Using Photovoltaics to Rebuild Coral Reefs

Here’s an article on the creation of “biorock,” coral reefs that grow extra quickly when an electrical current, generated with photovoltaics on the ocean’s surface, is applied to steel girders on the seabed.

Proponents argue that the replacing of the huge number of reefs that have been damaged by pollution is an extremely important task. They note that more than a quarter of the world’s reefs have died in the past few decades and that at least another quarter will perish within the coming twenty years.

However, environmentalists are mixed on the idea. A reader from Costa Rica who wishes to develop an eco-friendly way to raise oysters writes: “scientists and ecologists here are too conservative and ambientalista (“environmentalist”) lobbyists are against it.”