I thought the article was very interesting. I have never been scuba diving but have always wanted to. The article does a really good job of driving home the point that conservation is good environmental policy. One of the benefits of a healthy coral reef mentioned in the article is protection against shoreline erosion. Another way that we can see the benefits of conservation is through its indirect link to the economy of Barbados. With an economy that is heavily based on tourism, Barbados need their beaches. It is the photos of beautiful beach that makes people want to visit and promote the island nation. As time goes on, some areas of beaches get more eroded than others, and the sand is carried down the shore to somewhere else. For Barbados, protecting their beach should be a priority to the government. Since coral reefs can help slow down shoreline erosion, I think preserving the reef should be of greater importance. The money spent on conserving coral reefs is most likely less than the money that the Barbados government will have to spend on rebuilding beaches and transporting sand. The U.S. government is faced with beach erosion in many coastal regions today. Each year, large amounts of money is spent in stabilizing shorelines, finding new techniques that will prevent the movement of sand, and bringing sand onto beach for recreational use. There are a lot of beach houses that face erosion and devaluation in property price due to shifting coasts. If there were coral reefs in those regions that could prevent or slow the sand movement, I am sure people would pay large sums of money to protect their properties and interests.