Xref: utzoo sci.bio:4064 sci.aquaria:989 sci.environment:8862 Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!mcdphx!udc!cmccaff From: cmccaff@urbana.mcd.mot.com (Chuck McCaffrey) Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.aquaria,sci.environment Subject: Re: coral reefs, C02, food, and farming. Message-ID: Date: 2 Dec 98 18:54:19 GMT References: <720@sierra.stanford.edu> Sender: netnews@urbana.mcd.mot.com Organization: Motorola MCD, Urbana Design Center Lines: 36 In-reply-to: rosentha@sierra.Stanford.EDU's message of 30 Nov 90 19:27:21 GMT In article <720@sierra.stanford.edu> rosentha@sierra.Stanford.EDU (Peter A. Rosenthal) writes: <> If one could float large substrates out in the open ocean several meters below the surface, and properly seed them, I would bet that reefs would grow very well on them provided they were located in a stable, well lit, clean place. Coral occupies only a small area on the planet presently; I wonder how many square miles? How difficult would it be to double the area artificially? Coral reef farms of this sort would also be a great sustainable food source for humanity as well as the rest of the world. ____ Very interesting idea, one that had not occurred to me. My questions are: 1) How large are the "large substrates"? 2) How do we make the "large substrates"? What do we make them of? Will their manufacture cause, in and of itself, a large release of CO2 or pollutants? 3) Will the installation disrupt anything that should not be disrupted? Still, an idea worth considering, along with, naturally, decreasing the amount of CO2 we cavalierly dump into the ecosphere. -- \Chuck McCaffrey cmccaff@urbana.mcd.mot.com 1101 E University Urbana IL 61801 \ Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight, [my words] \ Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight, [my opinions] / \ And for each and every underdog soldier in the night, / \ And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing. Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com