DIY Underwater -- A call to arms

Let's not dip too deep into the archive of songs about fish. Really, we could do a whole blog of them and I need to save those references for future quirky titles. But, when someone, in this case my colleague at [the] OC Mark Powell, adds algae to the Ghostbusters theme song and makes magic I do have to tip my hat to them. Mark, here's my suggested next verse: When there's something smelly/on your zooxanthellae/who ya gonna call? Algaebusters!

There's a new coral reef vacuum on the market, ready to suck that brown goo off your corals. Sadly, I do not think Harold Ramis or Dan Ackroyd come to your reef to do the vacuuming but you could wear a jumpsuit while you admire your slime free reef. This is a great tool, we need it in the wake of global warming and nutrient pollution, but it really just makes me hungry for more cool toys.

People, if we can make an algae vacuum, why do we still know so little about the sea? Engineering things to work underwater is hard: you have to deal with corrosive salt and water in your electronics, not to mention the pressure and irregular terrain. And yes, it's expensive. But this is the era of Make magazine, $5 internet cameras, and solar car competitions. Where is our deepwater fish monitoring cam? Our laser-guided fishing net? Our tidal-powered colossal-squid seeking Predator drone? Can't Google create an algorithm that searches continuous orbiting satellite photos to look for high sea piracy? The sea's the limit, and it could use a few good minds.

Comments