Fifth of Coral Reefs Dead: Study

Not just pretty: end of reefs often signals mass extinction events

(NEWSER) - Climate change and the acidification of the oceans—along with overfishing, coastal development, and pollution—will destroy the Earth's coral reefs in as little as 30 years, reports the Independent . The mass-bleaching in the Indian Ocean in 1998 alone destroyed 16% of the world's reefs in just a few weeks. "We've wiped out a lot of species over the years. This will be the first time we've actually eliminated an entire ecosystem," claims Peter Sale, a marine ecologist at United Nations University, whose new book, Our Dying Planet: An Ecologist's View of the Crisis We Face , is published tomorrow. More»

Human activity is rapidly wiping out marine life, panel warns

(NEWSER) - Human activity has degraded the world's oceans with dizzying speed and a mass extinction of marine life only seen five times before in the planet's history is likely if urgent action is not taken, a panel of marine experts warns. The International Program on the State of the Oceans panel, made of experts from a variety of disciplines, found that issues such as climate change, overfishing, acidification, and pollution are acting together to accelerate the rate of change, reports the BBC. More»

(NEWSER) - Snorkelers and scuba divers aren’t the worst threat to the embattled coral reefs of the world—climate change, commercial fishing, and pollution take top honors—but the casual tourist can lessen, and even mitigate, the damage he or she causes, Slate reports. Of course, snorkelers shouldn’t purposefully snap off pieces of the majestic underwater life forms. But carelessly dragging equipment across coral, or walking on it, while looking for a better view is equally destructive. More»

Expert warns that CO2 has triggered 1,000 years of change

(NEWSER) - The damage from global warming will continue for centuries even if emissions could possibly be brought under control immediately, warns one of the world's leading climate experts. The heat and carbon dioxide being soaked up by the world's oceans now will be released regardless of what's done to mitigate the disaster, causing "an irreversible change that will last for more than a thousand years," a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tells NPR. More»

'Bio'Rock' revives bleached Bali coral

(NEWSER) - Electrified metal structures submerged off the coast of Bali are reviving dying coral reefs, the AP reports. Low-voltage electricity pulses through cables feeding the structures, spurring pieces of damaged coral attached to them back to health. Scientist Thomas Goreau, co-creator of the 'Bio-Rock' project, is presenting his research at the climate change conference on the other side of the island. More»