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Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds

smh.com.au

11–20 of 147 posts

Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds

#11
I am in my 30's, and I know this. I was taught this as a kid. I did a stupid report on it in primary school.

No one cares. No one has a relationship to Coral. Most people see it as some weird sea stick, like a tree.

The Coral will all die and I don't know what articles like this are trying to say? Go back in time? Pretend that your solar panel will save them?

Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds

#12
post #3

Perhaps 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...

My understanding is that temperature is only part of the problem. Acidification is ongoing, due to increased CO2 in the atmosphere. That's a global problem: the ocean is literally starving for oxygen, everywhere.

If the thermohaline cycle in the Atlantic continues slowing down, there will be significantly less water circulating. There's a risk that bigger & bigger parts of the ocean just sit, don't flow, and thus never get exposed to the air: that they truly deeply & forever run out of oxygen.

The dynamical processes of earth are being disrupted. We talk about extreme weather being the risk, but a lack of weather, a lack of variety, a forever hot, non-humidity bearing (higher temperatures carry less humidity) sit-and-stew earth, just sitting here, baking, is the hell we are headed to. The dynamical processes risk becoming static, stagnant situations. The flow of life & change & systems is being baked off the planet.

Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds

#13
post #9

This 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 temper…

tigers and pandas have such small natural habitats now that they’re effectively extinct in the wild; i’m not advocating for it, but it seems like nothing outside of large scale ecoterrorism can do anything fast enough to save our charismatic megafauna for anything other than morbid exhibition

Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds

#14
post #7
post #3

Perhaps 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.

At the end-Permian extinction, nearly everything that made carbonate skeletons was wiped out, probably because of the enormous amounts of CO2, SO2, and HCl that were produced. Coral had to re-evolve from non-carbonate producing species.

Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds

#15
post #9

This 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 temper…

Vote.

Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds

#16

What 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 a…

they simply do not give a shit about coral reef and do not understand ecological systems

Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds

#17
post #9

This 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 temper…

You've already reproduced so you've already struck your blow and it's too late to take it back now.

Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds

#18

What 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 a…

Anecdotally, most I've talked to fall into (B) or (D).

Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds

#19

What 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 a…

Your comment is most likely being downvoted because it is ideological flamebait, not because people disagree with your opinion.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds

#20
I find it hard to believe that ancient creatures that have lived through this many times in history are somehow unable to do it again.

The temperature estimates in the article do not eclipse highs in fairly recent history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_periods_and_events_in_...

Nor does the rate of change exceed that of what the earth experienced as recently as 8k years before present.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene#/media/File:North-wes...

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