As Americans seek “green” items to preserve the planet, ranging from lightbulbs to dishsoap, they might want to consider their jewelry. Purchasing a necklace in the Midwest -; if that necklace contains coral -; can harm ocean ecosystems thousands of miles away.
Divers have harvested red coral for over 5,000 years. But new technologies, which allow coral harvesters to dive deeper and take more coral, have made the practice more destructive. Some scientists say that 20 percent of the world’s coral has been destroyed, and that another 23 percent may be lost in the next 30 years.
Coral proves essential to healthy ocean ecosystems. Over 5,000 types of coral exist. Different species grow in different depths and temperatures, where they create “coral forests,” which provide homes and food for thousands of marine species. Coral can also create barriers between oceans and shores, helping protect land from ocean storms.
Coral is a slow-growing organism. Some reefs never recover from heavy harvesting.
Americans help fuel the demand for coral. The U.S. imports more precious red corals than any other nation -; 26 million pieces between 2001 and 2006. That’s 80 percent of the live coral that is taken from reefs each year.
The push has been for government to enact tougher regulations to protect coral, but when it comes to jewelry, the buck can end with the American consumer. Oceana, an international nonprofit group that works to protect the world’s oceans, offer these tips to protect coral reefs:
* Avoid buying coral jewelry. No one needs coral jewelry, but some communities do need reefs to survive. Consider purchasing jewelry made from other materials.
* Buy imitation coral. Imitation coral, which can be made from resin, wax or wood, looks just like coral but doesn’t impact oceans.
* Buy coral jewelry second-hand. If you must have real coral, consider shopping for coral jewelry in second-hand shops, antique stores or vintage boutiques. You can have your necklace without fueling the demand for more coral harvesting.
For more information, visit www.oceana.org.
Author: NewsUSA
Source: ttp://readitnews.com/environment/
December 1st, 2008
By DAVID FERRARA
Staff Reporter
One day, Brook Delafosse thinks maybe she’ll be a geologist or someone like the woman who digs for treasures on television.
On Saturday morning, the 9-year-old put her future to the test at the 14th annual Jewelry, Gem and Mineral Show, which concludes today, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Greater Gulf State Fairgrounds in west Mobile.
Brook and her cousin, Lauren Luke, climbed up on a trailer bed covered in sand and dug for rocks, tossing as many as they could find within two minutes into plastic cups.
“I might think about it when I get older, digging for rocks and stuff,” she said.
Lauren proudly held up her collection. Both girls plucked out their favorite rocks, each one decidedly “shiny.”
Lauren’s mother, Amy Hamblin, said she was reminded of the Travel Channel show “Kirsten Gum: Treasure Hunter.”
“This,” Brook said, “is like the most funnest day ever.”
A few steps away, Jerry Shirey handed bags of dirt to people who sifted out various gems with running water.
“I know there are at least 10 ounces of gem-stone rough in each bag,” Shirey said of the $8 bags. “Everybody will get at least their money’s worth.”
The rocks inside had been imported from North Carolina, Brazil, India and Africa, Shirey said.
All around him, 36 dealers from as far away as India and as close as down the road in Mobile sold every type of stone imaginable.
From ancient stones to freshly cracked geodes, the hall was loaded with what Phil Kaiser, president of the Mobile Rock and Gem Society, said easily amounted to millions of dollars worth of rock. The place was filled with trays of cobaltite, trilobites, finger-like crystals and heart-shaped glass. In another spot lay an Oregon rock that collector Pete Whisenant, who hails from a small town in north Alabama called — no joke — Flat Rock, said was as “scarce as hen’s teeth,” alongside gems that purportedly shot out of Mount St. Helens. From other tables rose fossils, petrified wood and walrus tusks.
Essentially, anything hard.
And if a rock could be cut, cut it would be. One could find stones carved into guitar picks and skulls, and to name only a few of the animal variety that were spotted: Lizards, owls, dogs, cats, gators, monkeys, fish, pigs, bears, rhinos, snakes, rabbits, dolphins and dragons.
It’s a sort of Shangri-La for people Sheila Hoven of Gautier called rockhounds.
“That’s someone with a disease — the addiction to playing with rocks,” she said and directed observers to one end of her booth, where she had placed pieces of Precambrian quartz about 750 million years old.
Another certifiable rockhound, Julie Thomas, a collector from Fairhope, said she dealt in “rarity, oddity and commodity,” not just the big four (sapphires, rubies, emeralds and diamonds). She pointed to stones with strange names and expensive price tags, such as Paraiba Tourmaline and Trapiche emeralds.
Her eyes cast across thousands of square feet, and she said, “there’s so much more.”
Source: http://www.al.com/news/
December 1st, 2008
