Robot to destroy starfish on Great Barrier Reef

[grexly75]

Well if that doesn't get one wondering look at this http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5960 some interesting reading and a cause for concern for us all..

Quoted from the above link..

The latest global coral reef assessment estimates that 19 percent of the world's coral reefs are dead. Their major threats include warming sea-surface temperatures and expanding seawater acidification.

The report, released by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network Wednesday at the international climate change negotiations in Poznań, Poland, predicts that many of the remaining reefs may disappear within the next 40 years if current emission trends continue.

[Lucetia]

Let the starfish do their thing. Nature will balance itself out without our intervention. The only thing we need to do is understand our influence on nature and rectify that. Not say "Oh we need to save the reef because this one thing that we may or may not have had a hand in destroys it!!" and act blindly.

Not to sound like a jerk or anything, but I've always been curious about this comment in particular "Nature will balance itself out without our intervention". Most people believe that if something is unintended that nature will find a way to balance itself out by various means such as making it immune, creating a predator via migration, mutation, etc along with a plethora of other ways. My question is what if this is nature's way of balancing itself our by having us become it's new predators and disposing them in a way. In this case we give them a lethal injection which kills them instead of another predator that may just kill or devour it.

Again, not trying to sound like a jerk, but was just curious if that ever came across as a thought or do people just not accept that as a way of "nature balancing itself".

[Jester Joe]

Not to sound like a jerk or anything, but I've always been curious about this comment in particular "Nature will balance itself out without our intervention". Most people believe that if something is unintended that nature will find a way to balance itself out by various means such as making it immune, creating a predator via migration, mutation, etc along with a plethora of other ways. My question is what if this is nature's way of balancing itself our by having us become it's new predators and disposing them in a way. In this case we give them a lethal injection which kills them instead of another predator that may just kill or devour it.

Again, not trying to sound like a jerk, but was just curious if that ever came across as a thought or do people just not accept that as a way of "nature balancing itself".

...I think I need to take a nap after trying to think about that.

[endersblade]

The amount of sheer ignorance in this thread is baffling. I fear for the future of not only the human race, but our planet too. Good lord.

[Kaneiac]

The amount of sheer ignorance in this thread is baffling. I fear for the future of not only the human race, but our planet too. Good lord.

I'm just glad actual experts are in charge of things and not armchair environmentalists.

[vetinari]

Why? Just so scuba divers have something pretty to look at? They can look at pictures. The GBP doesnt do anything to advance the human race

The face of modern barbarism.

[Jester Joe]

The amount of sheer ignorance in this thread is baffling. I fear for the future of not only the human race, but our planet too. Good lord.

It always baffles me when people come into a thread with just a one line insult and nothing worth actually saying.

[Cerus]

Prove that we are the cause of this outbreak and then we'll figure out how to rectify it. Until then, this is nature doing it's thing. When a predator over feeds on the prey population, the numbers of predators will decrease. Once the prey population jumps back up, the predator population will rise as well. If both are wiped out, then it's natural process and new species will fill the gap left behind.

Not how it works. Corals just don't magically grow back. We tipped the balanced via overfishing. Reefs gone=all fish and life gone that need the reef and the planet needs all those and WE need the planet.

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Why? Just so scuba divers have something pretty to look at? They can look at pictures. The GBP doesnt do anything to advance the human race

Well if the human race needs a planet to live on then it needs the reefs. The naivety of your post makes me want to say things that will get me banned.

[vetinari]

Not to sound like a jerk or anything, but I've always been curious about this comment in particular "Nature will balance itself out without our intervention". Most people believe that if something is unintended that nature will find a way to balance itself out by various means such as making it immune, creating a predator via migration, mutation, etc along with a plethora of other ways. My question is what if this is nature's way of balancing itself our by having us become it's new predators and disposing them in a way. In this case we give them a lethal injection which kills them instead of another predator that may just kill or devour it.

Again, not trying to sound like a jerk, but was just curious if that ever came across as a thought or do people just not accept that as a way of "nature balancing itself".

A bit of both, really.

But part of the reason why people argue for nature balancing itself is because we have good historical reason to believe that our well intentioned meddling with ecosystems has good chance of making things worse, in ways we didn't anticipate.

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Not how it works. Corals just don't magically grow back. We tipped the balanced via overfishing. Reefs gone=all fish and life gone that need the reef and the planet needs all those and WE need the planet.

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Well if the human race needs a planet to live on then it needs the reefs. The nativity of your posts makes me want to say things that will get me banned.

At any rate, pretty things to look at is a worthy goal in and of itself. Who wants to live in an ugly world?

[MasterOfNone]

We literally made a genocide machine. Huh.

easy cowboy. genocide is people.....

[dokilar]

am i the only one annoyed at the space between their spelling of percent?

[dextersmith]

Lethal injections seen inappropriate, they should use atomic bombs, lasers, and nukes.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Prove that we are the cause of this outbreak and then we'll figure out how to rectify it. Until then, this is nature doing it's thing. When a predator over feeds on the prey population, the numbers of predators will decrease. Once the prey population jumps back up, the predator population will rise as well. If both are wiped out, then it's natural process and new species will fill the gap left behind.

And the loss of said species will hurt all of us.

[Templar 331]

My question is what if this is nature's way of balancing itself our by having us become it's new predators and disposing them in a way. In this case we give them a lethal injection which kills them instead of another predator that may just kill or devour it.

Lol, nature being lazy by making us do the hard work.

Not how it works. Corals just don't magically grow back. We tipped the balanced via overfishing. Reefs gone=all fish and life gone that need the reef and the planet needs all those and WE need the planet.

Again with the BS "over fishing"? The only credible theory so far is that natural runoff enhanced with man made nutrients caused the plankton that the starfish larva feed on to populate more which causes an increase chance of survival for the starfish so they can reach maturity. Once they are mature, there are few fish that eat them.

Though it is true that life around coral reefs depend on the coral, not all life in the ocean depends on coral reefs.

And the loss of said species will hurt all of us.

Considering the sheer number of extinct species there are, life will go on. Not that I like it, just that nature will continue. Something will fill the gap.

[Lucetia]

But part of the reason why people argue for nature balancing itself is because we have good historical reason to believe that our well intentioned meddling with ecosystems has good chance of making things worse, in ways we didn't anticipate.

Oh I get that completely. As I said it wasn't meant to be a "dumb comment" just something I've been slightly curious over the years. I understand why and why not on things and such. I know humans usually have a habit of making things worse while trying to make things better. I just always was curious why people don't consider human intervention to be a way of nature handling it. If it was another predator or something that did it then they'd say "well nature handled it". Not necessarily saying that human intervention is nature's way of handling it, just a different thought I guess?

Lol, nature being lazy by making us do the hard work.

lol -- Guess that's one way to look at it.

[ButterBeast]

so you joined this site 5 years ago. and what you do is spam the boards with CTRL-V newstories. nice

[Kokolums]

Robots shooting starfish to save reefs...

It sounds like a bad HTML5 game.

[stumpy]

The GBP doesnt do anything to advance the human race

He said, while being Orlong.

[Kasierith]

Why? Just so scuba divers have something pretty to look at? They can look at pictures. The GBP doesnt do anything to advance the human race

I strongly suggest you look at the basis for modern medicine if you don't think that biodiversity matters. Chemicals and plastics overall, really.

[Rukh]

Humans have in the business of purposely engineering their environment for thousands of years. Heck look at the Netherlands.