Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds
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Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds
#2This is very sad but seems inevitable. Corals are fascinating organisms, behaving as both animals and plants, but more importantly they are the foundation of the ocean ecosystems where they exist. Hundreds of millions of people depend on them indirectly.
If you want to learn more about coral bleaching there is a great documentary called Chasing Coral, available on Netflix and YouTube.
Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds
#3Perhaps a stupid question, but why wouldn't coral reefs naturally move to colder areas (closer to the poles)?
EDIT: turns out they do: https://e360.yale.edu/features/as-oceans-warm-tropical-coral...
Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds
#4This is very sad but seems inevitable. Corals are fascinating organisms, behaving as both animals and plants, but more importantly they are the foundation of the ocean ecosystems where they exist. Hundreds of millions of people depend on them indirectly. If you want to learn more about coral bleaching there is a great documentary called Chasing Coral, available on Netflix and YouTube.
The documentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGGBGcjdjXA
Off to watch it now.
Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds
#5Perhaps a stupid question, but why wouldn't coral reefs naturally move to colder areas (closer to the poles)? EDIT: turns out they do: https://e360.yale.edu/features/as-oceans-warm-tropical-coral...
The problem isn’t necessarily that they won’t move to colder areas (well that is a problem for coastal regions susceptible to hurricanes, etc, but I digress). The problem is that the waters around those reefs are warming up faster than the reefs could ever possibly hope to move. Reefs are built by corals excreting calcium carbonate onto their attached surface. This process is an incredibly slow one with mature reefs taking many hundreds of thousands of years to form. The reefs can’t keep ahead of water temperatures that are projected to change within the next 50 years.
Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds
#6Article has no link. Here is the report:
https://www.science.org.au/supporting-science/science-policy...
Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds
#7Perhaps a stupid question, but why wouldn't coral reefs naturally move to colder areas (closer to the poles)? EDIT: turns out they do: https://e360.yale.edu/features/as-oceans-warm-tropical-coral...
Acidity increases everywhere and does not depend on temperature.
Also, coral reefs grow extremely slowly.
Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds
#8Article has no link. Here is the report: https://www.science.org.au/supporting-science/science-policy...
The report sites a lot of papers, many of which by one report author Hoegh-Guldberg who has been studying reefs and claiming they are at risk since at least 1999. One of the latest of those papers puts it like this (ideas which the article does not accurately represent):
"Even if the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement are achieved, coral reefs are likely to decline by 70–90% relative to their current abundance by midcentury."
"Although alarming, coral communities that survive will play a key role in the regeneration of reefs by mid-to-late century. Here, we argue for a coordinated, global coral reef conservation strategy that is centred on 50 large (500 km2) regions that are the least vulnerable to climate change and which are positioned to facilitate future coral reef regeneration."
They are not "doomed" they are "at risk".
Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds
#9This is so incredibly sad, and I feel so helpless that this is slipping through our fingers. I fear I’ll never get a chance to see a coral reef in real life, and it looks almost certain that my children won’t. Is there anything we can do as individuals to help? I tried looking into conservation efforts but it seems like any amount of money we could hope to donate isn’t going to make a drop of difference to sea temperature change. Coral reefs aren’t like tigers or pandas, they’re just too delicate and complex to survive in any human made environment.
Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds
#10What do climate change denialists think about stories like this?
Do they
A) Think it's a complete lie/exaggeraiton, and the Barrier Reef will be fine?
B) Think it's happening but not because of human activity (a massive die off across thousands of kilometers is totally natural, dude)
C) Agree that it's caused by humans, but that it's too late to do anything about (probably true), but that also it's not worth taking action on the REST of our emissions even though it could help prevent extinctions and irreversible ecosystem changes in areas we haven't even discussed yet.
D) Agree that it's caused by humans, but trying to do anything will destroy the economy, and the livelyhood of people that depend on it, so it's not worth doing
E) Agree that it's caused by humans, and renewable energy is cheap enough now that the economy will be fine, but trying to do anything about it will cause a reduction in corporate profits for a couple of companies, so it's not worth doing.
As recently as 10 years ago it feels like most conservatives were in Category A
Looking at the statements of most right-wing politicians, it seems that we are approaching critical mass of entry into group D.
How do people live with themselves knowing the mental gymnastics they are doing to remain "right" and never admit their thinking was flawed in any way shape or form...