Climate Change and Threat to the Great Barrier Reef
March 10, 2014 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
Scientists recently announced another great environmental crime in progress resulting from climate change.
Reporting for the Earth Hour global climate change campaign, coral reef scientists said that time is running out for the Great Barrier Reef due to climate change. The Great Barrier Reef is the world's most extensive coral reef system, stretching over 1,900 miles off the west coast of Australia and supporting a wide diversity of life. But according to scientists, by 2030 the reef will suffer irreversible damage and disappear within decades unless there is immediate action to stop the damage caused by acidification of the oceans due to global warming. Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a reef researcher from the University of Queensland in Australia, said, "This is not a hunch or alarmist rhetoric by green activists. It is the conclusion of the world's most qualified coral reef experts."
The Earth Hour report says:
"The impacts of climate change are already visible, in every corner of the planet. We've already changed the acidity of the oceans and composition of the atmosphere. But the story of how climate change is affecting our Great Barrier Reef is one of the most tangible and heartbreaking. The story of climate change can be seen and felt on the reef—in acidifying oceans, bleaching coral, increasing sand and ocean temperatures, more extreme storm damage to the reef and rising sea levels. Our reef is running out of time, but those of us alive today can be the ones to help save it. And just because a situation is urgent does not mean it is too late."
The Great Barrier Reef's coral system is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms. It actually encompasses 2,500 individual reefs and over 900 islands—from small, sandy islands to large, rugged continental islands. According to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), there are over 1,500 species of fish, 400 species of coral, 4,000 species of mollusks, and 240 species of birds, as well as many other organisms living on or interacting with the Great Barrier Reef ecosystems. In fact, the Great Barrier Reef has one of the richest diversities of species on the entire planet. It has been declared a world heritage site and is one of the most amazing natural wonders of the world.
Coral reef ecosystems are foundational to the life and health of ocean ecosystems. Kent Carpenter, a professor at Old Dominion University who directed a worldwide census of marine species, said that if global warming continues unchecked, all corals could be extinct within 100 years. He said, "You could argue that a complete collapse of the marine ecosystem would be one of the consequences of losing corals. You're going to have a tremendous cascade effect for all life in the oceans." Such a collapse of marine ecosystems—horrible in its own right, could also threaten the existence of whole nations who depend on fish for their food and livelihood.
The destruction of the Great Barrier Reef and coral reef systems in general is a heart-wrenching crime that must be prevented.
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