Liquid Lounge
Waterside News and Personal Views

Updated: 02/20/2011

Show Samples:

10.14.06:

10.07.06:

9.23.06

9.16.06

7.01.06

6.03.06

9.30.06

Flying Fish
There is a new project Liquid Lounge will be discussing. The former air traffic control tower for Miami International Airport has been disassembled. There are 73 15-ton sections, plus a 20 foot high control room and an eight-legged steel support for the radar equipment. If a plan can be worked out, the material will become an artificial reef, providing shelter for homeless fish and an attraction for recreational scuba divers. If a plan can not be worked out, all of the material will be dumped in a lake, or landfill. You can find out more about the 'tower of power' by going to www.miamibeachdiving.com.

Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean
The World Resource Institute's Reefs at Risk project was initiated to raise awareness about threats to coral reefs -- specifically the linkages between human activities and coral reef health. The initial study, a global analysis of threats to coral reefs released in 1998, provided the first globally consistent map-based indicator of threat to the world’s coral reefs. The regional reports, Reefs at Risk in Southeast Asia (2002) and Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean (2004), provide more detailed analyses of threat within each region. All studies have relied on collaborations with scientists and other partners in the region to develop reliable indicators of human pressure on coral reefs. Each report includes map-based indictors of threat from coastal development, inland sources of sediment and pollution, marine-based threats and overexploitation. The regional analyses also include an evaluation of the economic value of goods and services associated with healthy coral reefs and of economic losses likely to result from coral reef degradation. For information, visit: ReefsAtRisk.wri.org

GIN and water
Ken has begun a series of rofiles during his segment of Caribbean Riddims with a look at the Global Islands Network. Other topics include marine parks and artificial reef development. Why? Because...Coral reefs are in trouble. NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Lists Elkhorn and Staghorn Corals as Threatened Under the Endangered Species Act. Read about the problem on the Coral Reef Conservation Program and Environmental News Network websites. On February 1st, 2006, PBS's Online News Hour posted an excellent report on the decline of coral reefs in Australia and the Florida Keys. Click here, if you are interested in watching the video: Dying Reefs. If you're interested in some of the environmental problems facing coastal communities in South Florida, you might want to read the content of several emails Ken has received recently. Check out Problems in Palm Beach.

9.23.06 Script

This week, Afterlife Services, the Fort Lauderdale company planning to build the largest underwater art gallery in world secured a staging area on the Miami River that contains a couple of building to house the office and manufacturing area for the first phase of construction. It will be a barge laden with statues, columns, bases and iron gates to mark the entrance to Atlantis Memorial Reef.

You can see pictures and listen to the June 24^th interview I did with Mr. Levine by going to www.atlantisradionetowork.com and clicking on the links on the right.

This segment of Caribbean Riddims has a waterside focus. Content is developed from a variety of sources, such as the World Resources Institute and the Environmental Education Providers of Miami-Dade County.

The World Resources Institute recently issued a report entitled Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean. It contains documentation of a disturbing trend in the quality of the waterside throughout the region. Although every country has a government department responsible for the waterside, no country adequately funds the department.

In coming weeks, Liquid Lounge will visit marine parks and protected areas, as well as highlight any environmentally-oriented projects that are taking place in the region, one island at a time. We’ll share a little GIN with you. Oh, that’s the Global Island Network. GIN.

And, of course, I’ll report on the South Florida waterside, from Palm Beach to Monroe, with emphasis on Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach.

Why, because scientists from around the world are concerned about the rate at which coral reefs are declining in the Caribbean and South Florida. Coral that was healthy when Columbus  ran aground, is now dying because of pollution, over-fishing and careless boaters and scuba divers. Natural reefs along the South Florida coast are being smothered by silt, a by-product of beach renourishment projects.

Artificial reefs, when built from metal, concrete and limestone, provide habitat for homeless fish. When built with an artistic theme, they will attract recreational scuba divers.

From weakened standards for water pollution, such as the debate in Delray Beach as to whether or not the Florida Department of Environmental Protection should allow the Delray sewer plant to double the amount of partially-treated sewage it pumps into the ocean each day. In case you are interested, the maximum sewage allowed would then be 26 million gallons a day.

A recent algae bloom in the Florida Keys caused great concern because of proximity to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The Environmental Education Providers of Miami-Dade County is an consortium of Local, National and State organizations with a focus on the environment of Miami-Dade County. They provide research and educational information to teachers and students who are interested in protecting their water, land and air. 

Members of EEP Miami include the North American Association for Environmental Education, the Everglades National Park, Florida Sea Grant’s Marine Extension Program, Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve, Dade Environmental Resources Management, Miami River Commission, Operation Green Leaves, Officer Snook and Biscayne Nature Center.You can find a link to their websites, as well as links to many other environmental organizations, by going to Caribbean Riddims.com and clicking on the EEP Miami link under Liquid Lounge.

Next week, we’ll take a look at an innovative program of cooperation between Bonaire and St. Lucia to establish No-Take Marine Reserves to enhance fishery resources.

Liquid Lounge is a production of Ocean Realm Media, publisher of the Ocean Realm Journal, a quarterly magazine with an ocean focus and www.OceanRealmOnline.com.  Links to all sites mentioned today are on www.CaribbeanRiddims.com.

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April 24, 2006

Concrete Jungle: The Music of Bob Marley
Monty Alexander

April 16, 2006

We just added a page of Island Websites.

Operation Greenleaves, an Miami-based organization dedicated to planting trees in Haiti invites you to their annual Earth celebration on April 29th in Little Haiti from Noon to 6 PM. The music will feature Lucky Pierre who will introduce a couple of songs from his new CD. The event is at the Earth 'n Us Park 7631 NE 1st Avenue.

Speaking of Lucky Pierre, the musician and record producer (pictured with guitar) will introduce his new CD during a release party on May 6th at the Jakmel Art Gallery, 147 NW 36 Street, Miami, FL.. He said plans to market his Purple Room production studio in Miramar and develop new talent. Check out his website for more information: www.luckyp.com. Click here for the first track: Miami Nights

Gibson Dorcé is social worker for the State of Florida, who dreams of being on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. Gregory Durozell is a teenager who plays violin. They are both Haitian. Gabrielle Chou is a 10 years-old elementary school student who can play a Mozart concerto on the piano, then pick up a violin and play a piece by Bach. At 18, Kevin Pearl is one of Miami-Dade County's best oboe players. He is preparing to study at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. The Ostler Quintet is a talented family playing chamber music. Jean Quinn is a Miami-Dade teacher who can sing Soprano with the best of them. What do they have in common? They are part of the Coral Gables Chamber Symphony and Opera's development program called The American Ideal. If you have a talented child who needs help developing musical or vocal skills, take a look at www.coralgablesopera.com. By the way, the next American Ideal concert is May 12th. It's free.

According to the Environmental News Network, Caribbean Coral is dying at an alarming rate. Coral that was in the water around Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands when Columbus arrived has died within the past three or four months. Read the complete story on the Environmental News Network.

That's why one thing we'd like to do in 2006 is raise some money to build an artificial reef in the Montego Bay Marine Park. The idea is to put an artificial reef in shallow water, near the shore. Our reef, however, will have an 'artistic' flare, which will attract scuba divers, as well as homeless fish. The idea is to do something like the Christ of the Deep statue near Key Largo or the Mermaid at Sunset House, Grand Cayman. If a statue like this one of Bob Marley was placed in 20 feet of water, it would attract scuba divers, as well as fish.

Right now, we call it Reggae Reef, but it might get a different name as we move along. Maybe we can get Rosie and a couple of her artistic friends involved. I am pleased to report that Peter Webley, publisher of Caribbean Today has agreed to join in. Peter, it turns out, is a certified scuba diver. Let me know if you'd like to be a Caribbean Reefbuilder!

 Shaggy - Back in the Day