[Coral-List] Ocean Optimism and communication concerning the global environmental crisis

[Franziska Elmer]

Dear Steve and Peter and other coral reef listers,

I am a stubborn optimist and still have hope that we can tackle the climate crisis. Maybe even to an extent that we continue to live in a world were coral reefs can still exist. However, the only way we can succeed with the tremendous task of transformation is for society and governments to treat climate change as an emergency and crisis as is done with COVID-19. As scientists we are the ones giving expert advice to society and governments. If our expert advice is "Yay, coral restoration works" then their take away is "reefs aren't doing well but the scientists have found a way to save them and we don't need to transform". We have not rung the alarm bells strong enough, or we rang them after the 2018 IPCC and then went back to our usual day to day tasks, which showed the world that to us this isnt an emergency either. We have to show the world that we as coral reef scientists are in an emergency state: the ecosystem we love is dissappearing in front of our eyes, our jobs will dissapear with it. Many of our homes and communities  are already impacted by climate change or have a large likelyhood to be in the future. We can't go on with business as usual, so if you aren't in an emergency state then please ask yourself "Am I denying the magnitude of the climate crisis and the transformation needed to prevent the worst outcomes?"
So what can you do if you consider this an emergency and want the governments to act? You can do a lot, after all you are a scientists which comes with respect, easy access to media, good knowledge of the facts and often excellent public speaking skills. Let's use our super powers and help the rest of the world to wake up!

Countries are making their new Paris targets right now. According to Christiana Figueres, the former UNFCCC Executive Secretary, these targets will be bolder and more ambitious the more companies make bold and ambitious targets and the more people are out on the streets protesting and engaging in non-violent civil disobedience. Please consider joining such actions or organizing them yourself as we need them for saving our coral reefs and every extra person who joins makes a difference.

Six colleagues of mine and I are also hosting an event this Wednesday where we talk about our experiences with unleashing our scientist super powers and I would love for any of you who want to start their journey to join us and get inspired.

Topic: The power of scientists - examples of how scientists help raise awareness for climate change.
Time: Mar 24, 2021 04:00 PM Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89010314001?pwd=eHVVZVQzOS9LV1F4WmVOcWx2T3Rodz09

Meeting ID: 890 1031 4001
Passcode: 989422

with love for the ocean and rage against the inactivity,

Franziska Elmer , PhD
https://franziskaelmer.weebly.com/