Thursday, November 7, 2024

We entered the seas of the Bermuda Triangle early today. Will we ever be heard from again? According to Monday’s speaker, Ed Sobey, we have nothing to worry about. I’m inclined to agree. We are sailing all day today, on our way to the Bahamas. As on other sea days, there were some excellent presentations today.

General Nick Halley spoke on Radical Islam. Almost 25% of the world’s population are Muslims, and the vast majority are peaceful. However, there is that small minority that believes they have a mission from God to spread Islam by force, and they are willing to pursue that mission at any cost. BTW, the word Islam means “submission to God,” something I learned today.

Rick Beyer spoke about the rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. For those of us who decry the divisiveness and vitriol of more recent campaigns, it’s interesting to hear that this is not new at all. Some of the founders of our country were just as quick to attack their political opponents. We may regret the passing of civility in our country’s political environment, but in reality, civility simply shows up on occasion, just long enough for us to be nostalgic for it. You may think you know the whole story if you saw the musical “Hamilton,” but that wasn’t all. Hamilton and Burr both served under George Washington during the Revolutionary War, both practiced law in New York, and both pursued careers in politics. Here is where the differences arose. Their personalities were radically different: Hamilton was hot-headed, where Burr was more calculating. Things came to a head, Burr issued the challenge. There is disagreement about whether or not Hamilton ever shot his pistol, but Burr’s aim was true.

I find Mr. Beyer to be very interesting. He has a podcast that I plan to check out: History Happy Hour, that airs on Sundays.

Today’s final presentation was by Ed Sobey, about the coral reefs of the Bahamas. There are only about 50 species of hard coral in the Bahamas, a small percentage of the more than 3,000 that exist in the world. Corals exist mostly in the band between 30° north and 30° south, in warm clear waters. Coral is a combination of animal, plant and mineral, and is the most productive, and most diverse marine ecosystem, providing habitat for one quarter of marine life. Hard corals have been impaired by rising sea temperatures, pollution and over-fishing, as well as by human contact while fishing or diving. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Organization is using coral nurseries to try to replenish and restore damaged reefs. We learned about these efforts a couple of years ago when visiting the Key West Aquarium.

You can do your part to help the coral reefs by avoiding sunscreen that contains oxybenzone or octinoxate – they’re reef killers, and have been banned in Key West and Hawaii already. You can check on-line for other names for either of these ingredients. I found it in one of my own sunscreens, so it’s getting trashed.