The pictures below is of Porite corals, a species which is increasingly under environmental stress. A new report from the Scientific American states that the growth of Porite corals within the Great Barrier Reef has decreased by more than 13% within the past 20 years. Why? The largest and most likely culprit are Americans. We contribute to more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than any other nation per capita.
Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have risen from 280 to 398 ppm. Burning of fossil fuels releases large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere that soon find their way into the ocean. When absorbed into the ocean, carbon dioxide causes increased acidication. This is a result of the chemical reaction featured in the image below.
In its essence, CO2 dissolves into water and creates carbonic acid, which interferes with the shell construction of corals within the reef; depending on acidity this can both slow or prohibit growth of different coral species.
Inability to deal with rapid ocean acidification is not a fault of coral’s evolution, but is the result of an overwhelmingly global issue. The decreased growth in Porites reported by the Scientific American is not something that any local agency like the GBRMPA can fix. I believe the report forces us to realize some of the invisible effects that CO2 emission associated with modern lifestyles worldwide have on the ecosystems in which we may never see.
And I think this, then, calls into question our approaches to environmental management. The GBRMPA, for instance, looks at securing the interests of all stakeholders within the GBR, but what happens when the issues extend beyond the GBR? What if the stakeholders can’t fully protect all interests? And what if the whole system under which conservation efforts operate relies heavily on computer systems and office buildings and plane rides all which contribute to large increases in atmospheric (and, in turn, oceanic) concentrations of carbon? It’s like trying to walk up an escalator going the opposite direction. How are we to solve a problem when we are actively contributing to it?
Maybe the answer is to climb faster than the escalator. To do so, we must all realize our role and not expect organizations like GBRMPA to be our saving grace. It is easy to pawn off an issue, but I think the only real way to stop the Great Barrier Reef from shrinking is to realize we are all implicated and to start acting on it.
Sources:
Pictures –
Coral – http://news.agu.org/press-release/weather-extremes-are-growing-trend-in-northern-australia-corals-show/
Acidification – http://www.climatecommunication.org/affects/ocean-acidification/
Article – http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ocean-acidification-hits-great-barrier-reef/