10 Disastrous Consequences Of Man-Made Climate Change
6. Coral Reefs Are Dying All Over The World
Coral Reefs are some of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the planet, but they are also one of the most delicate. Small changes to the ocean’s temperature and acidity level can have widespread consequences to a reef system, and we are already seeing the effects of this all over the world.
The most well-known reef system is the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia, and it is in danger of disappearing. Sir Richard Attenborough noted how “The Great Barrier Reef is in grave danger. The twin perils brought by climate change – an increase in the temperature of the ocean and in its acidity – threaten its very existence.”
30% of the CO2 released by human activity doesn’t go into the atmosphere and is instead absorbed into the oceans. That rise in CO2 has changed the chemistry of the water, and the result is the widespread bleaching and death of coral across the globe.
The loss of coral leads to the loss of all the species that depend on it, which affects humans directly by leading to the destruction of fishing industries. More than half the population relies on fish for as much as 15% of their animal protein intake with hundreds of millions relying solely on aquaculture industries for the majority of their sustenance.