Saving the reef at Cabo Pulmo
Life in the Colonies
To facilitate an investigative dialogue about the coral reef at Cabo Pulmo please allow me to introduce G.M. G.M. is short for Godmom. In this
study God means all known deities. Mom is Mother Nature -- in this way we may be able to satisfy deists and pantheists alike.
I talk to G.M. I?m neither an apostle nor a scientist. G.M. does not ?speak to me? in the Biblical sense. Our meetings are informal. This little
chat came about today, March 1st, 2005, as I was driving back from the airport at Los Cabos, not far from the coral colony we were discussing.
G.M. ?How do you like the little reef in Baja California??
Me. ?Love it. It?s very unique. But it?s so sad. It?s disappearing.?
G.M. ?Why is that??
Me. ?Lots of reasons: bleaching, damage by marine predators, marine toxins, denizen imbalance caused by overfishing, human intrusion like damage
done by boat anchors, pollutants.?
G.M. ?How long has this been going on??
Me. ?I don?t know. By the way, did you just drop this little thing all by its lonesome or is this the last relic of what were many east coast
peninsular colonies??
G.M. ?This must be the last little bit. There were huge colonies all along the coast and the tip.?
Me. ?Well, we are trying to save this last little bit.?
G.M. ?Can I help??
Me. ?Sure. Just keep the El Ni?o effect down below where it?s been for the next several hundred years. That would help a lot.?
G.M. ?What are you doing to save the coral??
Me. ?We are reducing the size of the reserve. That will allow the place to have visible, enforceable boundaries. Only then can we effectively keep
the humans from harvesting, littering, polluting. We might pay the locals to selectively harvest the urchins that are killing the coral. They can
sell the urchins, replace the loss of fishing dollars. We are going to reintroduce reef denizens which were devastated or depleted to unviable
numbers, bring back the natural balance that was here long before humans arrived here.?
G.M. ?What about Mexico, the Mexicans??
Me. ?The Mexican scientists seem to be responsible, want to help. The bureaucrats have their own agenda?s based on power, political advancement,
and, of course, money. The people who are paid to manage the country have traditionally treated it?s resources like things on the shelves of a big
market ? they?ve sold all the lumber, all the fish in their waters. We will undoubtably have to pay some people just to get the rights to protect the
coral otherwise any plan we put forward that does not bring in millions of taxable pesos will be defeated in committee.
The problem is, we don?t need more tourists and their dollars ? that just brings more pressure on the coral ? we need authority to proceed, time to
recruit volunteers from all over the world who want to help in any way they can; we need to be left alone while we find ways to mollify the local
would-be Mexican Disneyland entrepreneurs, time to find ways to replace income lost to the natives who have lived on the marine animals on or near the
reef for many generations. In short, we need a miracle.?
G.M. ?Don?t look at me. I can do the El Ni?o thing, the rest is up to you.?
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