Aerial view of Great Barrier Reef
By David Flemming
In 2016, the nature journal Outside proclaimed, “The Great Barrier Reef of Australia passed away … after a long illness. It was 25 million years old. For most of its life, the reef was the world’s largest living structure, and the only one visible from space.
It was 1,400 miles long, with 2,900 individual reefs and 1,050 islands. In total area, it was larger than the United Kingdom, and it contained more biodiversity than all of Europe combined. It harbored 1,625 species of fish, 3,000 species of mollusk, 450 species of coral, 220 species of birds, and 30 species of whales and dolphins.”
Fast forward to 2022, where the Australian Institute of Marine Science tells us:
“Over the past 36 years of monitoring by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), coral reefs in the GBR have shown an ability to begin recovery after disturbances. … In 2022, widespread recovery has led to the highest coral cover recorded by the LTMP in the Northern and Central GBR, largely due to increases in the fast-growing Acropora corals, which are the dominant group of corals on the GBR and have been largely responsible previous changes in hard coral cover. … Survey reefs experienced low levels of other acute stress over the past 12 months, with no severe cyclones impacting the Marine Park. … The combination of few acute stresses and lower accumulated heat stress in 2020 and 2022 compared to 2016 and 2017 has resulted in low coral mortality and has allowed coral cover to continue to increase in the Northern and Central GBR.”
So there you have it. The Great Barrier Reef was presumed dead from climate change and rebounded spectacularly. While this won’t convince anyone that climate change isn’t a problem, it does give us reason to hope. The individual organisms and the ecosystems they create cannot be dumbed down into a biological model which can predict with certainty that X species will die off in 10 years.
The organisms on planet Earth survived generations of competition with other living species, natural disasters and the like. This should give us hope that species on the decline from climate change may in fact find a way to rebound. At the very least, the Great Barrier Reef’s recovery is a symbol of hope for all of life on Earth.
David Flemming is a policy analyst for the Ethan Allen Institute. Reprinted with permission from the Ethan Allen Institute Blog.
More proof that we’re being made to shell out money for nothing fighting an invisible
enemy who will do as it wishes. Pelosi’s visit to Tiwan has made China drop out of
climate talks and they will continue growing their co2 output by 128% which means
VT’s drive to bankrupt fuel users for a 0.003% reduction is pure stupidity….Germany
is putting coal plants back online to appease bidens illegal war requirements of no
Russian fuel… stupidity abounds..
Yup, DBean…I hope some Liberals read here, so I can tell them they are among the dumbest & most gullible people on earth…They are consumed with “feelings” & their never ending “virtue signaling” – that “they care”…..and are thus superior beings to you and I (albeit it arrogant & stupid) .
For almost 40 years we are told again and again….but it is all lies. The Artic still has massive ice. Antartic has ice. Polar bears thrive. NYC and Boston are not underwater. Beaches have stayed the same exist worldwide. VT still has FOUR seasons…not ONE WARM yearound one..and VT still get’s to 10-20 below zero often – even with global warming.. Yes, Humans will still exist in 5 years too…and the maybe 1/2 of 1 degree in warming over the last decade… is GOOD for the planet & humans – and it is ALL caused by….Mother Nature.
A perfect observation of residual mother nature. These chicken little types cannot get government climate research money unless they can show, with a computer model some anomaly. Every computer model has not been accurate. Remember, the schools were teaching that the Polar Bears were going to die off and scared the children. Now they indoctrinate them with the idea that the earth is dying and will end it 10 years. All this to keep the environmental industry pumping subsidy money into renewable energy except energy does not renew itself. There is no perpetual motion. It has turned into a religion for the ill-informed and a bag of money for the perpetrators of the glorbal warming scam.
Oh yes indeed Dano…….Vt tops the list for nonprofits…….and we’ll be seeing more and more…….
Right On Jeffrey Green…