"Electricity revives Bali coral reefs"

[GreenPartyVoter]

PEMUTERAN BAY, Indonesia - Just a few years ago, the lush coral reefs off Bali island were dying out, bleached by rising temperatures, blasted by dynamite fishing and poisoned by cyanide. Now they are coming back, thanks to an unlikely remedy: electricity.
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The coral is thriving on dozens of metal structures submerged in the bay and fed by cables that send low-voltage electricity, which conservationists say is reviving it and spurring greater growth.

As thousands of delegates, experts and activists debate climate at a conference that opened this week on Bali, the coral restoration project illustrates the creative ways scientists are trying to fight the ill-effects of global warming.

The project — dubbed Bio-Rock — is the brainchild of scientist Thomas Goreau and the late architect Wolf Hilbertz. The two have set up similar structures in some 20 countries, but the Bali experiment is the most extensive.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071205/ap_on_sc/bali_electrified_coral

[Quakerfriend]

1. Wow, this is awesome news. Thx for posting it.

[opihimoimoi]

2. Wow....and whad about them reefs in Austrailia...ie..the great barrier reef

where them crown of thorns (echinoderms)are munching away at the corals?

What is going on to save the corals??

[Drum]

3. Excellent!

:D

[Judi Lynn]

4. Here's another photo on the same story from the MSNBC site:

Dita Alangkara / AP

This metal structure has become a reef in Indonesia's
Pemuteran Bay with the help of low-voltage electricity
that fosters the growth of limestone on the structure,
thus starting the reef-building process.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22111204/

[diane in sf]

5. Good news, that coral looks like its growing pretty fast.

[yop]

6. How much energy is required?

Incorporating carbon into limestone is the perfect way to sequester carbon. If the power requirements are small enough, could we put a dent in CO2 levels with massive implementation of this technology? Heal the reefs and fight global warming at the same time.