Coral reefs are masses of natural structures composed of skeletal material from by reef-building (or hard) corals, small organisms that grow in shallow water. Corals are found in both temperate and tropical waters. Reefs, however, can only form within about 30° of the Equator. They leave their exoskeletons when they die and the tide movement slowly layers them to form many different types of coral. The corals can only grow within 30 meters (100 feet) of the surface of the water where the temperature is above 16° .

Some people mistakenly call corals polyps. ‘Polyp’ describes a stage in the life of a coral, and is not specific to that species. Corals are hydroids, in a polyp form.

A healthy reef normally has a lot of algae, including turf algae, coralline algae, and macro algae. The coral itself does not actually produce the amazing pigments that make it so pleasing to look at. The colour comes from an algae which has a symbiotic relationship with the coral. A symbiotic relationship is when two plants and or animals live with each other and they both benefit from the relationship. The corals provide a safe place for the algae to live, and the algae give the corals food. The algae is called zooxanthellae. Coral reefs support a huge diversity of marine animal and plant life. They are, in fact, the most biodiverse type of marine ecosystem in the world. It takes many years to form a reef, (the average growth rate being a minute 1 mm per year) yet with the new modern threats such as dynamite fishing, it can take a few seconds to destroy one.

Coral reefs are threatened in many ways. Coral bleaching happens when the zooxanthellae in the coral is killed, usually by global warming or by a chemical change in the water. When coral is bleached it turns white and dies. Dynamite fishing, as mentioned before, consists of throwing explosives into a reef, liquifying the innards of small fish and causing them to float to the surface for easy collection. Cyanide fishing is somewhat similar—dumping poison on a reef to make the fish sluggish and easy to capture. People eat the poisoned fish without knowing it. Just plain overfishing kills coral reefs even if no incredibly destructive methods are used. Reefs are very valuable, even in non-environmental fields; medicine, tourism, and of course the fishing industry.

Click here to learn more about coral reefs

The first comprehensive global assessment of sea grass losses (a fancy phrase for a study on shrinking seagrass beds, or ‘meadows’) showed that 58 percent of seagrass beds are shrinking. The study also showed that, since 1990, the amount lost from each marine meadow annually has gone from 1% to a staggering 7%.

A co-author of the study, James Fourqurean (a professor at Florida International University), claims that the reason sea grass is dissapearing is that it likes the same type of water that people, especially tourists, like: shallow, sheltered areas. Sea grasses are most common in bays and around river mouths, also epicentres of human activity. Though the grass can deal with, in fact clean up, some degree of pollution, when the dredging and dumping is too much, it dies.

“Globally, we lose a seagrass meadow the size of a soccer field every thirty minutes,” are the words of another co-author of the study, William Dennison of the University of Maryland.

The scientists also said that global warming ‘is predicted to have deleterious effects on seagrasses.’

There are ways to help seagrass recover. In Florida, USA, treated wastewater being dumped into caused sea grass to begin dissapearing until the method of treating wastewater was changed and the grass recovered.

This is an example of how we have the technologies and solutions to many of the issues we (as a global community) face, we just need some more motivation to implement them.

With normal sidewalks, water washes off all of the chemicals that lie around on our roads and sidewalks. Then all this dirty water goes back into the water system. If the sidewalk is permeable, water filters through it dispersing the chemicals in a way the environment can cope with them and returning, clean, to the water system.

Our sidewalks collect air pollution that was taken out of the skies by rain, rubber and other materials that make the soles of our shoes (ever wondered where the soles of your shoes go when the wear away?), they collect gasoline from cars and they collect loads of other nasty stuff.

Permeable sidewalks help to preserve water, our #1 most important and crucial resource. Without it we would never have come about, and without it we are in serious trouble.

Also, any soaps/cleaners you use in your home will have an effect on the people living in it. Toxic and synthetic chemicals in cleaners can emit fumes that are health hazards and often smell bad on top of that.

If you feel like you’re too lazy to make your own biodegradable, natural, and environmentally/human friendly soaps and cleaners, Ecover sells them. Otherwise, I will provide you with some recipes I found for household cleaners (no body soaps, though, you’ll have to do your own research on that)

You can make your own dish soaps and household cleaners with a few simple ingredients and recipies that I found in my co-op newsletter, specifically an article about natural cleaning products for a green home by Tanya Petterson. The following ingedients and recipies are in her words with a few very minor changes because I think Tanya put it the best way:

• Distilled white vinegar is a deodorizer, disinfectant, preservative and mild acid. It breaks up dirt, grease, mineral deposits, mold, and soap scum.
• Baking soda is a deodorizer and gentle scrub. It softens hard water, removes acidic stains, and polishes shiny surfaces like stainless steel without scratching them.
• Salt is a great basic scrub that will give you extra cleaning power.
• Lemon is a deodorizer, stain remover, and grease cutter. It acts as a mild bleach when exposed to sunlight except it smells way better than normal bleach.
• Olive oil helps polish and nourish wood.
• Borax is a mild natural alkali used as a water softener, and preservative, aiding in cleansing in cleansers and detergents.
• Essential oils such as eucalyptus, lavender, and tea tree are natural disinfectants and antifungals.

RECIPIES:
Lemon-Scented All-Purpose Cleaner
1 tbsp borax
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup hot water
Mix ingredients in a spray bottle (the lemon scent lingers). Use for cleaning bathroom and kitchen surfaces, as well as other water-safe surfaces. Discard any remaining cleaner and make a fresh batch next time.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner
1 cup vinegar
1/2 cup baking soda
Pour the vinegar directly into the toilet bowl and let stand for 30 mins. Sprinkle baking soda onto toilet brush and scour. To keep bowl fresh, pour 1 cup of vinegar into the toilet bowl once a month and let stand overnight.

Furniture Polish
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vinegar
2 tsp lemon juice
Mix in spray bottle. Spray liberally on wood surfaces and wipe dry.

Drain Cleaner
For slow drains, use this drain cleaner once a week to keep drains fresh and clog free.

1/2 cup baking soda
1 cup white vinegar
1 gallon boiling water
Pour baking soda down the drain, followed by vinegar, and allow mixture to foam for several minutes before flushing the drain with boiling water.

All-Purpose Scrub
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 of a lemon
Coat the lemon with baking soda and scrub with the lemon itself. Use a damp rag to wipe away any residue.

Mold + Mildew
2 cups distilled white vinegar
Pour vinegar into spray bottle and spray on infected area. The smell will dissipate in a few hours (open a window to speed up the process). For areas with persisent mold problems, use tea tree oil instead of vinegar, combining 2 drops of tea tree oil with 1 cup of water in a spray bottle. A natural antiseptic and fungicide will kill most types of mold and help prevent new growth.

All-Purpose Cleaner
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup baking soda
2 liters water
Mix vinegar and baking soda with the 2 liters of water. Store and keep. Use for removal of water deposit stains on shower stall panels, bathroom chrome fixtures, bathroom mirrors, etc.

Enjoy!