[Coral-List] What does this new analysis tell us???

[Steve Mussman]

Dear Doug,

While I haven’t read the entire report, I’ve reviewed enough to say that I haven’t yet found anything that is cause for celebration. Yes, it’s great that there coral reefs out there that “haven’t yet had bad declines”, but unfortunately there is no denying the more conspicuous trend. Perhaps I’m just wired for pessimism, but this curmudgeon finds no comfort or solace in conclusions that reinforce my despair. In fact, I try my best to look for reasons for hope. But until I see real signs of progress in dealing with water quality issues, over-fishing and climate change I have no choice but to keep cheerfulness at bay. (Don’t forget, we have discussed ocean-optimism here at length and that too has its drawbacks). I wouldn’t equate the forebodings of the coral science community with (the moral of the story of) “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” because the vast majority of ominous warnings about the future of the world’s coral reefs are anything but fanciful musings - for me, they are simply all too real.

Warm regards,

Steve