After Decades, Fake Tire Reefs ‘Killing and Smothering’ Real Coral
(COMMON DREAMS) Nadia Prupis — The resumed cleanup effort is focused on the artificial Osborne Reef, near the Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, where 700,000 tires were dropped. Divers first began the cleanup effort in 2008, pulling up nearly 62,000 tires at the time, but the effort stalled because the team responsible for the project became involved in more urgent matters. “We were fighting two wars, and there were natural disasters,” Quinn said. “When the earthquake happened in Haiti it was the same team who helped clear the port,” referring to damaged piers that received vital relief supplies for survivors of the 2010 disaster. The project is expected to take another two years to complete.