Off the coast of Ft. Lauderdale lies a 36-acre pile of tires -- 2 million of them to be exact. Could it be the final resting place of the infamous Firestone recall of 2000? Not exactly. The area is actually Osbourne Reef -- a man-made reef that's been around since the '70s. At first glance, it looks more like a sea of tires than a marine habitat. But upon closer inspection ... yup, still a sea of tires.
As William Nuckols, project coordinator and military liaison for Coastal America, explained on NPR last week, the man-made reef is a total failure. Marine life often thrives in other ocean debris, like sunken ships and old military aircrafts, but this hasn't been the case with the tires. Instead, hurricanes sweep through the area, picking up the tires and crashing them back down, killing the same creatures they are supposed to support.
Now Florida officials are calling on Navy salvage divers to remove the tires, a process that will likely take several years. Hopefully, the next time we set out to mess with the oceans this gaffe will serve as a reminder that we're just not as smart as Mother Nature.
Listen to the full broadcast here.
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Biodiversivist Posted 1:26 pm
28 Sep 2006
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Help acquire and protect ecological hotspots, give to a conservation organization: http://www.saveourbiodiversity.com
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caniscandida Posted 4:18 pm
28 Sep 2006
But anyway, does the hurricane problem make that moot? I suppose doing something to anchor each and every tire to the ocean floor would rather defeat the purpose, to be able to throw, simply and cheaply, yet another species of garbage into the ocean and discover that, lo and behold!, it has become an octopus's garden.
Chickens are our cousins!
So are other sensitive animals!
Enough is enough!
No more factory farms!
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