DESTROYED: One out of five coral reefs

William Atkins
Thursday, 11 December 2008 19:41

Science - Climate

Humans are increasing the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere with the  use of internal combustion vehicles (gasoline powered cars), industrial production (factories that spew out poisonous chemicals), and other such COtoo-much activities.

Such increased amounts of CO₂ heats up the atmosphere (what we call global warming). This, in turn, leads to increased ocean temperatures.

And, this leads to more acidic waters, which is very detrimental to the health of coral, such as Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, especially in their ability to build their protective shells.

IUCN Global Marine Program head Carl Gustaf Lundin stated, "If nothing changes, we are looking at a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide in less than 50 years."

He adds, "As this carbon is absorbed, the oceans will become more acidic, which is seriously damaging a wide range of marine life from corals to plankton communities and from lobsters to seagrasses." [MSNBC]

The IUCN, headquartered in Gland, Switzerland, is a one-thousand-plus member organization that coordinates environmental and natural resource activities between governments, non-government organizations (NGOs), and scientists.

The GCRMN, based in Townsville, Australia, is dedicated to improving the local and global management and conservation of coral reefs by providing databases, equipment, manuals, problem-solving techniques, training, and fund-search techniques to various organizations around the world, all through their specialized network.