Coral bleaching a prevalent issue

By Claire Cudahy

It has been a difficult decade for our oceans with disasters such as the BP oil spill and the ever-expanding Great Pacific Garbage Patch and Atlantic Garbage Patch. As he old saying goes, when it rains, it pours.

Due to extreme heat this year, the world's coral reefs, spanning from Thailand to Texas, reacted by bleaching or shedding their color - a result of the expulsion of symbiotic algae living within the coral tissue.

Already many reefs have died, with more predicted to follow in the next few months.

Coral reefs, often referred to as the rainforests of the ocean, occupy less than one-tenth of one percent of the world's ocean surface, yet house 25 percent of all marine species.

Species that call these reefs home include fish, seabirds, worms, crustaceans, echinoderms, sea turtles and sea snakes. Additionally, coral reefs provide services for fisheries and billion dollar tourist economies.

When I first heard about coral bleaching, I was shocked. The beautifully colored, living habitat I loved to watch repeatedly on my worn set of Planet Earth DVDs was struggling for survival.

But even more shocking was that this wasn't the first time either.

The first global bleaching occurred in 1998 when 16 percent of the shallow-water reefs were estimated to have died.

The bleaching coincided with the warmest sea temperatures of the century. Scientists have cautioned for many years that corals, extremely sensitive to heat, would be an early indicator of planetary damage caused by greenhouse gases.

For years, coral reefs have been taking hits from pollution, fishing and disease, but it seems that the most damaging stress it faces is warmer water.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Hotspots website, temperatures in the Andaman Sea (including the coasts of Myanmar, Thailand, Andaman Islands, Indonesia, and Nicobar Islands) have risen to about 93 degrees Fahrenheit - a 7.2 degree increase from the long-term average.

In an interview with Our Amazing Planet, a web site that provides facts about Earth, Andrew Baird of James Cook University in Australia lamented the loss of these precious ecosystems, stating that, "Immediate and intensive management will be required to try and help these reefs, their fisheries and the entire ecosystem recover and adapt."

This rapid case of coral mortality is believed by some to be an indicator of global warming - a claim that I wholeheartedly agree with. Our environment is under attack by its toughest enemy: humanity.

Baird continues, saying, "coral reefs cannot be protected from the warming ocean temperatures brought on by a changing climate by local actions alone."

This serves as another salient reminder of the importance of the interantional efforts such as the Kyoto Protocal, which must succeed if we are to maintain our current environment. These sort of global initiatives allow for real and substantial reform to occur.

Without changes in our consumer culture, we are not only robbing the environment of a vital link in its food chain; but we are also robbing future generations of the opportunity to appreciate the organic wonders of the world.

Santa Clara's commitment to sustainability demands that we, as students, take notice of today's prevalent environmental issues, including coral bleaching.

The destruction of the environment is not the issue of one nation or another, it is a global issue with global implications.

But how can we, as students, help to prevent more destruction of the environment?

You can do your part by staying educated and by educating others on what is going on in the environment across the globe, not just in our own country.

The small everyday steps we take here: using the recycling and compost bins, buying local produce, and installing low flow toilets, make a huge difference when you add them up.

Though the coral reefs may not seem to directly affect us, the world population has collectively contributed to their struggle for life, so we must take responsibility and work towards a cleaner, more sustainable future.

Claire Cudahy is a junior English major.