Reef die-off threatens us all

IndaMerit-Amun

Coral reefs are part of the foundation of the ocean food chain. Nearly half of the fish the world eats make their homes around them. Hundred of millions of people worldwide depend on them for their food.

If the reefs vanish, experts say, hunger, poverty and political instability could ensue.
Whole nations will be threatened in terms of their existence.

Numerous studies predict coral reefs are headed for extinction worldwide, largely because of global warming, pollution and coastal developement, but also because of damage from bottom-dragging fishing boats and the international trade in jewelry and ornaments made of coral.

If the reefs die-off fish will become a luxury food item. We alrerady have a billion people facing hunger, and this would just aggrevate the system. The economic damage would be enormous.

Most of this information comes from 'The Honolulu Advertiser', Friday, March 26, 2010

Pictures by Leni Riefenstahl

5/21/107:09 PM

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yokoMember

Thank you for the post Inda.

Human beings are anxious to destroy the Earth.
Fish may certainly become a luxury, along with many other things.

Coral reefs are very delicate, even stepping on them causes a lot of damage, no to mention all the other things we do to destroy them.

I don't even want to think about the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.

yoko

5/22/1012:53 PM

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TeoAvatar State

quote:
Originally posted by dear yoko:

I don't even want to think about the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.

http://mashable.com/2010/05/21/oil-spill-pictures/

&

Deepwater Horizon Disaster - Stock Photos

No, you reeeeally don't! More beautiful Coral Reef pictures would be nice.

Love and *LIGHT* *BEING*, Teo

5/25/101:40 PM

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TeoAvatar State

quote:
Could online maps save coral reefs?

(CNN) -- You used to know them as maps, but in a Web 2.0 world they're now called geographic information systems (GIS) and they could play a key part in saving the world's endangered coral reefs.

Harnessing the power of interactive maps is Reefs at Risk Revisited, a conservation and research project headed by the World Resources Institute. It is in the process of updating its 1998 survey on the threats to the world's coral reefs and central to the project is Google Earth.

The online map is being used to collect data from nearly 30 project partners, including WWF and Conservation International, and the final report will be freely available to the public.

People will be able to zoom around the world as they normally would, but instead of "flying" from their house to Pyongyang they will be able to almost literally dive into the reefs and discover the pressures on some of the world's most delicate marine ecosystems.

5/25/101:47 PM

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Vicky2Member

This is all very sad. I don't even know what to say.
Humans are really not very nice to the earth.

Love,
Vicky

5/25/104:09 PM

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GiseleMember

Like Vicky, I really don't know what to say.
This whole thing is an unbelievable mess.

Gisele

5/26/107:33 AM

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Sue 1Member

This whole thing is unbelievable.
Don't we care about the Eart at all?
I am sure that all this will have a big impact on the world's weather system, not to mention the effect on the economy.

Sue

5/26/107:36 AM

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IndaMerit-Amun

Thank you Teo for your input, and thank you all for your replies.

Humans sure are destroying the Earth.
This all is very disturbing, not to mention the oil in the Gulf of Mexico; it is unreal.

Soon we will not be able to see much of this