Next Steps

http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu

The economic principle I’m exploring is “rules of the game" that influence choices.”

My research question to help me study the economic principle is “What do local citizens think of this problem? And
what can local citizens do to help?”

The article published online titled “Losing Our Coral Reefs” demonstrates this economic principle because it shows
different choices that people have made in order to try to help save the reefs in their area.

First, many of the threats to coral reefs that I have been writing about in these blog posts. These include bottom
trawling, careless tourism, and pollution. All of these different threats play a role in the destruction of these
ecosystems.  In order to help limit the amount of destruction that this causes, local citizens can advocate on the reef’s
behalf. The animals in the reefs cannot speak for themselves. We need to take it upon ourselves to limit the amounts
of pollution entering the water, find different fishing practices that are not as destructive, and reduce the effect that
tourism can have on the reef.

Second, I’d like to expand on the problem of pollution in the reef. As many people know, oil spills have been a giant
threat to reefs in past years. Plastic and other trash has also been thrown into the ocean and can find its way around
the necks of unsuspecting animals. Along with these, our carbon footprint has had an increasingly negative effect on
the ocean and the animals that inhabit it. Cho writes that “coral reefs are experiencing more acidity than they have at
any time in the last 400,000 years.” The fluctuations in acidity level are due to the increasing amount of carbon
dioxide that is being absorbed in the water. These levels of carbon dioxide are changing the chemistry of the ocean.

In order to prohibit further growth of this problem there are many ways people can help. For example, they can join
clean up crews. Clean up crews work to pick up garbage they find wading along the water’s surface. Personally, I
believe that the best thing we can do to help these ecosystems continue to grow is to try to minimize our carbon
footprint and our effect on the ocean. If this means suspending some tourism faculties such as boat rides or
snorkeling adventures, then I think that we should. These regulations wouldn’t have to be permanent, but we need
to allow the reefs to have some time to regrow and repopulate so that we can have these beautiful, flourishing
ecosystems once again.

In my next blog post I will wrap up all of my research.