[Coral-List] Australian contest for ideas to save their reef

Douglas Fenner douglasfennertassi at gmail.com
Tue Jan 23 22:09:45 EST 2018


    Thanks, Jon, and Jim Hardcastle.  I was thinking along the same lines.
We know what the major causes of the decline are and the biggest future
threat.  But they are expensive to fix, Queensland is something like the
world's largest exporter of coal, and is opening up a giant new mine last I
knew.  While Australian emissions are a very small part of the world
emissions, per person emissions are among the highest in the world.  With
the vast deserts the country has (Bill Bryson calls it the "sunburnt land),
very little if any electricity is generated from solar electricity or wind
as far as I know.  Getting reductions in nutrient runoff from farms won't
be easy.  If I remember, the Great Barrier Reef brings in something like $2
billion a year.  This program is for a paltry 1/1000th of that amount ($2
million).  If I had an income of $1000, I think I'd be willing to spend
more than $1 to protect it.  To its credit, Australia does fund a lot of
other things, like GBRMPA (GBR Marine Park Authority), AIMS (Australian
Institute of Marine Science, JCU (James Cook University), etc etc. and
produces a prodigious amount of top quality research on coral reefs.  This
new program is tiny compared to all of that.
    Usually solutions to difficult problems aren't trivially inexpensive or
magically easy.  We actually know what the greatest problems are and what
solutions would look like, but they will require significant commitments to
social change and reductions in emissions and leaving fossil fuels in the
ground.  But that is too much profit foregone, it would seem.
     Of course, the United States doesn't even have this sort of program,
and currently appears unlikely to do much of anything about reducing
emissions, and is trying to ramp up fossil fuel production.  And it has
released by far the largest total amount of CO2 of any country over time
(China isn't even close!), and is running a close second to China currently
in annual emissions, I believe.
    Cheers,  Doug

On Mon, Jan 22, 2018 at 5:05 PM, Brodie, Jon <jon.brodie at jcu.edu.au> wrote:

> Re: Doug Fenner's post: Unfortunately this is just another "miracle
> solutions" farce in line with many other recently funding projects to "save
> the reef". The Australian Government promote these to distract from their
> unwillingness to manage climate change (through emissions control in
> Australia) or terrestrially sourced pollution discharge to the GBR (through
> lack of adequate funding and refusal to enforce existing legislation). Sad
> days for the GBR.
>
> Yesterday another A$60 million was announced to continue funding programs
> even Government reports admit don't work! They are 1. culling crown of
> thorns starfish and 2. paying farmers to reduce pollution!
>
> Cheers
>
> Jon
>
> Jon Brodie
> Professorial Research Fellow
> Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
> James Cook University
> Townsville
> Ph. +61 (0) 407127030
> https://www.coralcoe.org.au/person/jon-brodie
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:coral-list-bounces@
> coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Douglas Fenner
> Sent: Tuesday, 23 January 2018 11:21 AM
> To: coral list <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Subject: [Coral-List] Australian contest for ideas to save their reef
>
> Your bright idea could save the biggest reef on earth.  (National
> Geographic)
>
> https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/01/australia-great-barrier-
> reef-coral-bleaching-conservation-competition-spd/
>
> Open-access.
>
> Cheers,  Doug
>
> --
> Douglas Fenner
> Contractor for NOAA NMFS Protected Species, and consultant PO Box 7390
> Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799  USA
>
> New online open-access field guide to 300 coral species in Chagos, Indian
> Ocean http://chagosinformationportal.org/corals
> <http://chagosinformationportal.org/corals==>
>
> Coral reefs are bleaching too frequently to recover
> https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/01/the-
> global-scourge-on-coral-reefs/549713/?utm_source=atlfb
> <https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/01/the-
> global-scourge-on-coral-reefs/549713/?utm_source=atlfb==>
>
> How to save the "tropical rainforests" of the ocean
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/
> 01/09/coral-reefs/?tid=ss_tw-bottom&utm_term=.80ce291c546b
> <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/
> 01/09/coral-reefs/?tid=ss_tw-bottom&utm_term=.80ce291c546b==>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Douglas Fenner
> Contractor for NOAA NMFS Protected Species, and consultant PO Box 7390
> Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799  USA
>
> New online open-access field guide to 300 coral species in Chagos, Indian
> Ocean http://chagosinformationportal.org/corals
>
> Even without El Nino, 2017 temperatures soared.
>
> http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/01/even-without-el-
> ni-o-2017-temperatures-still-soared?utm_campaign=news_
> weekly_2018-01-19&et_rid=17045989&et_cid=1800664
>
> Coral reefs are bleaching too frequently to recover
> https://www.theatlantic..com/science/archive/2018/01/the-
> global-scourge-on-coral-reefs/549713/?utm_source=atlfb
>
> How to save the "tropical rainforests" of the ocean
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/
> 01/09/coral-reefs/?tid=ss_tw-bottom&utm_term=.80ce291c546b
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
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>



-- 
Douglas Fenner
Contractor for NOAA NMFS Protected Species, and consultant
PO Box 7390
Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799  USA

New online open-access field guide to 300 coral species in Chagos, Indian
Ocean
http://chagosinformationportal.org/corals

Even without El Nino, 2017 temperatures soared.

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/01/even-without-el-ni-o-2017-temperatures-still-soared?utm_campaign=news_weekly_2018-01-19&et_rid=17045989&et_cid=1800664

Coral reefs are bleaching too frequently to recover
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/01/the-global-scourge-on-coral-reefs/549713/?utm_source=atlfb

How to save the "tropical rainforests" of the ocean
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/01/09/coral-reefs/?tid=ss_tw-bottom&utm_term=.80ce291c546b


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