LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Let’s give the ‘Emerald Tutu’ a try if what we’re doing isn’t working 

Please open a new window of opportunity to embrace a new concept promoted by Northeastern University, and a fresh new approach introduced by Gabrial Cira, architect of the new “Emerald Tutu,” made of biodegradable recycled wood, burlap canvas and coconut fiber held in place by sequences of ropes. It becomes a floating network of interconnected, anchored massive organic growing modules, which dampens wave energy and reduces flooding, storm damage and erosion on shore while improving nearshore water quality. These biomass modules are seeded with marsh grass at the surface and are home to many seaweeds below the waterline, all of which add significant mass and frictional surface area and provide habitat for many types of creatures, human and marine.