Quote:
Originally Posted by fdpaq0580
You think objective information cannot be presented in a way that elicits emotion? Human beings are emotional creatures. Some more than others. I have often looked up at the night sky and felt a welling of emotion. I have hung over the edge of a reef and looked into the abyss and felt moved. It is not a brand new story that the reefs are dying, but it is getting more publicly. It is also known that human waste and pollution are a factor.
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Climate change affects coral reefs and coral reefs affect climate change. Healthy reefs can keep the systems in balance. The problem is that the reefs have become unhealthy probably starting about 1950 and getting worse in the last 20 years. A quote from NASA......."Coral reef ecosystems play a vital role in maintaining biodiversity and are valuable as a source of food and MEDICAL advances". The world's coral reefs could decrease by 70 to 90% by 2050.
...... Today 90% of new coral growth in Australia's great barrier reef has collapsed mainly due to RISING OCEAN TEMPERATURES and increased acidity in the water (thus the term whitening or bleaching of the coral). Other causes are pollution, poor water quality, overfishing, and unsustainable coastal development (recently demonstrated by the Fort Meyers area and nearby barrier islands).
........Trees and plants absorb 25% of the world's CO2 - the rest is absorbed by the ocean. 25% of all sea organisms live
on coral reefs. People produce EXCESS CO2 by burning fossil fuel which leads to the bleaching and destruction of the coral reefs. The end product of this cycle would lead to the world's oceans being barren of FISH - thus a HUGE protein source is eliminated, which could ultimately lead to massive hunger and violence, and wars. Right now China has massive fishing fleets OVERFISHING all the oceans.
The bottom line is that coral reef destruction may NOT seem like any big deal to many people today, but as the earth and nature's forces go unbalanced - humanity becomes threatened .........by humanity itself!