Today, the class was presented with 4 articles regarding ethically controversial topics. We learned about ecotourism, invasive species, oil spills, and finally, artificial reefs. First off, ecotourism is a thriving industry based on providing fun and interesting experiences to people by showcasing an environment that would not necessarily be occupied by us humans. We’ve learned that the controversy comes in when the business side of ecotourism begins to exploit tourism sites, and when companies exaggerate when advertising their efforts towards trying to improve the situation, corrupting the industry altogether. The next article was about invasive species. Invasive species are a foreign species to a specific region, which can be delivered by a number of sources, such as ballast tanks, ship hulls, and anchor lines. These alien species need to be either exterminated or transplanted back to their original habitats before they are too detrimental to their new homes. For example, we discussed the lionfish, an invasive species to the Caribbean, and how we will do what we can to catch and/or kill the ones we see while in the BVI, to play our part in ridding the community of an unwelcome species. The third article was about chronic oil spills versus instantaneous spills. Although the only oil spills that are publicized are instantaneous because they are the ones that do a lot of damage very quickly, chronic oil spills a even more detrimental, we just don’t know about them when they happen. Chronic oil spills are even worse than instantaneous because they contribute to a constant dump of oil into the ocean, causing certain species, such as the two species of birds that were discussed, to not be able to survive on the surface of the water. Finally, the last article regarded artificial reefs versus natural reefs. One thing that I did not know until today is that the artificial reefs simply serve as a building block for coral, rather than a substitute for coral. To my surprise, a study done in the early 70s concluded that artificial reefs invited a more biodiverse community, not to mention a community made up of even more individual members.
