i asked my best friend, who lives on the island of st. croix if she knew about what was in the water in cane bay. “those are coral reef nurseries,” she said. my friend suggested that i speak with kemit-amon lewis, one of the marine scientists working on the coral reef nurseries in st. croix. these are places where marine scientists rehabilitate salvaged corals to later be transplanted back into wild colonies.

i talked with lewis about coral reefs and the coral bleaching that is taking place due to rising water temperatures, and he had some very valuable information about coral reef bleaching events. in these events, increased water temperature stresses out corals and causes them to turn white and appear bleached. when corals go through a bleaching event, they are at a great risk of death unless water temperatures go down. 

lewis is the development director at the perry institute for marine science. his role within the perry institute is to explore strategic partnerships and, otherwise, support ocean conservation work in the bahamas and some other caribbean islands. lewis has been working on reefs since 2010 and is involved in many programs to help the coral reefs including, bleachwatch citizen science program, the “reef responsible” sustainable seafood campaign, and padi coral nursery and restoration specialty diver course. 

after a near-death experience in 2019 from an unknown bacterium, resulting in septic shock, and suffering multiple amputations, lewis has brought special attention to reef recovery programs and has lectured about his journey after losing his limbs. he is a personal inspiration to me, as he is still a scuba diver and photographer of the ocean. 

lewis talked about his memories of the virgin islands’ beautiful waters and reefs and how the local public-school marine biology program introduced him to marine science as a child. he also has many fond memories of his family’s time spent on the west shore where he learned how to snorkel. he said that the first time that he saw a coral bleaching event was in the virgin islands in 2010. there were large areas of bleaching, but temperatures did not persist for a longer period. 

“some of the corals paled instead of bleached,” he said. “a lot of corals appeared able to rebound from that bleaching event and not be completely lost. this is excellent news that the corals rebounded after a bleaching event, which proves that coral can rebound and become healthy again.” 

coral reefs have been going through coral degradation for 40 years, caused by anthropogenic activities that have warmed the ocean due to increased greenhouse gasses. the national oceanic and atmospheric administration (noaa) has been monitoring bleaching events using satellites for over 20 years and has collected extensive data showing that a coral reef can recover many times after bleaching takes place. 

some of what has helped coral reefs recover are marine sanctuaries. these are protected waters that include habitats such as coral reefs and are important in sheltering the coral reefs from such things as over-fishing and damage by collisions with passing boats. regarding the use of marine sanctuaries to conserve the coral reefs and sea life, lewis said, “they can be very successful if properly managed, to protect the coral reefs.” he continued, “they help to ensure there is no overfishing and [contribute to the] protection of reefs.”  

coral bleaching is not a phenomenon unique to the virgin islands. it is happening across the equatorial world. i have a friend, melissa drapeau, who lives in honduras, whom i have known for many years. like me, she was also a suny-esf student studying biology and has been an avid diver for 30 years. she said she has observed coral bleaching gradually grow worse over the last couple of decades. 

 “[it went] from a single coral that was bleached out, and one that was obviously ill for some reason, to it being patches of coral and then being more widespread areas and then now seeing a lot of that,” drapeau said. “whether it is bands on the coral where half the coral appears alive, and half of it is bleached out.”  

honduras has a program called the coral reef alliance, which has made great strides in protecting the coral reefs, focusing on clean water, healthy fisheries, and habitat protection. this program along with several other factors have helped honduras to have some of the healthiest coral reefs in the caribbean.  

there are several things that we can do to help protect the beauty of the ocean and the coral reefs, which include using reef-safe sunscreen, not using single-use plastics, recycling and properly disposing of trash. additionally, lewis had some solid advice for scuba divers and anyone exploring the ocean, “[be] mindful of not touching stuff… i know it’s our nature as human beings to be inquisitive and to pick up random stuff, however, just observe them,” lewis said. “our eyes are there for a reason. take pictures and leave bubbles.”

many of my friends’ homes were lost, flooded or incinerated by fire when the transformer blew up as the angry waves smacked against it. our town had no power for weeks, trees had turned the roads into an obstacle course, and we were forced to remain in place. the devastation of hurricane sandy that struck our town and swept across the east coast was foreign to my adolescent mind. since then, every time a hurricane or tropical storm passes over connecticut, i hold my breath and hope there will not be a repeat of that destruction. unfortunately, climate change is forming the perfect recipe for more aggressive and frequent hurricanes. 

the connection between climate and weather

sea levels rising and ocean waters increasing in temperature will fuel hurricanes to extremes, making storms like sandy a common occurrence in the northeast. the national climate assessment projects that hurricanes in the atlantic ocean will more commonly be category 4 and 5, the strongest and most deadly type of hurricanes. what’s more, evidence from the physics organization shows that hurricanes in the northeast will linger longer, not retreating and bringing more severe damage to towns.  

current connecticut environmental regulations are not sufficient to impede the frightening changes that face us. however, organizations like 350ct and save the sound have produced actionable plans to combat these significant events. they have proposed legislative actions focused on areas such as electricity, transportation, and buildings, which would allow the state to reduce co2 emissions and lessen the growing climate threat. while increased regulations have been enacted in the last year, the state is still not investing enough to contribute to national co2 emission reductions and is primarily focused on infrastructure projects to protect land from the storms.

as tropical storms, ones less severe than sandy, have passed through connecticut since 2012, the water levels have been alarming. the environmental defense fund reported that the average global sea level has increased by half a foot since 1900. this suggests that storm surges during hurricanes, when waters rise above normal levels and are pushed inland by wind, will occur more frequently. the sea level around bridgeport, a town in connecticut, has already increased by five inches since 1964 and continues to rise even faster than before, reports sealevelrise.org.  

coastal communities feel the pressure

bridgeport, the largest city in my district, is also the most densely populated, with the greatest diversity of ethnic backgrounds in connecticut. unfortunately, the department of housing and urban development reports that if measures are not taken this city will flood regularly by 2100. critical infrastructure, such as train lines, hospitals, sewage plants and airports are greatly threatened, and many residents feel that the only thing they can do is hope these buildings can face the fury of the storm. this community is still recovering with help from the state after ida, a hurricane that hit over a year ago. with low income families concentrated in this area, the state will need to come to their aid again and again, but if the entire connecticut population is soon in turmoil from recurring hurricanes, resources will start to spread thin.

with 61% of the state’s population located in coastal communities prone to flooding, vulnerability to hurricanes is widespread and only increasing. the connecticut department of energy and environmental protection projects that by 2080 the state may lose 24,000 acres of land from sea level rise. consequently, people will be left to move inland or live in high-risk homes that may be treacherous during a hurricane. 

when i think of how my mom lives on her own next to the ocean, i feel a sudden uneasiness. with the growing threat of storms, she must choose between moving out of our family home or feeling endangered every time a hurricane warning is issued.  

the national climate assessment has detailed that 32% of northern and mid-atlantic beaches will over-wash due to intense nor-easter type storms. the risk of towns transforming into wreckage will only increase if global warming continues at this pace since this number rises to over 80% if the hurricane is category 4 or higher, the type of hurricane that increases in correlation with global warming. while the state implements protection from the imminent storms, reversing climate change should be the real goal, so we are not continuously living in fear. we should be working toward solutions to global warming rather than just spending on infrastructure to reduce devastating damage.