Smart Climate Fixes All Across the U.S.
The New York Times article, “50 States 50 Fixes” does more than aleve your eco anxiety. It reaffirms your faith in American creativity and ingenuity and the ability of individuals to make a real difference.
The California story, “How to Revive California’s Underwater Forests? Smash a hungry, spiky foe” details how scientists, divers and volunteers are reviving kelp forests along our northern coast. Warming waters killed off over 90 percent of the kelp forests along 200 miles of coastline north of San Francisco. That led to the death of abalones and sunflower sea stars, which allowed sea urchins to take over. Spoiler alert: sea urchins eat kelp, so they’re the foe in this story.
The upshot is that what is being learned about regenerating kelp forests in our state could be used to revive kelp forests along a third of the world’s coasts. The restoration isn’t easy or cheap, but the Nature Conservancy and other groups are developing more lucrative products made from harvested urchins – including countertops! Read this and other state’s stories and be amazed.
Posted by Donna Gerhauser for the Climate Action Group