Coral Reefs Bleaching Worldwide

[chrisaggie]

Dactyl, the coral diversity here in the caribbean is not nearly as high as othr places in the world (pacific). Because of this, collection and captive propogation is not nearly as big an issue as other places. I know of plenty of public aquariums and such which have both of the caribbean acroporas along with many other carribean corals of concern. I think oppening up collection or permiting for collection to the public would only damage our reef that much further.

[wds21921]

To those who would say things such as scientists are wrong or the data is not enough to quantify, I say bunk. The facts are there that we're haing at least some kind of problem. Almost every INDEPENDENT scientist (not those on fedral payroll grants, or federally paid studies) agree that the Global Warming is real and the effects (at least short term) are very noticeable.

I worked for W. L. Gore and Assoc. for 17 years, makers of Gore-Tex fabrics. In the early 90's they funded the Antarctic crossing project where one man set out with dogs and supplies to trek completey across the Antarctic on his own, camerman in tow.
During that time he was forced to replace his coats 7 times in a period of about a month. This was due completely to the enormous amount of UV rays permeating and eating the teflon membrane coating. While I am in no way a scientist or anythign of the sort, I do know that there has always been somewhat of a UV/Ozone hole in the Antarctic.
The growth of this hole has been tremendous and steady over the last 20-25 years.

Regardless of how or why the Global Warming epademic is happening, and I believe it is serious, we need to seriously take some actions and steps to curb our own pollution levels. Even if this Warming is indicative of a ciclative action, we're causing enough pollution that the effects could remain much longer than nature had intended. It's also quite possible that some of the effects might never be nature repaired.

[55semireef]

Except dinosours didn't destroy their enviroment like humans do reefeross.

[bluerug]

It is a cycle and the world is going through another cycle once again. We are not going through global warming imo, but what do i know.

[55semireef]

Originally posted by bluecarpet
It is a cycle and the world is going through another cycle once again. We are not going through global warming imo, but what do i know.

Can you back up what you say with evidence. You say its a cycle but Earth's previous cycles did not have humans in it. Yet now we are destroying our Earth and yet other animals do not.

[bluerug]

This thread has become a little to political, and i would prefer to leave my political views out of this. So that said, show me a report that says we are going through global warming and that temperatures are rising more than expected then maybe i might believe this, but the fact is the temperatures are not going up more than normal, and we are not going through global warming. Hurricanes have been hitting us in florida before i was born and way before my mom and dad were born, it just happens to be that we are getting a few more storms because of weather changes as far as wind shere and what not, the temperature of the water only makes a hurricane stronger not produce more hurricanes.

[55semireef]

Originally posted by bluecarpet
[B the temperature of the water only makes a hurricane stronger not produce more hurricanes. [/B]

Hurricanes thrive off ocean waters in 80 degree temperatures and originate off the west coast of Africa. Not only do hurricanes become stronger in higher ocean temperatures, but they also become stronger faster.

you said the temperature doesn't affect the productivity of hurricanes but it actually does. Hurricanes are much more easier to create in ocean temps of 80 plus degrees and the chances of one being created is much higher.

[55semireef]

Originally posted by bluecarpet
Hurricanes have been hitting us in florida before i was born and way before my mom and dad were born.

Ok, but the frequency of hurricanes like we are having now has never been this high in the past as it is now.

[Me No Nemo]

Whatever the reason...good news!

EDITORIAL: Orlando Sentinal

A bold move
Our position: President Bush's decision to protect sensitive Hawaiian waters was exemplary.


Posted June 17, 2006

It doesn't take much to decimate the Earth's fragile ecosystems. Private plundering, commercial accidents and government neglect all have managed it exceedingly well.

Government just as easily can preserve them, however. President George W. Bush's landmark act this week designating the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve a national monument shows how.

Mr. Bush's extraordinary designation effectively makes the 1,400 miles long, 100 miles wide archipelago a do-not-disturb zone. The only exceptions to that government rule will be certain scientists, educators, photographers and scuba divers granted government permits. Commercial fishermen, recreational boaters and others need not apply.

What Mr. Bush's action means to these Pacific waters, stretching as far as Chicago is to Miami, is nothing less than a lifeline to the extraordinary array of species that make those waters home.

Seabirds, seals, sea turtles and other wildlife long have been under siege there. That fact led to presidents from Teddy Roosevelt to Bill Clinton giving it varying protective status. Mr. Bush's move goes further, though. Making the area a national monument takes it out of the reach of those who might have special designs on it, like, say, congressmen.

Scarcely a day goes by, for example, where that species of animal doesn't announce its interest in tapping the oceans' limited resources. Just last month they lost a close vote in the U.S. House of Representatives that, had it passed, could have led to drilling for natural gas just 3 miles off Florida's shores.

For the moment, Florida's shores are spared that kind of harebrained intrusion. The monument in the Pacific created by Mr. Bush spares species there any potentially harmful, human-authored intrusions, perhaps in perpetuity.

It's farsighted government intervention that should help preserve 7,000 marine and terrestrial species. It's exemplary action from the president and also a clear reminder of what individuals and government can do to protect the environment if the will is there.

[55semireef]

wow thats great. I wish this could apply to all of the oceans.

[wds21921]

Including our own where the mercury levels have risen to record levels in the last 5 years, consistently!!!

Don't anticipate on eating Tuna much longer.

It is good to see at least something positive being done though, for a change.

[55semireef]

When our ecosystems are destroyed men will gaze in wonder how it all happened.

[wds21921]

http://www.climatehotmap.org/

[wds21921]

http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming...gerprints.html

[wds21921]

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/...d=BGIDABGNDCBF

[55semireef]

Thanks for the articles.

[wds21921]

The only two organizations I see trying to simply pass it off as a myth are the Cooler Heads Coalition and the CEI (Competative Enterprise Institute. Both heavily Republican funded and backed organizations. Any surprise here?
Follow the money trail!

[apache73]

Originally posted by bluecarpet
It is a cycle and the world is going through another cycle once again. We are not going through global warming imo, but what do i know.

Apparently not much

[daytonians]

If you think the earth hasn't been warmer over the past few years, you live in a dream world.

That said, scientist have no clue what is going on. Recent studies actually show that our cleaning up the air may be at fault. In the past when we burned wood or fossil fuel a lot of particulate matter was given off. The particulates have the effect of blocking the sun and cooling the earth. Not that we are cleaning up our exhausts for cars, powerplants, and such, we don't have the particulates matter, but we still have the CO2.

There is also much speculation about future cloud formation. Warmer temperatures will mean more water evaporation and more clouds. The question is, will they be upper atmosphere clouds that cause cooling, or lower atmosphere clouds that cause warming. Anyone that is studing this will tell you that they have no idea. No sound theories at all.

Add to that the fact that the water in the carribean has not been shown to be warming. For some reason that nobody understands, it seems that the poles are getting much warmer, while the equator is staying stable and in some cases actually cooling a bit.

The biggest fear is that if the north pole becomes too warm it will stop the gulf stream. Last time that happened we believe started the last ice age.

Much more study is needed!!!!!!

[55semireef]

Originally posted by apache73
Apparently not much

lol

[55semireef]

Originally posted by kmainzer
I am a NASA scientist, and global warming isn't something we're making up - believe me, I wish it were. It is heartbreaking. Insulate your house, unplug your TV, do anything you can to reduce your power consumption so that we can save the reefs we love so much. Sorry to disappoint, but the global warming problem isn't going away, isn't a "liberal commie conspiracy", and I really really wish it weren't true, but it is. One of the hardest parts of being a scientist is knowing the truth about how bad things really are, then trying to convince the public to do something. Sometimes I feel like Cassandra - the Greek woman of legend who was doomed to know the future and no one would believe her.

Sadly, the American public has been badly mislead to think that pollution doesn't cause any real harm. There are now, however, literally dozens of independent experiments to confirm that the Earth is warming, from the maple trees in Vermont which now give sap a month earlier than a century ago, to the cherry blossoms in Japan which also flower a month early, to Antartic ice cores, to the bleaching reefs. Read the science journal articles in Science or Nature, folks - not the lame CNN or Fox News articles. Then do something to help!!! I love the reefs (as an aquarist and a diver, as well as a scientist), and I want them to be there forever.

Being a Nasa scientist doesn't mean you know everything about the world.

[daytonians]

I don't know where the "Nasa Scientist" gets the idea that the public is being let to beleive that pollution doesn't cause much harm. You can not get through a day without hearing the term "global warming" at least once. If anything, the amount of people who don't want to believe in global climate change is probably a back-lash to all the gloom and doom we hear in the media every day.

[daytonians]

Does anybody remember the TV Special hosted by Ted Danzin where he proclaimed that the Earth only had 5 years left if we didn't take immediate and drastic action. Umm, it's been like 10 years now. This kind of Chicken Little B.S. serves the people opposing changes in clean air regulations far more than it does the people spouting it.

[Dactyl]

i second 55se. nasa people are just like noaa people. they get nice paychecks and constantly tell everyone who they work to put their opinion above others in a discussion. despite whether theyre really a scientist or just a janitor mopping the floors.

chrisag: naturally it doesnt have the variety you see in the south pacific. it went a different evolutionary route here. but i do think we should have captive propagation and not make it ILLEGAL to have caribbean corals in our tanks. imagine how it would get people across the country interested in caribbean reef conservation if you could see an example in your tank! its the closest tropical marine environment we have and its being squandered. noaa down in the keys is a private club that gets nothing done and anyone who tries to make a difference they shut down because it would expose their own incompetance. trust me. ive done my homework and talked to ALOT of people about this. im considering taking it to the press since i can precisely document things.

[55semireef]

Originally posted by Dactyl
im considering taking it to the press since i can precisely document things.

go for it