Destruction Of The Great Barrier Reef
To begin with, Did you know that The Great Barrier Reef is one of the biggest reefs in the world and contains over 2,900 individual reefs? It is located in the coral sea just off the coast of Queensland. But, what exactly is happening to this beautiful reef? When the ocean's waters get warmer, which is caused by a serious issue called Climate Change, it puts stress on the coral reefs. This leads to a phenomenon called coral bleaching. Coral bleaching is when coral expels the algae that live in their tissue, this algae, zooxanthellae, is what provides the coral with the oxygen they need to survive. When coral expels these algae it leaves them completely white. They are not dead, they are however extremely vulnerable. If coral loses large amounts of this algae for long periods they can unfortunately die. This phenomenon is happening right here in Australia, right now, in our beautiful Great Barrier Reef.
How will this affect me? If we do not take action on saving The Great Barrier Reef we are not only risking the wellbeing of our marine life but we are also risking the wellbeing of ourselves. The Great Barrier Reef is like the oceans natural filtration system which can enhance the quality of our water and control the amount of carbon dioxide in oceans, this means that coral can provide us with safe swimming water. The GBR is also a home to many fish species which is one of Australia's major food sources, without the GBR most fish species won't be able to survive, therefore will create a massive hole in the food chain. This also means a lot of Aussie Fisherman would lose their job. Believe it or not, but some important medicines can also only be found in coral, these medicines include some anti-inflammation, anti-viruses and medicines to relax tense muscles.
Now, what could you do to help? Did you know that although there are no real proven reef-safe sunscreens there are some sunscreens that have safer compounds? Next time when your buying sunscreens make sure they don't contain oxybenzone and octinoxate, which are both toxic to reefs and marine life. Next time you're at the beach make sure you've left nothing behind, start being mindful of how much water you waste in a day, this could be starting to shorten showers or drinking tap water. Lastly, when buying seafood try to find out if it has been caught responsibly.
In conclusion, why shouldn't we help this beautiful reef while we still can? By just doing the little things, you could be stepping that one step further for a world fit for future generations to live in.
