By Michael Slezak
Marine life from the Australian Conservation Foundation’s trip to Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef.
Here on Heron Island, (click here) you could be forgiven for thinking everything is calm on the Great Barrier Reef. There are kilometres of gorgeous coral and a bustling ecosystem around it – huge schools of colourful fish, turtles, rays and sharks.
It is the reef you grew up seeing on documentaries.
And, above the water, the reef is supporting an astounding colony of birds – everything from clumsy mutton birds that fall into trees and haunt the island at night, to cheeky white-capped noddies that appear almost interested in the people walking around. Above it all is a pair of soaring sea eagles, circling the island.
However, driven by climate change, the northern parts of the reef are suffering the worst bleaching ever recorded there. Stark images of ghostly white corals are coming out daily, as scientists document the damage that warm waters are doing to the reef....
I think "The Guardian" has the topic most correct. The heating of Earth is about priorities. Where does a society place it's priorities in the world, on a planet for it's children or a continuation of fossil fuels for energy causing enormous problems.
It is the priority of what is the focus of a country's governance. No government official can stand in opposition of scientists with credentials. It is not about believing the scientists, it is about taking the information they provide and placing it in priority of governance.
...And in corridors and offices on the mainland, a brand new chapter is beginning in an epic environmental battle that’s been going for half a century: the fight between the world’s largest structure of living things on the one side, and the mining industry on the other.
This battle could be a win not just for the Great Barrier Reef but also for any other world heritage area in Australia that is threatened by climate change. And it could add another roadblock to new fossil fuel projects too....
