Global Warming Destroying World Coral Reefs, Costing Economy Billions

EDITOR’S NOTE: With this post we welcome Jennifer Mueller, distinguished environmental author and activist, to our community of regular Causes bloggers. We are delighted to have her with us.

The world’s coral reefs could be the first major ecosystem to face extinction due to global warming, according to a major report released this week by the UN Environment Programme. Coral reefs are critical to nearly a quarter of the world’s marine fish species, support the livelihoods of half a million people, and contribute more than $170 billion each year to world economies. The report concludes that the only hope for the Florida Keys, the Great Barrier Reef off Australia, and other world oceanic treasures is to rapidly and dramatically reduce the amount of industrial carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.

Global Warming the Biggest of Multiple Threats to Coral Reefs

Toxic chemicals in polluted rainwater poisons the reef fish and coral. The worlds appetite for seafood leads to rampant overfishing of reefs. Divers damage reefs to harvest coral for jewelry and charismatic fishes for the world’s aquarium hobbyists. Even our enthusiasm for the beauty and wonder of coral reefs can be a threat as millions of visitors disturb habitat and shed sunscreen into the water. But, the biggest threat to coral reefs may be the world’s addiction to energy from fossil fuels.

Carbon intensive energy sources â€“ oil, coal, and natural gas â€“ are a major contributor to the 387 parts per billion (ppb) of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that’s driving global warming. That concentration would be even higher if the oceans were not absorbing as much carbon dioxide as they are. Unfortunately, dissolved carbon dioxide alters the pH of the ocean, making the water more acidic and killing off normally long-lived, slow-growing corals that make up the backbone of the reefs. Warmer waters from global warming will also disrupt the ecological balance of the reefs. UN Scientists conclude that we need to bring global concentrations of carbon dioxide below 350 ppb to give the reefs even a chance at survival.

Loss of Coral Reefs Costs More than Environment

One of the many benefits coral reefs provide to the planet is to protect the coasts they surround from the impact of storms, something likely to worsen with climate change. Without the reefs, storms will do more damage to homes and businesses on land. For example, the World Resources Institute estimates that coral reefs provide between $28 and $50 million in shoreline protection services every year for St. Lucia, a popular vacation destination in the Caribbean. Neighboring Tobago benefits from $18 to $33 million in protection services. Coral reefs surround 44 percent of St. Lucia and 50 percent of Tobago. If either reefs collapse, tourism could drop off dramatically and storms could batter the resort facilities terribly.

Saving the World’s Coral Reefs

Efforts like that of Australia to protect the Great Barrier reef by cutting polluted runoff in half by by 2013 and nations designating more marine reserves off-limits to fishing and other commercial activity can give the reefs a little breathing space. But even massive conservation and pollution prevention efforts will not be enough without addressing climate change.

To bring down concentrations of carbon dioxide and other global warming pollution in the atmosphere, the world will have to quickly shift away from polluting fossil fuels to clean energy and enact binding limits on climate pollution. This December, world leaders will meet in Copenhagen to hammer out a world climate treaty. U.S. support for the treaty and strong action on global warming will be pivotal.

What Can You Do? Urge President Obama to support and sign a robust climate treaty.

Picasa user Yuriy / CC 3.0.
by Jennifer Mueller

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Rachel W.

11:39PM PDT on Sep 7, 2009

Mr Valentine,

in the past tens of thousands of years, the corals before are not what they now. The current coral reefs that we have now come from these ancestors, which are now extinct. Our corals may also follow suit if we do not do something and choose to be nonchalant about it.

Indeed, the damage of oil spills will eventually recover naturally, but in many years. The time taken for the coral reefs (if they are the same) to recover would be so long, that even your future generations would not be able to enjoy them before they are restored to their initial splendor.

send a green star

Kei Lin C.

6:00PM PDT on Sep 6, 2009

i forgot where i read it from but it makes perfect sense: before you go into the ocean, apply sunscreen 15 min. early because if it doesn't get time to soak into your skin, then it'll just come off. Consequently, the sunscreen will just float on top of the water and bolck the sun from going to the coral reefs.

Lisa K.

11:58AM PDT on Sep 5, 2009

Brian Valentine: I think you must be lost, this is Care 2. You are either part of the solution or you are part of the problem; obviously you are the latter. Please take your uneducated self and go away.

Lyn C.

10:24PM PDT on Sep 4, 2009

Mr. Valentine, your simplistic comments don't bear witness to what we humans are doing to the planet! There are some things on this planet that just will never be able to to be replaced, and your inane comments do nothing to help.

Lync

Ronald N.

9:09PM PDT on Sep 4, 2009

The sadness of the situation in our world is based upon all the growing problems that seem to override each other. The environment is much more fragile than we have ever imagined . I have to say, the welfare of the environment is a major key to the betterment of all humans as well as all creatures and plant life that reside on this Earth.

The coral reefs have to be protected. That means the lowering of the carbon emissions is a absolute necessity. How does anyone fight a system so powerful and the ranks of the disbelievers of global warming grow. The oil and coal industry seem to continue their pace for more carbon based energy. Mountaintop removal for coal in the Appalachia's seem to go on without end and proposals continue the construction nuclear plants. Fertilizers, plastics and all sorts of chemicals are dischaged into the oceans of the world, with the United States the biggest culprit and the largest carbon footprint. I am ashamed and saddened by the attitude of mainly Americans corporations. These people have the resources and the wealth to change the problems. They may run PR adds on how friendly they are trying to become towards the environment, but the case remains bad things are still happening.

Jean A.

8:35AM PDT on Sep 4, 2009

If we do anything in this country after health care, immigration it is cleaning up the planet. The coral reefs are being destroyed.by pollution, like run offs from factory farms, the acid from coal burning, too many cars on highways.But people still want to drill for oil. Sick. We all breathe the same air and eat the fish. It starts at home. Don't buy plastic; live green. Education!!!

Joanne B.

8:04AM PDT on Sep 4, 2009

To Brian, who said: "These reefs have been around for tens of thousands of years, when the average global temps and CO2 levels of the air were much higher than they are now.

You're right about the age of coral reefs. From the NPCA website: "Coral reefs evolved some 200 million years ago, and today, most reefs age between 5,000 and 10,000 years old."

I couldn't find data on CO2 beyond 400,000 to 600,000 years ago (didn't go above 280 ppm in that time until recently) but I found this, from author Fred Pearce, With Speed and Violence, Why Scientists Fear Tipping Points in Climate Change, writing about acidification of the ocean, coral reefs and pteropods (at the bottom of the marine food web) and then comparing our time with that of a prior time of extinctions:

"Whatever the outcome, we are seeing the start of an unexpected and frightening side effect of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Perhaps the nearest parallel to the current situation was 55 million years ago--the last time a major slug of carbon was released into the atmosphere over a short period [...] Fifty-five million years ago, more than a trillion tons of methane burst from the ocean, sending temperatures soaring by up to 18 degF extinguishing two thirds of the species in the ocean depths, and causing major evolutionary shock at the surface."

From only the warming thus far, the now unfreezing Siberian peat bogs releases 100,000 tons of methane daily. I don't have estimates for the rest of the

karishma n.

5:36AM PDT on Sep 4, 2009

Mr.Brian Valentine you may be right about the 'Oil spills' being a major factor in the destruction of the corals, but before you go on to tell people that they are wrong please do a backup check. Corals were formed much later in Earth evolution years, they are infact pretty new. The water temperature is what effects the corals and not the CO2 content in the air, the fact that Greenhouse effect is causing an increase in the earths atmospheric, plus inner temperature, is resulting in the increase or rather heating of the water. Warming may also be the basis of a new emerging problem: increasing coral diseases. Warming (thought to be the main cause of coral bleaching) weakens corals. In their weakened state, coral is much more prone to diseases including Black band disease, White band disease and Skeletal Eroding Band. In the event of a 2°C temperature increase, it is thought that coral is not able to adapt quickly enough physiologically or genetically. For more information on this and to increase the little knowledge your tiny brain hols please ' GOOGLE'!!!!
And never again in your life think that you know better then others around you, cause trust me you'll realise you are the biggest fool in the world.

Genevieve H.

4:48AM PDT on Sep 4, 2009

What pisses me off so much is that lots of people have to put a value of how many billions of dollars to the economy this is costing in order to make people interested in saving the environment! I'm sure that inside those billions that you're talking about, you can count all the money from the tourism that actually damages the reefs, all the money from the fishing that damages the reefs, all the money from the poaching of rare exotic fish, that damages the reef, etc, etc. So, if you really wanted to save the reefs, you'd have to forsake all those anyway, and the money that comes from that.
Why can't people agree to save the reefs for their own sake instead of for some money grabbing industry ? The value of the reefs is their BEING! Like everything else on this planet.
It's always the same story, it's always the economy and the development that come first and I really don't see how with this mentality we are going to save the environment.
And Australia, gaining so much from the Gold Coast and the Great Barrier Reef tourism and still dragging its feet about reducing its emissions of CO2. It's one of the most polluting countries in the world, in terms of CO2 emissions per habitant, because they still insist on burning charcoal to produce electricity whereas this is one of the sunniest place on the planet and they could produce so much energy just with solar power, but there again, they keep dragging their feet. Shameless.

Jelena J.

4:22AM PDT on Sep 4, 2009

terrible what people do with our planet.