In 1972, Broward Artificial Reef Inc. (BARINC) proposed that the Florida government create an artificial reef out of old car tires. By lowering the tires, fastened with metal brackets, to the bottom, BARINC planned to kill several birds: get rid of the tires and create conditions for commercial fish life. However, things didn't go according to plan. No one made any provision for preserving the metal from corrosion - and all the structures, frames and chains, of course, rusted and crumbled. Nearly two million lightweight rubber tires ended up just scattered along the bottom. They began to be carried by the currents, destroying all the ecology and life that had had time to develop on the artificial reef. Moreover, the freed tires began to collide with real reefs, destroying the living system.
The tires continue to be retrieved to this day. Private companies, the U.S. Army and conservationists were all involved in cleaning up the bottom. Such is the "initiative."
#
us #
usa #
florida #
nature #
ecology #
capitalism #
history
