How Artificial Reefs Became A Recurring Case Study In Human Stupidity

A stupid person does things without thinking through the consequences. Artificial reefs seem to have become the perfect case study for that. The idea isn't that bad. We take decommissioned or unnecessary items such as old subway cars and military tanks or millions of tires, and we drop them into the ocean to create a thriving artificial reef. Unfortunately, these artificial reefs have largely failed for predictable reasons.

Subway cars made of stainless steel did not last while those made of carbon steel did. Corrugated patterns made it easier for undercurrent waves to pull materials apart. Tanks dropped in areas with soft sediment sank too far, whereas those in places where the Ocean floor is harder stayed in place. Each of these lessons were learned the hard way. Now the question is whether we are learning any lessons from these failures, or planning to make these mistakes over and over because we are too stupid to do anything differently.