Ghostly Reefs

Today I read an interesting article on Dot Earth about the coral reefs in the Caribbean.

Andrew Revkin writes that the reefs are in danger of bleaching and dying off due to rising ocean temperatures. In 2005 the Caribbean had the worst case of coral reef bleaching and disease in its recorded history and scientists are worried that the bleaching will either reach or exceed the levels of bleaching of that horrible year.

Luckily coral reefs don't die off immediately, however, if the ocean temperature continues to rise then the conditions of the coral reefs will not improve. This is one of the many apparent effects of global warming that people can actually see taking place. Scientists are so adamant about saving these reefs because of their delicacy. The reefs are also home to many species and if the reefs die off then so will a wide variety of ocean life.

People who responded to this particular blog on Dot Earth had mixed opinions. Commentor 16 had mentioned that the bleached coral reefs are no big deal since you can't see them up close and therefore does not care. Though they were on topic with the blog their opinion on not caring was not very logical. Even if you can't see something up close the evidence is still apparant and should warrant some concern. Most of the other commentors remained on topic and had logical responses and concerns for the dying reefs. Many commentors were civil and debated the topic with their facts and logics.

The blog post had 138 responders who expressed their skepticisms and concerns about the coral reefs. I'm glad to see that ordinary people take interest in enviromental problems and are willing to voice their opinions on the matters at hand. After all, we can't let the scientists do all the work.