
Most coral dead in central section of Great Barrier Reef, surveys reveal - YeGoblynQueenne
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/30/most-coral-dead-in-central-section-of-great-barrier-reef-surveys-reveal
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flashman
"A recent study suggested $10bn investment was needed to adequately reduce
pollution levels and improve the reef’s resilience."

Sorry reef, we need to spend that money on F-35s, a dozen new submarines, and
tax deductions for people whose investment properties aren't renting for
enough to meet their mortgage payments.

~~~
codecamper
I doubt 10 billion will fix it. Unfortunately, AFAIK coral reefs are sensitive
to rises in ocean temperature. And so climate change is killing them & will
kill most warm water surface coral around the planet. The same thing is
playing out in the caribbean, and in Thailand.

Also, judging by our progress on controlling CO2 emissions, and by our not so
great understanding about how fast greenland / antarctica will melt, we may
need to put particulates into the atmosphere one day. This will help prevent
runaway climate change, but will do nothing to stop the buildup of CO2.

This extra CO2 will cause oceans to acidify further. Hopefully we don't reach
the point of acidification which will prevent the basic food chain creatures
such as krill to stop forming exoskeletons.

~~~
wycx
It is also the rate of sea level rise. If sea level rises faster than the
coral platforms can keep up, then they will drown. See the figure here [1] for
a summary of reef responses to sea level rise.

Also, if the corals die, then they stop calcifying, and then the platform
starts to erode, making life harder for the organisms that are still alive...

Coral reefs are a complex system of feedbacks.

[1]
[http://www.sepmstrata.org/page.aspx?pageid=345](http://www.sepmstrata.org/page.aspx?pageid=345)

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NamTaf
It's ok though, if we just remove all comments about Australia from a UN
Climate Change report then that removes the problem, right?

[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-27/australia-removed-
from...](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-27/australia-removed-from-un-
climate-change-report/7450898)

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JustUhThought
People need to wake the fuck up. This is not a test. This is not a drill. I
feel like a person from the movie Network. I'm mad as hell and want to shout
it from my window.

News like this has me gardening, biking, DIYing all sorts, switching to solar
and electric, considering the entire lifecycle and systemic effects of the
products I buy and choices I make. But an enormous percentage of Americans,
who have the same data and news available to them, go vote for Trump. We are
so royally fucked.

(I apologize for the language used here, but strongly believe in targeted use
of the f-bomb. End-of-world type issues qualify as far as I'm concerned.)

~~~
codecamper
come on.. it won't be the end of the world. There will be an aquamuseum where
you can take your grandkids & show them... turtles! And bright yellow fish!

And you can mumble about how it used to be! And they'll think... crazy old
grandpa (or ma which ever you'll be)

~~~
ensiferum
This reef and the other reefs are fundamental to marine ecosystems. When the
reefs die the oceans die.

~~~
codecamper
Don't get me wrong... I was tongue in cheek joking. But you can't get too
worked up because this is how it is.

If it makes you feel better, probably the same thing happens on most planets
that develop "intelligent" life: Life takes a very long time to develop & it
develops through competition & evolution. During this time, natural stores of
energy build up -- it is nature's method of keeping a balance - without it
there would be no life.

Then finally the "intelligent" life pops out. They discover the stores of
energy under the ground. They start burning it -- thinking there is no
consequence, and they wind up undoing millions of years of careful balancing.

What happens next, we don't know. Probably nothing good.

Perhaps this is why when we peer into the sky, we do not hear any signs of
life. Perhaps these bursts of intelligent life are incredibly short blips.

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andrewstuart
Since the reef is dying anyway, we may as well build a port and send coal
carrying ships through it, right?

Mining creates more jobs than tourism so the equation is easy to figure out.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Great_Barrier_Reef_oil_sp...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Great_Barrier_Reef_oil_spill)

[http://theconversation.com/shipping-in-the-great-barrier-
ree...](http://theconversation.com/shipping-in-the-great-barrier-reef-the-
miners-highway-39251)

~~~
HillaryBriss
arguably the biggest and best coral reef, a unique site. we can't replace it.

but we can get coal from a good number of other places around the world.

it's probably worth trying to save the GB reef

jobs are important. that's absolutely true. but, maybe we can find other ways
to create some jobs?

~~~
hulahoof
Aust. Government has been 'betting' on coal too long, the workers that pose to
lose their jobs simply asked to be retrained in solar industry, were promptly
ignored.

~~~
codecamper
Australian Government is shockingly stupid. In a country that is prone to
extended droughts, 0 leadership on fixing climate change.

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zugzug
"But in good news for tourists and the tourism industry, only 5% of coral has
died on reefs south of Cairns."

Great news everyone! We destroyed most of that other reef but this one is 95%
ok! Ready you fins!

