Climate change warnings for coral reef may have come to pass, scientists say - Polidicks

[img]http://i.imgur.com/NNcZVLY.jpg[/img] [quote]After almost two years of coral bleaching, with some reefs bleaching twice and possibly three times since 2014, [B]scientists have said that dire predictions of global coral decline made almost two decades ago may now be manifest.[/B] The rolling underwater heatwave has now arrived upon the Great Barrier Reef, with mass die-offs expected along the northern quarter of the world’s preeminent coral ecosystem. Professor Nick Graham of Lancaster University said the devastation worldwide was probably [B]now on the same scale as the worst ever bleaching on record, which occurred during 1997-98 and wiped out 16% of the world’s reefs in a single year.[/B] “This is the big one that we’ve been waiting for. This is the 1997-98 equivalent, which we’ve been anticipating for a long time,” said the coral scientist. The full impact could not be known until the event had finally ended, added Graham. Models predict it will now head west into the Indian Ocean and could continue in the Pacific until early 2017.[/quote] Large article here: [url]http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/22/climate-change-warnings-coral-reef-great-barrier-reef-experts-projections-scientists[/url] Above image is from this [url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/startling-images-reveal-devastating-coral-bleaching-on-the-great-barrier-reef-20160321-gnnjt3.html]article[/url] which also includes a video. I may never get to see it before it's gone.

Wow. It was always one of my life long dreams since I was a kid, to scuba dive the great barrier reef with my dad. Part of that shot's already gone and now the other parts going too? God damn.

As tragic as it is infuriating. We could have fucking prevented this, or at least mitigated it to a large degree, and yet still people are treating climate change as a political issue instead of a scientific fact. I can only hope that creative and intelligent minds will find ways to help these ecosystems recover.

And nothing will be done about it, because the people who are in control of these sorts of things are either stupid enough that they don't believe in it, or just don't give a shit because money. Once shit hits the fan and it WILL hit the fan, I really hope those people that had the power to do something about it but didn't [I]roast[/I] for this, I hope there is literally open revolt against those utter assholes.

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;49984741]As tragic as it is infuriating. We could have fucking prevented this, or at least mitigated it to a large degree, and yet still people are treating climate change as a political issue instead of a scientific fact. I can only hope that creative and intelligent minds will find ways to help these ecosystems recover.[/QUOTE]As I said before, when can we start holding those responsible for this mess (politicians who deny it and the corporate executives who cause it and bribe said politicians to deny it) accountable. [QUOTE=jonu67;49984746]And nothing will be done about it, because the people who are in control of these sorts of things are either stupid enough that they don't believe in it, or just don't give a shit because money. Once shit hits the fan and it WILL hit the fan, I really hope those people that had the power to do something about it but didn't [I]roast[/I] for this, I hope there is literally open revolt against those utter assholes.[/QUOTE]They don't care, they never did, even when companies like Exxon Mobil's own scientists did research on this in the 1970s-80s, and realised what would happen if we didn't do anything about it then, the corporate executives didn't give a shit and instead engaged in misinformation campaigns and propaganda, because it would hurt them financially. It's terrible how [b]this could have been avoided[/b], yet because of a small group of greedy people they've completely fucked over the world and set in motion something we can't stop now.

[QUOTE=FinalHunter;49984842]Can someone explain why we care about coral? I'm not trying to be daft I just genuinely don't know what coral does for the ecosystem.[/QUOTE] It's a colossal ecosystem with an enormous amount of genetic diversity. I [I]think[/I] they keep seawater cleaner by filtering it, too. Also they're pretty.

[QUOTE=FinalHunter;49984842]Can someone explain why we care about coral? I'm not trying to be daft I just genuinely don't know what coral does for the ecosystem.[/QUOTE] [url]http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/06/13/losing-our-coral-reefs/[/url] We're losing bio diversity on every front in the world.

ezpz lemon squee-z fix [img]https://theinfosphere.org/images/thumb/5/54/Ship_dropping_ice_in_ocean.png/180px-Ship_dropping_ice_in_ocean.png[/img]

[QUOTE=FinalHunter;49984842]Can someone explain why we care about coral? I'm not trying to be daft I just genuinely don't know what coral does for the ecosystem.[/QUOTE] Coral Reefs have an incredibly wide range of biodiversity. Many many many life forms rely on coral to live, and if we lose that much biodiversity that fast there's really no telling what will happen. It's a big question mark as to how it will affect the oceans and that's really bad, if you get a bad enough trophic cascade going it could literally kill humanity.

This is saddening, and very distressing. I really hope we get our shit together.

[QUOTE=FinalHunter;49984842]Can someone explain why we care about coral? I'm not trying to be daft I just genuinely don't know what coral does for the ecosystem.[/QUOTE] The short answer is coral reefs provide a habitat for a huuuge amount of sea life. The biodiversity of the reefs is astronomical. If the reefs collapse, it will be felt throughout the ocean ecosystem. Combined with acidifcation due to rising CO2 levels, you'll basically have the collapse and death of the entire ocean. Billions of humans rely on the ocean for their lively hoods. Fishing villages around the world would starve to death, ecotourism hotspots would see a decline, commerical fishing would collapse. We'd loose hundreds of billions in economic activity. The list goes on. So basically, the death of the coral reefs will result in a dead ocean, leading to global famine, an increase in terrorism and piracy, a massive refugee crisis, global economic depression, fisheries collapse, tourism collapse, political unrest, etc. Buckle up.

[QUOTE=OvB;49985022]The short answer is coral reefs provide a habitat for a huuuge amount of sea life. The biodiversity of the reefs is astronomical. If the reefs collapse, it will be felt throughout the ocean ecosystem. Combined with acidifcation due to rising CO2 levels, you'll basically have the collapse and death of the entire ocean. Billions of humans rely on the ocean for their lively hoods. Fishing villages around the world would starve to death, ecotourism hotspots would see a decline, commerical fishing would collapse. We'd loose hundreds of billions in economic activity. The list goes on. So basically, the death of the coral reefs will result in a dead ocean, leading to global famine, an increase in terrorism and piracy, a massive refugee crisis, global economic depression, fisheries collapse, tourism collapse, political unrest, etc. Buckle up.[/QUOTE] And the subsequent claim, "well we didn't know it would happen!"

Oh and don't forget about sea level rise due to global warming. That's going to shift a lot of reef out of the Goldilocks zone in which it gets just enough sunlight to survive, causing massive die-offs once more, and also flooding most of the planets coastal communities resulting in massive migrations inland for survival. [editline]22nd March 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Da Big Man;49985035]And the subsequent claim, "well we didn't know it would happen!"[/QUOTE] I prefer [I]"Why did God let this happen?"/"It's a sign"/"God's angry for X"[/I] absolving humanity from any wrong-doing.

[QUOTE=OvB;49985022]The short answer is coral reefs provide a habitat for a huuuge amount of sea life. The biodiversity of the reefs is astronomical. If the reefs collapse, it will be felt throughout the ocean ecosystem. Combined with acidifcation due to rising CO2 levels, you'll basically have the collapse and death of the entire ocean. Billions of humans rely on the ocean for their lively hoods. Fishing villages around the world would starve to death, ecotourism hotspots would see a decline, commerical fishing would collapse. We'd loose hundreds of billions in economic activity. The list goes on. So basically, the death of the coral reefs will result in a dead ocean, leading to global famine, an increase in terrorism and piracy, a massive refugee crisis, global economic depression, fisheries collapse, tourism collapse, political unrest, etc. Buckle up.[/QUOTE] And finally war.

[QUOTE=OvB;49985038] I prefer [I]"Why did God let this happen?"[/I] absolving humanity from any wrong-doing.[/QUOTE] I feel like the death of humanity by slow starvation would be proof that god don't real

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;49984741]As tragic as it is infuriating. We could have fucking prevented this, or at least mitigated it to a large degree, and yet still people are treating climate change as a political issue instead of a scientific fact. I can only hope that creative and intelligent minds will find ways to help these ecosystems recover.[/QUOTE] Yeah I'm not sure why people buy into the idea that its all a left wing hoax. What would the nebulous "left" have to gain from reducing the effects of climate change or avoiding climate change?

Is there any hope, OvB? You're making it sound like we're through and through fucked one way or another.

[QUOTE=FinalHunter;49984842]Can someone explain why we care about coral? I'm not trying to be daft I just genuinely don't know what coral does for the ecosystem.[/QUOTE] They are like forests of the oceans, and there is a massive wildfire going on.

[QUOTE=AtomicWaffle;49985060]Is there any hope, OvB? You're making it sound like we're through and through fucked one way or another.[/QUOTE] Humanity is fucked. It depends on how long we have left, by mitigating effects.

[QUOTE=Durandal;49985049]Yeah I'm not sure why people buy into the idea that its all a left wing hoax. What would the nebulous "left" have to gain from reducing the effects of climate change or avoiding climate change?[/QUOTE] Well it makes sense. If you're already in the oil industries pockets, and the industry is being attacked by the Greens (solar, wind, EV's, etc), which are supported generally by liberals, you're going to make it an us vs them type thing and conclude that climate change must be a ploy to beat you. You also lack any hint of scientific literacy so it makes sense in your calm little narrow minded world that it's just a political game. And, since your current party of political affiliation doesn't take kindly to "big government" and regulations, you see attempts to regulate industrial impacts on the climate as another way to hold you and your team down. You buy into the bullshit being fed to you by industry giants that you feel like you're in the right, and you're just being attacked by the [I]left.[/I]

[QUOTE=OvB;49985096]Well it makes sense. If you're already in the oil industries pockets, and the industry is being attacked by the Greens (solar, wind, EV's, etc), which are supported generally by liberals, you're going to make it an us vs them type thing and conclude that climate change must be a ploy to beat you. You also lack any hint of scientific literacy so it makes sense in your calm little narrow minded world that it's just a political game. And, since your current party of political affiliation doesn't take kindly to "big government" and regulations, you see attempts to regulate industrial impacts on the climate as another way to hold you and your team down. You buy into the bullshit being fed to you by industry giants that you feel like you're in the right, and you're just being attacked by the [I]left.[/I][/QUOTE] I suppose that makes sense I hadn't thought about it like that. As in it makes sense why people would buy it now, not that the actual idea makes sense.

[QUOTE=AtomicWaffle;49985060]Is there any hope, OvB? You're making it sound like we're through and through fucked one way or another.[/QUOTE] Perhaps I'm just pessimistic but we need to get our shit together [I]real[/I] soon. We've spent so much time arguing the politics of CO2 that even most well-intention people don't even know half of it. What about methane? what about acidification? coral bleaching? agricultural run-off, sea level rise, habitat destruction, shifts in the Thermohaline circulation, the jet stream, etc, etc. It's a lot more difficult than driving Teslas and recycling your plastics. It's going to take a global unified government-level effort and I just don't see that happening on the scale it needs to before we start feeling things badly. I think it's going to take a couple hundred million environmental refugees to get the [I]politicians[/I] on a consensus. The planet is a closed system. The sooner we can get everyone literate in how one thing can affect another, the better. You don't need to make everyone a climatologist but just a basic understanding of how global climate interacts with everything, and basic chemistry and biology will go a long way.

[QUOTE=OmniConsUme;49985077]Humanity is fucked. It depends on how long we have left, by mitigating effects.[/QUOTE] Humanity is never [I]truly[/I] fucked. We always seem to find a way to survive, scatter and adapt, no matter the situation.

[QUOTE=Coyoteze;49985138]Humanity is never [I]truly[/I] fucked. We always seem to find a way to survive, scatter and adapt, no matter the situation.[/QUOTE] I think humans will survive. But given the definition of the word is to live in spite of hardship, I find it asinine that 21st century humanity still considers it an option. Our ancestors survived, we figured out how to rub sticks together to make fire so we didn't freeze to death like all your friends, that's survival. I can read more information from my phone while taking a shit than the average human got in a lifetime just a few hundred years ago. A future in this day and age where humanity just [I]"survives"[/I] shouldn't even be up for consideration. We should be [I]thriving.[/I]

[QUOTE=Coyoteze;49985138]Humanity is never [I]truly[/I] fucked. We always seem to find a way to survive, scatter and adapt, no matter the situation.[/QUOTE] If our current society collapses though, we're never making it off-world. Trashing it all and climbing past our current level would just take up too many resources. Our species has one shot at not dying on this planet. We might be about to blow it.

[QUOTE=OvB;49985198]I think humans will survive. But given the definition of the word is to live in spite of hardship, I find it asinine that 21st century humanity still considers it an option. Our ancestors survived, we figured out how to rub sticks together to make fire so we didn't freeze to death like all your friends, that's survival. I can read more information from my phone while taking a shit than the average human got in a lifetime just a few hundred years ago. A future in this day and age where humanity just [I]"survives"[/I] shouldn't even be up for consideration. We should be [I]thriving.[/I][/QUOTE] it's honestly something that gets me incredibly depressed when I think about it. The environment we all live in will change irrepably within our lifetimes. Humanity will survive, but in what shape and what form? Certainly not one we can be proud of or consider to be a good thing. The world we may well occupy in 150-200 years may not be one that we can thrive in.

Welp, guess I'll see you all in hell everyone. Fuck the people who could have prevented this and did nothing. Greed is going to be the end of us at this rate.

[QUOTE=OvB;49985132]Perhaps I'm just pessimistic but we need to get our shit together [I]real[/I] soon. We've spent so much time arguing the politics of CO2 that even most well-intention people don't even know half of it. What about methane? what about acidification? coral bleaching? agricultural run-off, sea level rise, habitat destruction, shifts in the Thermohaline circulation, the jet stream, etc, etc. It's a lot more difficult than driving Teslas and recycling your plastics. It's going to take a global unified government-level effort and I just don't see that happening on the scale it needs to before we start feeling things badly. I think it's going to take a couple hundred million environmental refugees to get the [I]politicians[/I] on a consensus. The planet is a closed system. The sooner we can get everyone literate in how one thing can affect another, the better. You don't need to make everyone a climatologist but just a basic understanding of how global climate interacts with everything, and basic chemistry and biology will go a long way.[/QUOTE] I dunno if you're pessimistic, or if you are, every ecologist I know (including myself) is just as pessimistic. A lot of us try and couch it like we've got a realistic chance of turning things around but the level of "turning this shit the fuck around" we need now just seems well beyond humanity as a collective whole, and it would need to be the whole species turning around, as you said. So yeah, Terrestrial Ecologist here - I also think our shit is fucked because the level of action we need to unfuck this situation is pretty well beyond humanity. I'm still going out swinging by staying in my field and doing what little I can, but...

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;49985223]it's honestly something that gets me incredibly depressed when I think about it. The environment we all live in will change irrepably within our lifetimes. Humanity will survive, but in what shape and what form? Certainly not one we can be proud of or consider to be a good thing. The world we may well occupy in 150-200 years may not be one that we can thrive in.[/QUOTE] It's easy to take comfort in our abilities and prowess. But that's a comfort every generation felt before. I don't think we should assume the worst is behind us because of our advanced technology and modern comforts. I fear that the worst of the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropocene]Anthropocene[/url] is ahead of us. It's easy to discount and label as alarmist, but I'm sure 13th century Europe thought they were pretty hot shit too. Then the black death -something they couldn't possibly have predicted- killed off a whole lot of them.

[QUOTE=OvB;49985312]It's easy to take comfort in our abilities and prowess. But that's a comfort every generation felt before. I don't think we should assume the worst is behind us because of our advanced technology and modern comforts. I fear that the worst of the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropocene]Anthropocene[/url] is ahead of us. It's easy to discount and label as alarmist, but I'm sure 13th century Europe thought they were pretty hot shit too. Then the black death -something they couldn't possibly have predicted- killed off a whole lot of them.[/QUOTE] And we can totally predict this. We've seen it coming for decades. And we're still fucked. I'm not even remotely joking when I say I've had emotional breaks because I know the future of our species and my immediate future itself, is in serious jeopardy and no one is doing a god damn thing when we need everyone in this together.