways of thinking that have led to their endangerment?
A quick response to one part of Tiffany's comment: I think there can be many different, and equally valid, uses for environmental blogs. Giving people information about endangered eco-systems or species is one; asking us to ponder the thinking behind certain preservation methods or interventions might be another; great blogs can also push people to think about the many ways they act--and think--which also contribute to environmental degradation. They might promote political action on environmental legislation, boycotts of products manufactured in environmentally destructive ways; or they might encourage local involvement in projects that promote environmental justice, community gardening (which is all about food security and equal access to healthy food), public transportation or bike paths, or simply cutting down on consumption of resources. (And that includes the wide-spread implications of every consumer choice we make). Other blogs might give us information about the million plus organizations around the world that are working on environmental issues at local, national and international levels.
Giving $50 for an acre of coral reefs might be a vary good thing, but we also need to avoid feeling complacent about simply giving money to environmental causes while not challenging ourselves to live differently and get involved--hands on--in local and global initiatives ourselves.
A word of encouragement to all of you: It is, indeed, easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale of our environmental problems. But we don't have to invent the wheel to figure out how we can make a difference. Many of the million groups I mentioned above have created many wheels that we, too, can ride. Or we can borrow an idea that works somewhere else and bring it to our own neck of the woods.
Adopting an acre of a Coral Reef sounds like a nice way to make a small difference in the preservation of precious land. I agree with your statement about people being reluctant to take small steps in the right direction because the change is not direct. This is an idea that gives people an opportunity to make a direct impact, and I think people will really like it. I want to save up for an acre myself, and I am going to tell my friends about this idea as well. I would like to find other ideas similar to "Adopt an Acre" so that we can make more direct, positive impact. Thank you for sharing this site with us, and I will happily pass it on to peers, family, and friends.
Katelyn,
Thank you for posting a concrete way we can actually help out the environment. It's certainly a refreshing change from ideas such as fluorescent lightbulbs which seem to be all the rage in the 'greening' of the world, its nice to see a direct way to help out. Your post really appealed to me because I too am very frustrated with environmental problems which I see no direct way to stop. Its nice to have a very real way to make an impact. Also, as I was reading the post and saw the sentence about donating 50 dollars, my mind immediately went to the idea that I certainly cannot afford such a donation. However, you shattered this notion with the next sentence when putting 50 dollars into perspective- saying I only needed to cut out a burrito or 2 per week for about a month. Very logical argument, thanks for putting things in perspective. This seems like a real way to make a change.
That said, I'll play the devil's advocate in hopes of starting a conversation. I did a little research regarding the destruction of coral reefs and found some disheartening statistics. The two biggest factors in the health of a coral reef are temperature and salinity. With global warming obviously taking its toll on the environment, its rapidly deprecating reefs to the point were 70% are labeled destroyed, as in permanently, and just 5% are said to be in good condition. The second major factor has to do with the salinity range of the ocean in which the reefs exists, which is also being drastically altered as ice caps melt and send billions of gallons of freshwater in the ocean, thus diluting the salinity. So it seems that the Nature Conservancy faces a a dire situation, in protecting the reefs from the indirect consequences of human activity on reefs, how are they to stop the destruction?
Statistics courtesy of www.oceanworld.tamu.edu
Patrick, these are great questions, and it's disheartening to be reminded of the enormous impact of rising ocean temperatures and the increase in fresh water from ice melt. These problems are only going to get worse over the coming decades, as CO2 levels continue to rise in the atmosphere.
Small actions like putting in fluorescent bulbs or recycling paper are hopelessly inadequate when we see the scale of the problem in these terms. You all might be interested the global day of action intended to pressure world leaders on climate change as they gather in Denmark (http://www.globalclimatecampaign.org/). It's only through global action and these kinds of pressures on corporations and governments that global-scale problems can be addressed. So we can change light bulbs, and we should, since it saves energy and thus cuts down on our individual carbon footprint. But the real action is elsewhere, and it's everywhere. I invite you all to check out the global day of action in December, and to look at the one organized for October by www.350.org--just two examples of the global reach of grassroots activism.
Katelyn,
I agree with you, and I think that you bring up an interesting topic. I definitely wouldn't mind splurging $50 if it was going to a good cause. I think that people fail to realize that the environment is the way it is because of our selfish actions. We shouldn't have to be concerned with how much they're asking for because we are the ones who are causing the damage in the first place. As long as the organization is credible, making monetary donations should not be a problem. I also think its great that the environmental movement is finally getting a kick start. Even though the outcome may not be a significant change at first, every little bit counts.
I never knew that we were able to adopt a coral reef or rainforest! This is very exciting. Even though I don't have the money now, I would really like someday to adaopt a part of the rainforest. I always got sad when I heard the rate at which rainforests get cut down. This way I can be sure that I am doing something to save a part of the planet. Thanks so much for the information!
This sounds like a good way to start to preserve a rain forest. I would also love to do this if I had the opportunity. I think that more people should know about this, and it should be more in the open, like on popular sites on the internet where young people go, because we are the ones that can make a difference!
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