Killer Robot Reef Rangers

Robotic technology is being developed to help rid the reefs of invasive species–the crown of thorns starfish on our side of the world and the lionfish in the Atlantic and Caribbean.

Robot designed to kill the invasive crown of thorns

From Scientific American:

The Great Barrier Reef will have a robotic protector beginning this winter. The underwater autonomous vehicle is programmed to patrol the massive living structure in search of destructive crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS), which it then kills by lethal injection. These starfish prey on coral polyps, and although they are native to the reef, their population has exploded in the past few years, possibly because of overfishing of their natural predators. Click here to read the full story.

Our friends in the Atlantic and Caribbean also have a serious problem with the invasive lionfish. Another robot has been proposed to help with this predator.

Prototype of the lionfish killer robot

From Live Science:

The robotics company iRobot, known for creating the autonomous and endearing Roomba vacuums, is taking steps to make a clean sweep of lionfish in the coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean, with a robot designed to target and dispatch the invasive fish. Click here to read the full article

 

 

The Last Straw–just say no to plastic straws

Putu bamboo straws

An industrious Balinese high schooler started a business selling bamboo straws

I ran across a couple of articles today about straws that I thought I would share. First, from National Geographic: “Straw Wars: The Fight to Rid the Oceans of Discarded Plastic.”

The second one, from our own backyard here in Bali,  made me smile and gives me hope: “Putu’s Bamboo Straws.”

Do your part–say ‘No Thanks’ to plastic straws.

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