[Coral-List] Has the death of the Great Barrier Reef been greatly exaggerated??

Steve Mussman sealab at earthlink.net
Wed Oct 26 12:06:44 EDT 2016


I believe that the fact that there is considerable despair regarding conditions on the GBR validates the use of extreme measures such as the publication of a satirical obituary. It's up to those in the know to exploit this opportunity as a teachable moment. Let's not give up. Ever. 
Steve

Sent from my iPhone



Sent from my iPhone
> On Oct 24, 2016, at 8:25 PM, Brodie, Jon <jon.brodie at jcu.edu.au> wrote:
> 
> Hi all
> 
> Although the GBR is not dead (wrt coral) quite yet the (future) obituary may become a reality sooner than we think. The latest official joint Federal and Queensland Water Quality Report Card (for 2015) is a dismal read (note I am involved in a minor way in its preparation) showing we are making very little progress in improving water quality associated with terrestrial runoff and with an overall score for the Reef of "D" for the fifth year in a row. The report Card can be found at:
> 
> http://www.reefplan.qld.gov.au/measuring-success/report-cards/
> 
> Given there are no plans to provide the funding known to be needed to really fix up the water quality issues, no intent to use the existing legal remedies and with little action on climate change (from Australia) there's not much hope left.
> 
> Jon 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Bill Allison
> Sent: Saturday, 22 October 2016 10:59 PM
> To: Lescinsky, Halard <hlescinsky at otterbein.edu>
> Cc: coral list <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Has the death of the Great Barrier Reef been greatly exaggerated??
> 
> Halard, Steve, List,
> I agree with you about the Outsider article being dismissed as hyperbole, or worse, used for mischief by deniers.
> If it is intended as satire or parody as some allege, then I must wonder what or who is being satirized or parodied; global warming, scientists, environmentalists perhaps?
> 
> Better a full frontal approach such as this one although entrenched interests, not physics, is the enemy:
> https://newrepublic.com/article/135684/declare-war-
> climate-change-mobilize-wwii
> 
> On Wed, Oct 19, 2016 at 2:20 PM, Lescinsky, Halard <hlescinsky at otterbein.edu
>> wrote:
> 
>> Steve:  I wish that the general public (and my students) were as 
>> attentive readers as you suppose.  The truth is I doubt that any of 
>> them got past the headline in their news feed and really read the 
>> story.  Who has time these days for more than a sound bite?  
>> Unfortunately, I am pretty sure the end result of the story for many 
>> on Facebook is not education and awareness, but something more akin to 
>> "fear mongers are at it again", or "we can't really trust what we 
>> hear, its all over sensationalized". ---Hal
>> 
>> On Wed, Oct 19, 2016 at 2:03 PM, Steve Mussman <sealab at earthlink.net>
>> wrote:
>> 
>>> Dear Halard,
>>> Although it was a bit disconcerting to hear that your students did 
>>> not recognize the satirical nature of the article/obituary in 
>>> Outside
>> Magazine (
>>> https://www.outsideonline.com/2112086/obituary-great-
>>> barrier-reef-25-million-bc-2016), it seems to have presented a great 
>>> teaching opportunity.
>>> I would start out by asking them if they believed that the last 
>>> paragraph of the obituary was true based on their current knowledge 
>>> of the state of the world's coral reefs. Here is what it said: "The 
>>> Great Barrier Reef
>> was
>>> predeceased by the South Pacific’s Coral Triangle, the Florida Reef 
>>> off
>> the
>>> Florida Keys, and most other coral reefs on earth. It is survived by 
>>> the remnants of the Belize Barrier Reef and some deepwater corals". 
>>> If they know a little about coral reefs they might be able to pick 
>>> up on the sarcasm and then you could expand on to the real intent of 
>>> the piece. As
>> to
>>> what the appropriate response to the obituary should be, that is the 
>>> big question. As I see it, the message emanating from the marine 
>>> sciences
>> today
>>> is somewhat in need of clarification. The general public if coral- 
>>> conscious hears about many issues that are adversely affecting coral
>> reefs.
>>> The lionfish invasion, marine debris, sunscreen and even diver
>> interactions
>>> with the reef are all problematic, but are these issues being 
>>> presented
>> in
>>> the proper context? If someone frames any of these problems as "life 
>>> threatening" to the reefs should they be corrected or reinforced? I 
>>> am of the mind that believes that threats to the reefs ought to be 
>>> prioritized with climate change, land-based pollutants and 
>>> over-fishing to be emphasized, but I leave it to the experts (many 
>>> listers included) to provide guidance and insight on that. So if 
>>> this article deserves a reprimand, what exactly is the correct 
>>> message that we should be putting out there in order to ensure that the dramatic and sensationalized GBR
>>> obituary remains a total misrepresentation of the facts?    Regards,
>> Steve
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPad
>>> 
>>> On Oct 18, 2016, at 3:49 PM, Lescinsky, Halard 
>>> <hlescinsky at otterbein.edu
>>> 
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> The article in question was featured prominently on Facebook, and 
>>> was widely distributed and read by many people with little interest 
>>> or knowledge about reefs.  My experience was that over the weekend I 
>>> was
>> with
>>> a group of friends and was asked out of the blue if the it was true 
>>> the Great Barrier Reef had died.  The conversation stopped as many 
>>> in the
>> group
>>> had also heard this and  truly want to know.  I was a little 
>>> perplexed
>> not
>>> having known the origin of the rumor, but filled in the background 
>>> about
>> El
>>> Nino and bleaching, and the difference between dead coral and the 
>>> structural reef and its inhabitants.  Monday morning I caught up on 
>>> Coral List and sent a rebuttal link to a couple of my friends one of 
>>> who texted back "Good.  That makes me feel better"  .  Today I 
>>> taught two sections of my general ed science course on Coral Reefs 
>>> and before I had even started the first lecture a student had 
>>> approached me to ask if it was true.  I had planned ahead and put a 
>>> link to the original article and a rebuttal into my lecture and made 
>>> it an area of discussion for the day.  More than half the students 
>>> in each of the two sections had seen
>> the
>>> obituary, and I'd say they seemed to have lots of concerns, and not 
>>> one thought is was satirical or a possible future event.  They read 
>>> it as a news feed.
>>> 
>>> While I was glad to have something to discuss and to have some truly 
>>> concerned and interested students, I guess I am more worried about 
>>> the "crying wolf" effect.  Its hard to explain both that reefs 
>>> aren't dead
>> and
>>> that their predicament was exaggerated while at the same time 
>>> stressing that they are still in fact in dire danger going 
>>> forward... its easy to lose the subtleties in such conversations.
>>> 
>>> In anycase, this is BIG NEWS among Americans on Facebook (I don't 
>>> know about elsewhere), and at least those in the US should plan a 
>>> response because we will probably be asked..
>>> 
>>> ...Hal
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Tue, Oct 18, 2016 at 9:58 AM, Dennis Hubbard < 
>>> dennis.hubbard at oberlin.edu>
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> As I remember, there was a disclaimer that this was a "future" obituary...
>> We
>>> 
>>> have waaaaaaaaaaay too much time on our hands if we spend any time 
>>> going
>>> 
>>> back and forth on this one.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Dennis
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Mon, Oct 17, 2016 at 11:07 AM, Steve Mussman 
>>> <sealab at earthlink.net>
>>> 
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Dear Doug,
>>> 
>>> Yes, it seems that the article/obituary has set off a firestorm. I
>>> 
>>> took
>>> 
>>> it
>>> 
>>> as  satire, but it seems that many readers and scientific purists 
>>> felt
>>> 
>>> betrayed. Does it hurt legitimate science? Does it fuel 
>>> indifference
>>> 
>>> and
>>> 
>>> hopelessness?  I'm not sure, but it did get people talking about 
>>> the
>>> 
>>> state
>>> 
>>> of coral reefs and I believe that's better than neglect.. After 
>>> all,
>>> 
>>> the
>>> 
>>> higher purpose of satire is to be sure to infuse it with "the 
>>> intent
>>> 
>>> of
>>> 
>>> shaming  individuals, corporations, government, or society itself 
>>> into
>>> 
>>> improvement". You can't deny that in that sense, this is exactly 
>>> what
>>> 
>>> the
>>> 
>>> coral doctor ordered.
>>> 
>>> Regards, Steve
>>> 
>>> ---Original Message-----
>>> 
>>> 
>>> From: Douglas Fenner
>>> 
>>> Sent: Oct 17, 2016 4:19 AM
>>> 
>>> To: coral list
>>> 
>>> Subject: [Coral-List] Has the death of the Great Barrier Reef been
>>> 
>>>   greatly exaggerated??
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Here's the piece that seems to have started this debate off:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Obituary: Great Barrier Reef (25 million BC- 2016)
>>> 
>>> 
>>> http://www.outsideonline.com/2112086/obituary-great-
>>> 
>>> barrier-reef-25-milli
>>> 
>>>   on-bc-2016
>>> 
>>> 
>>> A quick search on "is the Great Barrier Reef dead" produced a
>>> 
>>> myriad
>>> 
>>> of
>>> 
>>> hits, including:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Great Barrier Reef obituary goes viral, to the horror of
>>> 
>>> scientists.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/scientists-take-on-
>>> 
>>> great-barrier-reef
>>> 
>>>   -obituary_us_57fff8f1e4b0162c043b068f
>>> 
>>> ?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> An irresponsible obituary for the Great Barrier Reef has gone
>>> 
>>> viral-
>>> 
>>>   here's
>>> 
>>> what's actually going on.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> http://www.businessinsider.com/coral-bleaching-viral-
>>> 
>>> obituary-what-actual
>>> 
>>>   ly-going-on-2016-10
>>> 
>>> 
>>> The Great Barrier Reef isn't dead, in spite of its viral obituary
>>> 
>>> 
>>> https://www.yahoo..com/news/great-barrier-reef-isnt-dead-
>>> 
>>> 134129631.html
>>> 
>>> 
>>> and many more.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Cheers, Doug
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --
>>> 
>>> Douglas Fenner
>>> 
>>> Contractor for NOAA NMFS, and consultant
>>> 
>>> "have regulator, will travel"
>>> 
>>> PO Box 7390
>>> 
>>> Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799 USA
>>> 
>>> 
>>> phone 1 684 622-7084
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Join the International Society for Reef Studies. Membership
>>> 
>>> includes
>>> 
>>> a
>>> 
>>> subscription to the journal Coral Reefs, and there are discounts
>>> 
>>> for
>>> 
>>> pdf
>>> 
>>> subscriptions and developing countries. Coral Reefs is the only
>>> 
>>> journal
>>> 
>>> that is ALL coral reef articles, and it has amazingly LOW prices
>>> 
>>> compared
>>> 
>>> to other journals. Check it out! www.fit.edu/isrs/
>>> 
>>> 
>>> "Belief in climate change is optional, participation is not."- Jim
>>> 
>>>   Beever.
>>> 
>>> "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not to their own
>>> 
>>>   facts."-
>>> 
>>> Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Policy: hasten the end of dated fossil-fuel subsidies
>>> 
>>> http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v538/n7624/full/
>>> 
>>> 538171c.html?WT.ec_i
>>> 
>>>   d=NATURE-20161013&spMailingID=52515861&spUserID=
>>> 
>>> MjA1NTA3MjA0OQS2&spJobID=1
>>> 
>>>   022286029&spReportId=MTAyMjI4NjAyOQS2
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Visuallizing the warmest August in 136 years.
>>> 
>>> http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/earthmatters/2016/
>>> 
>>> 09/12/heres-how-
>>> 
>>>   the-warmest-august-in-136-years-looks-in-chart-form/
>>> 
>>> 
>>> website: http://independent.academia.edu/DouglasFenner
>>> 
>>> 
>>> blog: http://ocean.si.edu/blog/reefs-american-samoa-story-hope
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> 
>>> Coral-List mailing list
>>> 
>>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>>> 
>>> http://coral.aoml..noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> 
>>> Coral-List mailing list
>>> 
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>>> 
>>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --
>>> 
>>> Dennis Hubbard
>>> 
>>> Chair, Dept of Geology-Oberlin College Oberlin OH 44074
>>> 
>>> (440) 775-8346
>>> 
>>> 
>>> * "When you get on the wrong train.... every stop is the wrong 
>>> stop"*
>>> 
>>> Benjamin Stein: "*Ludes, A Ballad of the Drug and the Dream*"
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> 
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>>> 
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>>> 
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>>> 
>>> 
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> 
> 
> --
> "Soon you will learn how to catch this pebble from my palm, grasshoppa"
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