20% Of Planet's Reefs "Effectively Destroyed", 24% Face Collapse - WP

[hatrack]

"TWENTY PERCENT of the world's coral reefs "have been effectively destroyed and show no immediate prospect of recovery." An additional 24 percent "are under imminent risk of collapse through human pressures," and an additional 26 percent "are under a longer term threat of collapse." These are only some of the conclusions of an exhaustive new report by 240 scientists in 98 countries, working under the auspices of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network. Coral reefs, in addition to being breathtakingly beautiful, are among the cradles of life on Earth -- hotbeds of biodiversity critical to sustaining oceanic health. But a combination of global warming, pollution, overfishing, diseases and other factors is ravaging reefs worldwide. While Australian and Pacific reefs remain relatively healthy, the report documents devastating declines elsewhere, including the Caribbean region, where coral cover on many reefs has declined by up to 80 percent. If something isn't done soon, it will be too late for many reefs to recover.

The dire threat to the world's -- and America's -- oceans is hardly a surprise, and it isn't limited to coral reefs either. Two major task forces have recently documented the grave ecological conditions of America's coastal waters. The studies basically show the same thing: People are using the oceans in a fashion that can't be sustained, and, absent serious change across a range of human behaviors, the oceans will die off. Yet despite the widespread agreement on the nature and severity of the problem, action has been slow."

EDIT

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58247-2004Dec11.html

[phantom power]

1. I recall an oceanographer a couple years ago, who claimed

that even if we magically quit emitting CO2 tomorrow, we'd lose 80% of our reefs over the next 50 years. The train-wreck has already started, but most of the train just doesn't know it yet.