Many of you may have seen this now viral article circulating from Outside Magazine, "Obituary: Great Barrier Reef (25 Million BC-2016)".
Let's not begin funeral arrangements just yet. The Great Barrier Reef is not dead, but it is dying. To a pessimist, the two are one in the same, but let's be clear, there is still hope. Allow me pose a situation to you. You are on life support, and things look bleak, but there is a chance that you can recover. Would you want your family to just pull the plug and accept the situation based on the worst possible outcome, or would you try?
I'm not going to lie. The reality of the situation isn't pretty. 2016 saw the most sever coral bleaching event on record, impacting 93% of the reef and resulting into the loss of 22% of the reef, with 85% of that mortality occurring in the northern third. But 22% is not 100%. It doesn't take an Isaac Newton to see that.
A brief look at trending news topics on social media platforms and news outlets shows that this emotional, urgency invoking, though sensational article has struck a chord with people around the world. I have begun seeing friends spreading the news, like somewhere in the virtual cloud, some church bells are ringing out to announce the passing of the ancient and magnificent reef. I am at once both excited at the attention it is getting, and terrified that the vast majority of people who see the "obituary" will take the title for what it is. The reef is dead. There is no hope.
Now is not the time to be a pessimist. Now is not the time to kneel in defeat, a defeat we would have brought on entirely though our own selfishness as a species. Instead, I have another proposal.
The Great Barrier Reef, a 25 million year old wonder of the world, is in trouble. It is dying and it needs our help. It needs a grassroots cultural change. It needs to be seen, to be respected, and to be saved. It won't happen overnight, and it won't happen from the actions of one individual. There are many causes to this tragedy, but there are also many efforts to reverse the damage.
Join the effort yourself, today:
