WP: NOAA Cites Threats to U.S., Pacific Coral Reefs

[DeepModem Mom]

NOAA Cites Threats to U.S., Pacific Coral Reefs
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 19, 2005; Page A11


Coral reefs in U.S. waters and the Pacific are under stress from both humans and nature, according to a national assessment released yesterday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

A combination of overfishing, pollution, disease and climate change is threatening the health of coral reefs everywhere from the Florida Keys to Palau, said the report, which covers 14 areas in the United States and its territories.

"We see a decline in our overall ecosystems," said Mark Monaco, biogeography program manager for NOAA's Ocean Service. "We're very concerned about the future of these delicate ecosystems."

Reefs nearest populated areas, such as the Florida Keys, are under increasing stress, researchers found, whereas more remote areas, including the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, are doing better. In Hawaii, federal officials have removed fishing nets and other debris that had been damaging the reefs and are considering making much of the area off-limits to fishing and other human activities....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/18/AR2005081801842.html

[Danmel]

1. We are killing the planet (and by extension, ourselves)

I saw a film at the B.C. Science Museum in Vancouver last summer at the Imax there on the damage to coral reefs caused by changing water temperatures and human activity. It is truly a catastrophe for the ocean life and for the people who live on sparsely populated islands.

We are in deep trouble- denial doesn't solve our problems and the master of denial is in charge here.

[wli]

2. microscopic oceanic life absorbs much of the CO2 ...

i.e. when global warming raises water temperatures it's a positive feedback loop.

[kestrel91316]

3. All the canaries died in this mine shaft quite some time ago, but

we are only now noticing their tiny little corpses.

:cry:

[DeepModem Mom]

4. Hauntingly well-said, kestrel. nt

[kestrel91316]

5. I am reminded of the movie The Fly where that actor (brain fart, can't

recall name, played the fly himself) says "Be afraid. Be very afraid."

That sums up the feeling I am getting, and with my background as microbiologist and veterinarian I know more than the average bear about ecosystems.

[lakeguy]

6. how are the stress from "human and nature"?

i think the current rate of climate change is pretty much caused by humans, not nature...