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| Ariel Davis |
Reports that the Great Barrier Reef is dying
come ever more frequently, ever more urgently. There is no mystery
about the reason — it’s global warming, caused by the fossil fuels we
burn. If we stopped heating the oceans, parts of the great reef off
Australia’s north coast and other spectacular coral reefs around the
world could still recover. The alternative is to weep at the loss of one
of the most spectacular sights on earth, as the author of the latest report and his students did on examining charts of the damage.
The
death of coral reefs is a tragedy on many levels. There is the sheer
beauty of the forests of brightly colored corals and the equally
kaleidoscopic fish they harbor, a panorama that attracts hundreds of
thousands of visitors. There’s their extraordinary variety and value:
Coral reefs are found in shallow waters in only 0.2 percent of the
oceans, yet they support a quarter of all marine life and provide
protein for millions of people. Finally, there is the role of the coral
reefs as the alarm system of the oceans: Highly sensitive to the
temperature of water, the reefs can die from an increase of only two or
three degrees Fahrenheit. The vast stretches of bleached coral speak to
oceans in deep trouble.
Last
year was particularly disastrous for the Great Barrier Reef. The
periodic heating of the Pacific Ocean known as El Niño, combined with
the continuing warming of the seas from climate change, caused mass
bleaching along vast stretches of the 1,400-mile-long reef. In theory,
the return of cooler waters could restore them, but that’s not what’s
happening.
Researchers led by Prof. Terry Hughes of James Cook University in Australia, the lead author of a report
on the reef in the current issue of the journal Nature, were surprised
at the extent of the damage. “We didn’t expect to see this level of
destruction to the Great Barrier Reef for another 30 years,” he told The
Times. In the north, he said, two-thirds of the reefs are dead. And
Australian government efforts to curtail dredging and pollution were not
helping. “The reefs in dirty water were just as fried as those in
pristine water,” he said.
To
the scientists, there is no mystery as to what needs to be done. There
never was. Decades ago they warned that with global warming, coral reefs
would not be able to survive natural temperature spikes, like the one
brought on by El Niño. Surveys of the Great Barrier Reef conducted by
Professor Hughes from low-flying aircraft showed that extensive patches
of reef may be beyond saving. These are the surveys that brought him and
his students to tears.
There
is really only one way to save coral reefs, and by extension the oceans
and the world, and that is to fight climate change. At this juncture,
that means defending the 2015 Paris agreement to limit the increase in
global temperatures. The Obama administration played a major role in
fashioning the agreement, which 194 countries have signed. Backsliding
now would guarantee more bleached reefs, and worse.
Links
- Coral Reefs' Only Hope Is Halting Global Warming, Study Says
- Ian Chappell Stands By Adani Mine Letter Despite Being Called 'Elitist' By Coalition MP
- Year-On-Year Bleaching Threatens Great Barrier Reef’s World Heritage Status
- As Coral Reefs Continue to Struggle in Warming Oceans, a Group Forms to Save Them
- As Coral Bleaching Goes Global, Scientists Fear Worst Is Yet to Come
- Arctic Sea Ice Melt, Driven by Global Warming, Accelerated by Nature
- Chief Environmental Justice Official at EPA Resigns, With Plea to Pruitt to Protect Vulnerable Communities
- Exxon Concealed Tillerson's 'Alias' Emails From NY Climate Fraud Probe, AG Claims
- Scientists Call Out Pruitt's False View of Climate Change
- Massive Permafrost Thaw Documented in Canada, Portends Huge Carbon Release
- Rate of Ocean Warming Has Nearly Doubled Over Two Decades, Study Says
- What Slashing the EPA's Budget by One-Quarter Would Really Mean
- Cook Inlet Gas Leak Remains Unmonitored as Danger to Marine Life Is Feared
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