Mother Jones 'Something Really Terrible': Article Analysis

Global warming has been on the world’s radar for many years. For Australia and our world heritage site, the rising sea temperatures in the last three decades have seriously affected the Great Barrier Reef in many ways, the most concerning of which being coral bleaching. This incredibly beautiful but fragile underwater world is also

Part 1: The film Chasing Coral was created to serve as a point of awareness to the crisis surrounding coral. Coral bleaching has only recently been an issue, especially since 2014. Coral death, bleaching, and boiling have swept through the tropical oceans, causing the destruction of a keystone habitat that supports 25% of marine life. This film aims to highlight these issues, show their severity, and how they impact these ecosystems. The documentary succeeded in exposing these issues to the world and showing how much destruction is being done in such little time.

Coral bleaching is normally characterized by the expulsion of the zooxanthellae algae, loss of algal pigmentation, or both. Coral bleaching events have had serious effects on corals and reefs worldwide. What is crucial to the understanding of zooxanthellae expulsion and bleaching is how the density of zooxanthellae within the coral is changing, if at all, under the prevailing range of environmental conditions (Gates and Edmunds, 1999). Over the last twenty years, there has been a dramatic increase in both the frequency and intensity of coral bleaching events. Sixty major bleaching events have been reported between 1960 and 1979, whereas only nine were reported prior to 1979 (Huppert and Stone, 1998). Given the dependence of the coral on this symbiotic algae, it is important to determine the cause of these bleaching events. According to Helvarg (2000, p.12):

In 1980, NOAA’s marine biologist started noticing the coral bleaching. There has been three important coral reef bleaching events in the history. The first global bleaching event “El Niño” was in 1998, it was a “huge underwater heatwave killed 16% of the corals on reefs around the world” . The second bleaching event was in 2010 and was called La Niña. This event affected especially areas near Palau and Micronesia in the Pacific. In October of 2015, NOAA announced the third global bleaching event in which has already become the longest event recorded, affecting coral reefs for consecutive years.

Coral reefs are threatened by global warming. They can only live in waters between 18 C and 30 C. Therefore, with the increase in temperature of the surrounding water, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of coral bleaching events during the past 2 decades (which have had some of the warmest years in history). When ocean temperatures get too high, coral polyps lose the symbiotic algae inside them, causing them to turn white, or "bleach," and eventually die.

The ocean is two-thirds of our planet a vast blue landscape home to many biomes which according to Boyce Thorne-Miller “(ecosystem types) corresponding to sets of environmental conditions that vary with depth, latitude, and longitude” (16). However, the ocean and its biomes is under attack from the changing environment. We can see this through coral reef biomes as they make their home near the shores. Through coral reefs we can view the effects that these changes have on the ocean through how the coral reef biome is affected. Humans are a danger to the coral reefs and the wildlife that resides in the biome. The pollution being released into the environment is poisoning the coral and causes death and malformation to the wildlife. The ocean is changing due to global warming which is causing a change in the temperature and rising water levels leading to a change in the stabile areas coral can survive. The increasing acidification of the ocean is causing the coral reefs to die. I will be looking at the effects these issues cause to coral reefs biomes and the ocean to see the similarities in how they affect both.

Australia has a rich hold in the world’s environment due to its diverse ecosystems and one of its biggest holds is through the Great Barrier Reef. The coral reefs here have a significant role by protecting shores from waves and storms, provide food and medicine, and help the economy though tourism. The reef is known for its great beauty and sustainability of life, but in recent years that opinion may change. Many environmental factors are causing great distress on the reef and its marine life, which then causes disruptions to not only the reef, but also the rest of the world’s environment. Three of the reef’s major problems are pollution, coral bleaching, and overfishing; these problems alone are doing enough damage to severely impair the function

Across the world’s beautiful oceans, there is a vast and marvelous selection of coral reefs all of which house copious species of coral. Many of these coral are the key element in a marine ecosystem by providing food, shelter and protection for the underwater community. However, this ecosystem is threatened due to the events of coral bleaching, as this event kills the coral and the creatures dependent on them. Without coral, these creatures will become more vulnerable and may be at risk of endangerment or extinction. Bleaching doesn’t just affect the ecosystem it can also cause a lot of damage to local towns and tourist points whose livelihoods depend on their beautiful reefs. Some have already taken action to help prevent bleaching, but what should we do? What can we do to prevent this phenomenon before it’s too late?

Coral reef ecosystems around the globe are threatened by human interferences and climate change. This has led to many scientists conducting studies on global coral reef ecosystems to gain a better understanding of the cause and effects of coral reef damage. In both Hodgson’s (1999) and Carpenter et al.’s (2008) studies, they are aware of the continuous degradation of global coral reef ecosystems. Hodgson's study involved conducting a survey on global coral reef ecosystems to see whether human actions were affecting the health of supposed pristine Coral reefs. Carpenter et al. incorporated Hodgson’s study into a compiled study about the possible extinction of reef building corals due to climate change and anthropogenic effects. Carpenter’s

It warned that pollution is undermining the health of coral, rendering it unable to resist bleaching or recover from the effects”(Fears).

A case study that was carried out a few years ago states that since 2005, the caribbean region has lost 50 percent of its corals, mainly due to the effects caused by the increase of temperatures. From 1997 to 1998, mass bleaching is estimated to have caused severe effects to 16 percent of the world’s coral reefs. Even though signs of recovery have been seen in

Since early 1998, climate change has been demonstrating its effects in increasing the ocean 's temperature (West & Salm, 2003). Warm water stress corals causing the phenomenon known as coral bleaching, by which expulsion of colourful symbiotic algae the zooxanthellae, vital for

The deterioration of coral reefs is mainly linked to human activities – 88% of coral reefs are threatened through various reasons as

It is thought that worldwide climate change could play a role in the increased amount in coral reefs bleaching.

As many know, coral reefs are the most beautiful, structurally complicated and diverse marine ecosystems. Coral reefs do numerous amounts of things; for example, they provide habitats for various types of living organisms, they protect shorelines from storm damage, and produce and sustain white sandy beaches. Although coral reefs look feeble, they are actually strong and durable during certain conditions. Coral reefs are capable of recovering from brutal storms and even volcanic eruptions as long as the dusts and sediments settle and are washed away. Before the reefs can begin their healing process, the water condition needs to be clean and clear of all toxins. What’s killing the coral reefs then? Sadly, human enterprise is simultaneously destroying coral reefs directly and reducing their capacity to recover (Fujita,2003). First, we will talk about 3 major threats human enterprise has on the coral reefs. Keep in mind that the threats mentioned are not the only threats out there. We shall then talk about evidence against some of these topics. Last, we will talk about how these threats towards our coral reefs affect us humans; along with ways to change our environment.