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

Lescinsky, Halard hlescinsky at otterbein.edu
Wed Oct 19 14:20:30 EDT 2016


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
>
> _______________________________________________
>
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>
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>
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>
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> 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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