Australia's Great Barrier Reef Status Lowered To 'Critical' and Deteriorating (cbsnews.com) 43
The health status of Australia's Great Barrier Reef has officially declined from "significant concern" to "critical" for the first time, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced this week. CBS News reports: It said climate change is now the biggest threat to natural World Heritage sites, including the world's largest and most spectacular coral reef. According to the new report, one-third of the 252 natural World Heritage sites are now threatened by climate change. Previously, invasive species were listed as the top threat.
The Great Barrier Reef must contend with ocean warming, acidification and extreme weather to stay alive amid record heat waves. It has lost half of its coral to climate change since 1995, with its status now listed as "critical" -- the most urgent designated status in the classification system of the UNESCO advisory board. Sites listed as critical are "severely treated and require urgent, additional and large-scale conservation measures," the report said. Additionally, the report warns that plans to protect the reef long-term have been slow to implement, failing to stop or reverse the reef's deterioration. The report adds that four other Australian world heritage sites have also deteriorated and received lowered statuses -- the Blue Mountains, the Gondwana rainforests, the Ningaloo Coast and Shark Bay. "Overall, more sites have deteriorated than improved since 2017," reports CBS News.
The Great Barrier Reef must contend with ocean warming, acidification and extreme weather to stay alive amid record heat waves. It has lost half of its coral to climate change since 1995, with its status now listed as "critical" -- the most urgent designated status in the classification system of the UNESCO advisory board. Sites listed as critical are "severely treated and require urgent, additional and large-scale conservation measures," the report said. Additionally, the report warns that plans to protect the reef long-term have been slow to implement, failing to stop or reverse the reef's deterioration. The report adds that four other Australian world heritage sites have also deteriorated and received lowered statuses -- the Blue Mountains, the Gondwana rainforests, the Ningaloo Coast and Shark Bay. "Overall, more sites have deteriorated than improved since 2017," reports CBS News.
oh well (Score:2)
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Yeah, by a whole bunch of ice ages, at the beginning and end of every ice age, the great barrier reef is totally destroyed, it springs back every time (it goes from being hundreds of metres ABOVE sea level to hundreds of metres BELOW sea level). They have done cores that prove it but they do not seem to have done much research on ice age reefs for millions of years they have been thriving in the dominant time periods, something like two to one.
Re: Probably Made Up (Score:1, Insightful)
You are the problem. Ignorance among large sections of uneducated sections of the population allow politicians to line their pockets while science has to contend with pointless debates trying to convince voters like you.
Re: Probably Made Up (Score:1)
Yea. Anarchy would be so much better, especially if we have rule by might with mega corps on top.
Re:I'm not too worried (Score:4, Informative)
Define survive. Coral reefs may bounce back some century, but there's going to be significant damage along the way. Including to humans:
"Over half a billion people depend on reefs for food, income, and protection."
From https://www.noaa.gov/education... [noaa.gov]
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Re:I'm not too worried (Score:5, Insightful)
...I mean , I am worried about climate change, but coral reefs have survived way hotter periods in earth's history. They will survive now.
Hotter period? It would be great if just some warm weather was the issue. Hotter weather, crown of thorns plagues, ocean acidification, ocean oxygen depletion, human caused phosphate increases, sedimentation from mainland erosion,... and that's just of the top of my head. I wonder what else I would find if I spent a few minutes on the CSIRO website.
Humans are amazing at fucking things up in the most diverse and efficient ways possible. Thankfully we get to feel good about it because ignorance like yours isolates each individual activity and tells us that it's all going to be okay.
The worst part is, you've clearly never dived in the great barrier reef. Whether it survives or not is secondary to whether it will continue to exist in its natural beautiful state in 20 years. Even now it's getting harder and harder to find true healthy and beautiful areas of the reef.
I hope you get modded down.
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...I mean , I am worried about climate change, but coral reefs have survived way hotter periods in earth's history. They will survive now.
Hotter period? It would be great if just some warm weather was the issue. Hotter weather, crown of thorns plagues, ocean acidification, ocean oxygen depletion, human caused phosphate increases, sedimentation from mainland erosion,... and that's just of the top of my head.
The rate of change is the big issue. In a normal slow rate f change world, a slowly changing warmth of oceans would end up with the reefs changing location or possibly adapting. Slowly. But we don't have slowly. We have really quickly changing conditions. And geological history shows that rapid changes create extinctions.
So acidification does a fine job of dissolving shells and other alkaline materials. Opportunists not so affected by the changes can move in and get meals off the weakened species. The ra
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Sorry, simplistic thought process.
Previous warming periods have kicked in much, much more slowly.
Not this time - the hockey stick is real.
Re: not climate change. (Score:1)
Crown of Thorns problem was a rounding error compared to climate change effects.
Re: not climate change. (Score:1)
Coal lobby fact.
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Re:not climate change. (Score:4, Informative)
Fucking idiot! Coral bleaching is at an unprecedented level and is tipped to hit again this southern hemisphere summer.
Half the GRB has been affected.
https://www.aims.gov.au/docs/r... [aims.gov.au]
https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/the-... [gbrmpa.gov.au]
https://www.nationalgeographic... [nationalgeographic.com]
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"The Great Barrier Reef has lost half its coral cover in the last 27 years. The loss was due to storm damage (48%), crown of thorns starfish (42%), and bleaching (10%) " https://www.aims.gov.au/docs/m... [aims.gov.au]
Pretty Good Barrier Reef (Score:5, Funny)
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After watching the HBO Chernobyl miniseries, I'd rather go for the "Not Great, Not Terrible Barrier Reef"
It's less than 20,000 years old (Score:2)
Twenty thousand years ago, the place where the Great Barrier Reef is located was above sea level. So the Great Barrier Reef is fairly recent in terms of the earth's history.
Obviously it would be better if the reef was not threatened, but I wouldn't be surprised if it creeps southwards. It might die off at the north end, and extend itself at the south end, in response to changing temperatures.
Reefs form quickly around scuttled ships or sunken tires, if they are at the right depth and with the right currents.
Climate change is years from now, (Score:2)
This is something I wish I could get the environmentalists to understand. You're not going to get anywhere attacking climate change unless you fix the economy for working class people. Until you do they'll fight you tooth and nail because 70% of 'em live paycheck to paycheck and anything you do might push them over the edge to homelessness.
Climate change is years from now, rent's due at the end of the month.
Climate change is happening NOW. (Score:2)
I get this response everytime I point this out (Score:3)
Also, FFS stop straw manning. We don't need Marxism to address climate change. Make food, shelter & healthcare into human rights and then the problem will get solved. Until you the people living paycheck to paycheck will fight you tooth and nail to stop you from making any changes to their lives.
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So you believe that climate change isn't happening now, it's years away. Furthermore, you believe it's "pointless" to do anything about it now because 70% of Americans will fight climate action "tooth and nail", believing it will hurt the economy and their standard of living. Climate action will even increase homelessness and starvation.
Have I got that right? I think I do.
First, let's start with a few quotes:
"We must ask whether these...policies are worth the lost jobs, lower take-home pay, higher gas and electricity prices, and so on,"
Sen. John Boozman, Louisiana Republican
[the Green New Deal is] "a jumble of halfcocked policies that will dampen economic growth and hurt jobs."
Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican
"But I am astute enough to understand that every proposal that has come out of this administration to deal with climate change involves hurting our economy and killing American jobs."
John Boehner, Speaker of the House, Ohio Republican
So, Slashdot's favorite Marxist is swimming in the Republican Kool-Aid, saying taking action on
That's a hell of a long post for a strawman (Score:2)
What I want is immaterial. What matters is what the body politic wants. And they want food and shelter before they'll risk anyone doing anything about climate change.
Also, are you one of those Russian trolls? Your entire post is inflammatory. It's designed to push e
As you're so fond of saying (Score:2)
I never said anything about my personal beliefs in climate change.
Seriously?
Christ, you clearly stated climate change is "years from now". An overwhelming majority of Americans say climate change is affecting their local communities right now. Your own damn candidate, not to mention much of the scientific community, says climate change is "already devastating our nation and planet".
You also clearly believe that action on climate will negatively affect people's' economic security. Thing is, it's ent
Well, if Oz stopped... (Score:2)
Pumping, spraying, dropping vast quantities of pesticides and fertilizers onto the land and caring less if large amounts wash out to the ocean