The Great Barrier has become a very popular topic within the past few weeks, because news about it being proclaimed “dead” by scientists spread around the globe via social media. It has now come out that the reef is not dead yet, but it is on its way down that path.
If you aren’t aware of what or where the The Great Barrier Reef is, you might be living under a giant piece of coral, because it’s the largest living ecosystem on earth. The reef is located off the coast of Northeast Australia. It is made up of over 600 types of hard and soft coral. This reef is so big that it can even be seen from outer space.
The idea the reef was dead was first reported by Outside Magazine on social media. They tweeted with a picture of the reef saying, “The Great Barrier Reef of Australia passed away in 2016 after a long illness. It was 25 million years old:
#RIP”
Since then, many major new websites such as CNN and The Guardian reported how this was not proven by scientists and that the “obituary” for the reef was premature; the reef is, in fact, still alive.
While the reef is still living, it is decaying because the right actions are not being done.
Climate change has been the main cause of the reef starting to fail. According to The Guardian “Climate change-induced bleaching event that killed about a fifth of the reef’s coral, suggesting next year’s results will be even worse.” Climate change is a major problem that many scientist still choose to believe is not real and fail to ever mention it. Every year, the reef is rated to see if it’s thriving, or just surviving, and for the past five years, it has been given a D-. Was getting a D- on an exam ever great news? No. So it’s not great news for the Great Barrier Reef either.
There have been many steps to help protect The Great Barrier Reef, but much more can be done to help the popular coral reef. According to Environment.gov, a 2050 Long Term Sustainablity Plan has been set in place to help manage the Reef from 2015-2050. The Australian government made this plan from the responses of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
Researchers have also been working on a robot that will help keep the reef alive. It’s created to stop predators from eating the reef, but researchers hope to expand it such as controlling water supply. According to Sciencealert.com, “Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia is working with the Foundation to expand these capacities to manage a wide range of issues in coral reef across the globe, including water quality, coral coverage and invasive species.”
There are also things that we, even as broke college students, can do in our daily lives to help preserve the reef:
- Volunteer for a coral clean-up group. (that means you can plan a tropical vacay around your volunteer schedule)
- Dispose trash properly
- Spread the word, everyone needs to know what they can do to help
- Reduce Pollution–fossil fuel emissions are very damaging.
The Great Barrier Reef is under serious stress and has become a major problem.While it is not dead yet, it is dying and will continue to unless proper measures are taken. If we wait much longer, it will have an actual obituary. To read more on the issues with the reef, check it out here. If you want your children to know what the Great Barrier Reef is, take a stand and do something about it.