August 04, 2022
Two years ago, widespread bleaching across the Great Barrier Reef caused numerous excitable types to declare that the unique natural wonder had died. This pronouncement occurred despite the protestations of reef experts that bleaching is normal. The tourist industry, which knew full well that most of the reef remained in good shape, was also pretty peeved. But nothing generates headlines like tragedy, so dissenting views were all but ignored.
No informed person was surprised to learn that news of the GBR's death had been greatly exaggerated, as the attached report shows.
https://www.aims.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-08/AIMS_LTMP_Report_on%20GBR_coral_status_2021_2022_040822F3.pdf
This is yet another example of so-called experts taking a little bit of data about a phenomenon, recorded over a short time frame, and then projecting out to infinity to reach the worst possible conclusion. Sometimes they mean well, but sometimes declaring a crisis is a cynical ploy to secure funding to study the alleged problem.
It is axiomatic that the many systems of the natural world are cyclical; up for a while, down for a while, always in flux. Examples of this are literally everywhere.
The GBR has been around for at least half a million years. It has survived warm periods and cold periods, thousands and thousands of hurricanes, and frequent large changes in sea level, including a 400-plus foot sea level rise at the beginning of the current interglacial period. For anyone familiar with earth history, the idea that this enormous, supremely resilient thing could be killed by a slight increase in temperature seems laughable.
Then again, I don't have a three-letter honorific after my name. So what the hell do I know?
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
10:27 AM
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Posted by: Dana Mathewson at August 05, 2022 09:21 PM (z7Oco)
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