Greenhouse Research Talk Series
Fort Lauderdale's artificial reef, composed of over 4 million discarded car tyres, is renowned for both its significant environmental repercussions and the large costs associated with its cleanup efforts. However, a lesser-known fact is that numerous tyre reefs are dispersed along the entire Atlantic coast of the United States. Fort Lauderdale, along with a handful of other locations in South Florida, marked the initial points where tyre reefs proliferated on a substantial scale. This study delves into the narrative behind the construction of these reefs and offers an analysis of their cultural, historical, and ecological context.
The findings underscore that the establishment of these reefs primarily aimed at restoring the once-deteriorated fishermen's paradise, a consequence of intense development activities. Additionally, cultural traditions intertwined with expansive growth and land enhancement played a pivotal role. The active involvement of governmental bodies and large corporations further shaped the context surrounding the emergence of these artificial structures.
Dmitrijs Porsnovs (University of Stavanger) is an environmental historian with a scientific background, whose research interests relate to waste management, environmental pollution and other environmental issues of the Anthropocene in their full interdisciplinary complexity. He holds an MSc degree in environmental sciences from the University of Latvia and has strong research experience in the fields of environmental sciences and environmental technology.