Meredith Herald
6
Opinion
September 5, 2001
Campus Forum
Sharks are our problem
We have been hearing about
shark attacks all summer. But
they have always been in Flori
da or the Bahamas or more
recently, in Vii^inia. And now
our Slate has experienced its
first of the year.
Not that we didn’t heed the
reports on the attacks when
they happened elsewhere, but
the recent report on the married
couple who was attacked by a
shark off the coast of North
Carolina’s Outer Banks hits a
little closer to home.
Peler Dizikes of ABC-
NEWS.com called the shark a
"media cash register, a menace
of the seas.” Perhaps the media
has blown the shark stories a
little out of proportion-after
' all, the nnedia cannot function
without money.
But the numerous repcxts on
sharks are not undue.
They are our problem. And
we must deal with the implica
tions of their actions.
Why? For the same reason
we deal with the ramifications
of deers who run into our head
lights and our cars on the high-
way.
We are encroaching on their
land. For example, in New
Providence Island, Bahamas, a
shark biology class regularly
participates in "feeding dives.”
Yes, research is needed to
advance our knowlege of the
world. But for the hundreds of
fisherman, swimmers and
scuba divers who frequent
those same waters, feeding
time in that area is not the right
time.
You cannot limit the reason
for the frequency of shark
attacks to one reason.
But this goes beyond sharks
being hungry. We need laws
that keep the shark population
from becoming overpopulated.
If we allow it. then we are
just asking for it.
We need to look into electri
cal device fields such as the
Shark POD tested off Catalina
Island in Los Angeles. It’s
designed to repel our “menaces
of the sea” and protect divers in
a 12-volt field for up to 90 min
utes.
As technology grows and the
shark population does as well,
we are all going to have to get
more creative-because the
shark is always going to bite.
And no matter where you
stand, that is our problem.
Opposing View: Sharks own the sea
JoniSmtih
Managing Editor
I can almost hear the omi
nous music of Jaws, the block
buster hit of the 1980s, as an
unlucky, not-so-intelligent
switnmer swims out too far and
suddenly starts to feel a nibble
at her foot. Next, I can see the
water around. her turn to a
crimson red from the blood
gushing from the fatal wounds
inflict^ on the blonde in the
cute bikini that was fluttering
around the beach only a few
monnents ago. This is a classic
case of shark attack that Holly
wood concocts to make mil
lions and scare a few kids.
Lately, this scenario has
been a scary and vivid reality
for a few unfortunate swim
mers whose summer vacations
turned tragic. Hie news has
been overflowing with these
recent shark attacks, telling the
story behind each incident.
Here is another news flash:
Mothers, don’t condemn your
kids to the sand just yet.
Surfers, the surf is still up.
Lifeguards, you still have a job.
You see, if you listen care
fully to these stories you will
understand that most of the
swimmers who were attacked
were off shore anywhere from
forty to seventy feet. The latest
incident occurred in the Outer
Banks of North Carolina earli
er this week where a Russian
couple was mauled by a shark,
the man being killed and the
woman clinging to her life in
critical but stable condition in a
Norfolk hospital. The couple
reportedly had swam out 55
feet when the attack happened.
The couple on the Outer
Banks swam out a distance
equal to two or three school
buses, about a quarter of a foot
ball field, six apartment stories,
and about 56 Shaquille
O'Neals.
Why exactiy do you need to
swim out this far? Is the water
more pure? Does it have mirac
ulous healing power? Does it
erase wrinkles or cellulite?
Does it increase fertility? E>oes
it somehow connect you with
the dead? Well then why do it?
Some have been caught on
the news saying that they are
simply exercising their right to
swim by going out that far. On
the contrary, the shark is sim
ply exercising his right to eat
when you swim forty to seven
ty feet off shore.
I understand that in some of
these cases, the victims of
shark attacks have not been off
shore very far. While this is an
unfortunate incident and an
incredibly grievous time for
those who have lost loved ones
because of these attacks, they
are extremely rare. So rare, that
you are 5% more likely to be
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bitten by a lab rat, 12% more
likely to be bitten by a sea lion,
23% more likely to be bitten by
a squirrel, 61% more likely to
be bitten by a wild cat, 500%
more likely to be biuen by
another hump, and 620%
more likely to be bitten by a
dog according to USA Today.
■nie media enjoys immers
ing itself into any disaster,
saga, scandal and trauma. The
general public needs to realize
this and be critical about what
it believes. While it is tragic
that swimmers have been seri
ously wounded and at times
killed due to these killers of the
sea, it is important to under
stand that the ocean is their ter
ritory tKat we invade when we
visit the beach. Like humans,
sharks must eat to stay alive,
and as we can see they do not
hesitate to take human life in
order to satisfy their hunger.
Everyone loves a good stc»7
so we do not bear about all the
times swimmers swim safely
among the waters without
being terrorized by a flesh eat
ing predator. That just would
n’t sell any newspapers or
boost any ratings.
The Real Cost of Your Soda
Did you know that the number of aluminum cans not recy
cled each year would circle the Earth more than 100 times?
And yet it’s hot and you want a cool drink. You reach for a
cold soda. Soft drink cans are everywhere, but where does
the aluminum come from? It takes four tons of bauxite ore
to produce two ions of aluminum oxide, which is then
refined into the aluminum that goes into 120,000 soft drink
cans. This processing consumes a lot of energy, more than
28,000 kilocalories.
Recycled aluminum cans require 95% less energy to pro
duce, which is why recycling aluminum is so important.
About 75% of all aluminum cans are recycled, having ener
gy and preventing air pollution. So the next time you reach
for a cool drink in a can, remember to recycle the can when
the soda is gone.
One of a series of ads this semester from
Dr. Carol Hazflfd’s Environmental Resources class
Meredith Herald
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