Cyclone Nargis is an Opportunity
Marine Aquarists Have a Chance to Promote Good in Cyclone's Wake
Many of the most treasured saltwater aquarium species come from the Indo-Pacific, where people's lives have been destroyed by increasingly violent storms.
Many of the species imported to the United States for the marine aquarium originate at the Jakarta airport—the very same Jakarta airport where a United States military transport plane recently sat waiting permission to deliver relief supplies to the victims of Cyclone Nargis. The United States is blessed to have the wealth and resources to respond to a humanitarian crisis like the one in Myanmar, and it is unconscionable that the government refused aid from the United States for so long. Americans are rightfully outraged that their assistance has been denied because of geopolitical paranoia. Yet why is it that Americans are not equally outraged that long before Cyclone Nargis hit, the United States was not doing more to limit its impact on global climate change?
Carbon emissions from countries like the United States have led to warming sea surface temperatures, which, according to numerous reports and studies, is believed to be one factor contributing to the increased storm activity experienced throughout the Indo-Pacific. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was just one organization to release a report in 2007 making the link between intensifying tropical cyclone activity and the rise of tropical sea surface temperatures. “[B]ased on a range of models,” the IPCC concluded, “it is likely that future tropical cyclones will become more intense, with larger peak wind speeds and more heavy precipitation associated with ongoing increases of tropical sea surface temperatures.”
“Climate change is urgent, real and happening,” says Sunita Narain, the director of the Centre for Science and the Environment (CSE). “But we do not connect the dots to recognize the fact that the tropical cyclone Nargis, which has led to such enormous devastation in Myanmar, is also because of changing climate.”
Connecting the dots is not just the responsibility of scientists, however, and marine aquarists have a unique opportunity to be on the frontline in the battle against global warming. Having a saltwater aquarium in your home is a rare opportunity to connect with ecosystems and cultures that most people will never have the opportunity to experience firsthand, but with that opportunity comes a great responsibility.
Has America’s dependence on fossil fuels really contributed to devastating storms like Cyclone Nargis? If it has, should Americans take responsibility for their actions? Is Cyclone Nargis a natural disaster or a man-made one? Can it be said that driving an SUV on the highways around Los Angeles contributed to tens of thousands of deaths in Myanmar? Is an average American family’s unwillingness to cut their carbon footprint in half responsible for the devastation of one of the world's premier rice-producing regions, which will likely lead to more malnourishment and death by starvation in years to come?
Regardless of one’s politics, every marine aquarist has the opportunity to promote these discussions when friends and family admire his or her tanks. Marine aquaria provide an opportunity to engage in dialog about the connectedness of the planet. The piece of the ocean that marine aquarists have in their homes is representative of something much larger than a hobby. Perhaps keeping a marine aquarium will lead you to consider ways to lessen your own carbon footprint. Maybe it will inspire you to make a donation to disaster relief for the victims of Cyclone Nargis. Possibly it will simply lead you to start a conversation with a friend or family member about how one’s actions and the way one chooses to live his or her life can have implications on complete strangers.
If keeping a marine aquarium leads you to do any of these things, then you are indeed, as Bob Fenner says, a conscientious marine aquarist.
