[Coral-List] CO2 and the inconvenient truth
Dr. James M Cervino
cnidaria at earthlink.net
Wed Nov 1 14:41:40 UTC 2006
Dear Coral Ecologists, Physiologists, and Pathologists,
Since this is a discussion forum that focuses on the latest issues
affecting coral reef health I have a consensus question pertaining to
this shocking new report titled NEW CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT GUIDE
PROVIDES STRATEGIES TO CONSERVE WORLD'S CORAL REEFS that was
published on 10-11-2006 by various agencies.
I am giving a presentation tonight in NYC at 4pm focusing on thermal
coral reef bleaching, before the showing of the Al Gore Film titled
'An Inconvenient Truth'. I have a few questions for all of the
dedicated scientists on this list regarding this latest strategy that
is supposed to "increase our understanding of the phenomenon of coral
bleaching".
#1) Knowing that CO2 and other heat trapping gasses produced by the
worlds wealthiest countries are responsible for the massive heat
stroke corals are undergoing in the last 25 years is it honest to
implement at strategy for the world to follow that will simply not
work?
When asked tonight if the 3 following suggestions below will help
save the worlds reefs what shall I say:
The Repor Says:
(1) increase observations of reef condition before, during and after
bleaching to increase information and understanding of impacts and
areas that may be especially resistant to bleaching, (2) reduce
stressors (e.g., pollution, human use) on reefs during severe
bleaching events to help corals survive the event, and (3) design and
implement reef management strategies to support reef recovery and
resilience, including reducing land- based pollution and protecting
coral areas that may resist bleaching and serve as sources of coral
larvae for "reseeding" reefs.
#2) Why are we not speaking out against this report? Is it out fear
of not getting funding from federal agencies? Are we so afraid to
speak the Inconvenient Truth and say that the only way to save corals
from heat stroke is to DRASTICALLY reduce carbon emissions beyond the
Kyoto Protocol? I respect James Hansen (formally at NASA) for
speaking up and telling the real Inconvenient Truth Regarding global
warming! Can the coral reef scientists speak out and say that this
federal report is spurious in nature?
#3) According to strategy#3 of the report : Will the USA begin to
reduce the large amounts of sewage and fertilizers that are spilling
out into the reefs? Can someone point me in the direction of this
new amazing plan that is part of a federally funded program that
begins to implement tertiary treatment in South Florida and the US
Virgin Islands?
Since I was part of a large population that helped fund this federal
report from the tax dollars deducted from our checks it is not honest
to say that if we follow these suggestions from this federally funded
report that it will help corals survive climate change ? We need to
protest this report.
I needed this report to jump start my presentation prep, James
Oct. 11, 2006
NEW CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT GUIDE PROVIDES STRATEGIES TO CONSERVE
WORLD'S CORAL REEFS
Innovative strategies to conserve the world's coral reefs are
included in a new guide released today by NOAA, the Australian Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and The World Conservation Union
(IUCN). "A Reef Manager's Guide to Coral Bleaching" will provide
coral reef managers with the latest scientific information on the
causes of coral bleaching and new management strategies for
responding to this significant threat to coral reef ecosystems.
The reef manager's guide, developed in partnership with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and
other organizations, grew out of a 2002 resolution by the U.S. Coral
Reef Task Force calling for development of information and tools for
coral reef managers to address threats from coral bleaching. The reef
manager's guide can be found online at www.coralreef.noaa.gov and
includes contributions from over 50 experts in coral bleaching and
coral reef management.
"By implementing actions suggested in the guide, coral reef managers
are in a unique position to increase our understanding of the
phenomenon of coral bleaching, to take meaningful action during a
bleaching event, and to develop strategies to support the natural
resilience of reefs in the face of long-term changes in climate,"
said David Kennedy, manager of NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation
Program, which helped produce the guide.
The reef manager's guide reviews management actions that can help
restore and maintain resilience of coral reef ecosystems. This review
draws on a growing body of research on ways to support the ability of
coral reef ecosystems to survive and recover from bleaching events.
The reef manager's guide includes specific guidance and case studies
on how to prepare bleaching response plans, assess impacts from
bleaching, engage the public, manage activities that may impact
reefs during bleaching events, identify resilient reef areas, and
incorporate information regarding reef resilience into marine
protected area design.
The reef manager's guide also supports a major goal of the U.S.
Administration's Climate Change Science Program - to "Understand the
sensitivity and adaptability of different natural and managed
ecosystems and human systems to climate and related global changes" -
by providing managers with options for sustaining and improving
ecological systems and related goods and services, given projected
global changes.
-2-
The guide identifies three key actions reef managers can take to help
reefs survive and recover from mass bleaching events: (1) increase
observations of reef condition before, during and after bleaching to
increase information and understanding of impacts and areas that may
be especially resistant to bleaching, (2) reduce stressors (e.g.,
pollution, human use) on reefs during severe bleaching events to help
corals survive the event, and (3) design and implement reef
management strategies to support reef recovery and resilience,
including reducing land- based pollution and protecting coral areas
that may resist bleaching and serve as sources of coral larvae for
"reseeding" reefs.
--
**************************************************
Dr. James M. Cervino, MS, Ph.D.
Marine Pathology
Department of Biological & Health Sciences
Pace University New York NYC
Phone: (917) 620-5287
Web site: http://www.globalcoral.org
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