Last Stop: Habitat Restoration

Photo credit: The Front Room Gallery via Stephen Mallon

What’s the best way to get rid of abandoned subway cars?

Throw them into the ocean, of course!

Photo credit: The Front Room Gallery via Stephen Mallon

Yeah, but why would ocean-loving conservationists recommend dumping enormous, man-made metal objects into our beloved sea? It seems like pollution, right?

Well, that’s where you (along with most other people) are wrong.

Photo credit: The Front Room Gallery via Stephen Mallon

The subway cars have been completely stripped of environmentally harmful materials so that only the metal framework remains. And the brilliant people behind this project are using these frames to build artificial reefs (and habitats for thousands of marine life species)!

The author of the article covering this story, Michael Hession, writes, “The metal cages serve as breeding grounds for marine organisms that attach themselves to hard surfaces. The newly spawned life creates food for other sea dwelling animals, fostering a healthier habitat overall.”

Photo credit: www.ttnut.com

So yes, although we are dealing with a universal ocean trash issue that’s affecting marine life all over the world, this garbage dumping is actually an ongoing effort to create healthier habitats for our underwater friends.

Source: Reframe.com