git your groove on!
Welcome to iceplant radio by DJ dBug
Pair.com offers RSS feeds for system alerts
2004.06.22 . .
I'm not sure how long Pair has offered RSS feeds but I'm quite happy to see them. Thanks Pair. I can't wait till I can receive all my sys admin type bullshit via an RSS feed. Spam, er, I mean, Email is dead! Long live RSS!
Taking The NY Times to Task over The Coral Imperative
2004.06.22 . .
In late May, the NY Times Style section touted coral-based jewelry, noted on this blog. I was outraged at the Times. I'm pleased to discover that Mel McCombie was outraged as well and she wrote a letter to the editor.
Dear Editors,
It was distressing to see "The Coral Imperative (May 23)," touting coral-based jewelry and ornaments. Coral reefs are threatened by global warming, pollution, and poison fishing; scientists predict that without intervention, half the world's reefs will be destroyed within a generation. Coral reefs are akin to rainforests, harboring 25% of the oceans' species in less than 1% of the oceans' mass. Their astonishing biodiversity may hold the answers to many of the worst problems of the human condition, from cancer to AIDS.
Corals are animals, not minerals like gems; thus a piece of coral jewelery signifies the death of thousands of these colonial animals and the many species that live on coral reefs. There is simply no justification for the harvesting of coral; it is not a renewable resource, and its decorative qualities can easily be reproduced in other media. No ethical person, fashionista, or designer, can use coral with a clean conscience.
Ironically, this newspaper reported on the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development (see also Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002, ed. Clive Wilkinson, Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2002), issuing a clarion call for the protection of coral reefs and the communities that depend on them. I would hope that the Style section would follow the lead of the news.
Sincerely,
Mary E. McCombie, Ph.D.
Secretary, The Board of Directors, The Coral Reef Alliance (www.coral.org)
Updated: 3/6/06; 12:18:45 AM.
© 2006 Donovan Watts | Design by Andreas Viklund