Gigantic environmental billboard on the ocean floor

2008 is the International Year of the Reef (IYOR). The ICRI International Year of the Reef 2008 is a worldwide campaign to raise awareness about the value and importance of coral reefs and threats to their sustainability, and to motivate people to take action to protect them.

Coral reefs are some of the oldest and most diverse ecosystems on the planet. They provide resources and services worth an estimated 375 billion dollars each year, a staggering amount for ecosystems that cover less than one percent of the earth’s surface. Millions of people and thousands of communities all over the world depend on coral reefs for food, storm protection, jobs, medicines, and recreational opportunities.

Unfortunately, many of the world’s coral reefs (including the associated seagrass beds and mangrove habitats) have been damaged or destroyed due to increasing human impacts, climate change, and other factors. According to the Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, 70% of the world’s coral reefs are threatened or destroyed, 20% of those are damaged beyond repair, and within the Caribbean alone, many coral reefs have lost 80% of coral species. The decline and loss of coral reef ecosystems has significant social, economic, and ecological impact on people and communities in the U.S. and around the world.

Florida is the only state in the continental United States to have extensive shallow coral reef formations near its coasts. These reefs extend from near Stuart, on the Atlantic coast, to the Dry Tortugas, west of Key West, in the Gulf of Mexico. The most prolific reef development occurs seaward of the Florida Keys. The reefs here are spectacular and rival those of many Caribbean areas. Approximately 6,000 coral reefs are found between Key Biscayne and Dry Tortugas.

It is estimated that natural reefs in Martin, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties generate $3.4 billion in sales and income and support 36,000 jobs in the region each year (Johns, G. M., Leeworthy, V. R., Bell, F.W. & Bonn, M. A. (2001) Socioeconomic Study of Reefs in Southeast Florida. Final Report. Hazen and Sawyer Environmental Engineers & Scientists; Johns, G. M., Milon, J. W. & Sayers D. (2004) Socioeconomic Study of Reefs in Martin County, FL. Final Report. Hazen and Sawyer Environmental Engineers & Scientists)

Fort Lauderdale artificial reef builder Gary Levine has received tentative approval from Miami-Dade County officials to post a gigantic environmental billboard on the ocean floor off Miami Beach.

Sometime in the next few months, Levine and his work crews are expected to begin spelling ”SAVE THE REEFS” in block letters up to eight feet tall in water 30 feet deep.

The letters will be formed by 13,000 circular modules of concrete and limestone — each weighing about 700 pounds — anchored eight feet below the ocean floor to withstand major storms. The entire message is expected to take up an area the size of 40 football fields.

When completed people flying out of Miami International Airport will be able to see `SAVE OUR REEFS’ on the bottom of the ocean on a good, clear day.