After reading An Athabasca Story and viewing the photo essay on the Alberta Tar Sands I was shocked at what I read. An Athabasca Story is an actual reality because up in Canada these tar sands are dug up and cleaned out until it is just bitumen. The production of extracting bitumen from these sands produces 3-4 times more green house gas emissions than regular oil. The smell of this process is horrendous as well, even An Athabasca Story mentions how horrific the smell is, “And the smell! It was worse than his most sulfurous farts, the ones he got when he ate moose guts and antlers. It was like being trapped in a bag with something dead” (Cariou 70). But upon learning about these tar sands I thought, how much is the emission of these carbon and green house gases really affecting the rest of the globe?
One large and important part of the world is being affected by all the carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia is deteriorating at a surprisingly quick pace. The article Top 10 Places Already Affected By Climate Change discusses how the oceans have absorbed a third of the gases produced by the industrial revolution. Since the oceans have absorbed these gases the water has completely shifted the pH scale and the sea animals are able to feel these affects. Ocean water is becoming warmer and the coral reefs are being bleached and starting to die off. Once the coral starts dying off fish and other sea life will start to as well. And once fish start going a chain reaction will begin to occur. At what point will it be our time to die off?
Over the course of the next one hundred years the effects on the Great Barrier Reef are set to increase. The rainfall and amount of storms will increase thus causing damage to the reef. Since these storms will be more frequent the reef will have less time to recover and repair itself of the damages. As the ocean becomes more acidic the corals skeletons are weakened so they will be more likely to break or protect themselves from diseases. Right now it might not seem like that big of a deal but what about when communities start being affected? How do we get people to recognize what is going on down under and what we can do to help the marine life?
Not only will marine life be affected but costal communities, the fishing industry, and tourism. If all the fish and coral die off there is no where to fish and not very many people will want to pay to snorkel with nothing. In order to preserve the Great Barrier Reef we must reduce the amount of green house gases produced. I know this seems like a difficult task but it’s really not. Just by doing simple things around your house daily such as recycling, unplugging electronics when not in use, use water efficiently and use Energy Star light bulbs. If we all do these daily tasks we will be able to save the reefs.
I definitely agree that we all need to step in to save the Great Barrier Reef. I have always been interested in marine life and find the Great Barrier Reef to be so fascinating. I hope to go snorkel there one day, but if it no longer is there due to climate change then I won’t be able to do that. It is really sad because there is a large amount of diverse marine life that live in the Great Barrier Reef and if that is destroyed, then those organisms will no longer have a home. It also affects the tourism and the fishing industry in Australia as well. So ultimately it will be impacting many people in a negative way.
I also agree that we need to be conscientious of our affect on the natural world…and especially the Great Barrier Reef. Having gone there myself, I can vouch for how essential it is for our environment. The size and importance of it are imperative. I think that people just need to see the affect that they are having on the natural world. People need some frame of reference so that they can fully understand the change that they personally are contributing.
The Great Barrier Reef is an excellent example of something that is currently being impacted by climate change. The article with the photos you provided was also a great resource since many claim to not see the effects of climate change yet in their immediate lives. To see how much of an impact this issue has already created, and the wide variety of areas it has effected is a scary thought. With Oregon having such a diverse and unique marine life population as well, I fear it is only a matter of time before we start to observe the effects of climate change on our own coast. Hopefully for both locations, changes can be made before the effects become too detrimental.
Being as though I have never been to Australia, I immediately thought of Finding Nemo and how if that movie were to take place today, instead of 11 years ago, what would it look like. How, as you mentioned, the Great Barrier Reef dying off will negatively impact the economy of Australia since that’s obviously a tourist attraction. Also, was I the only one to notice how much the country/continent of Australia would be impacted from climate change?
This was very concerning to me because I am very interested in travel. There are so many naturally beautiful places on our earth and if we continue the way we are they will all begin to change from global warming just as the Great Barrier Reef has. It is sad that we are not doing everything we can to preserve our world.
I really like this blog post because it is a direct consequence of global warming and its something that’s happening right now. And you’re right, if we continue to do the activities that end up killing marine life and ruining the barrier reef, when will what we do have a great enough impact to wear human life becomes so greatly affected? Definitely food for thought.
The article you presented about places that have already been affected by climate change was very interesting as it shows that climate change is already here, and it’s not going anywhere. It’s so sad to think that some of the great wonders of the world may be coming to an end simply because of our mistakes.
I thought this was an interesting post, because I had no idea that there were places that were being heavily effected by GHG emissions. But it shines light on what we need to do for the future, we need to actively participate in helping our world survive. If we don’t another country will severely be affected in terms of tourism, economic wealth, and social well being.
I totally agree. I think saving our oceans and the Great Barrier reef is extremely important right now because if people do not start doing some daily tasks to save it they will no longer be there anymore. I always think about the future and what is going to be left when our children are alive and how we want them to see the things we are seeing right now.
I agree with all of your observations and arguments. The tar sands are very destructive to our environment, and this extends past the quality of our air. The Great Barrier reef is a necessity for the prosperity of millions of sea creatures and it is slowly dying. Each generation that passes is witnessing the destruction of one of the most important pieces of sea life. Hopefully there is a change or our children’s generation will not get to witness the beauty of the reef, among many other wonders of the world that are being destroyed thanks to climate change.
What comment really got to me about this blog post is when you said, “When will it be our time to die off?”. It is a very true and terrifying question. We need to take this very seriously that our coral reefs and ocean life is starting to slowly die off. This could cause a major chain reaction and greatly affect our lives for the worse.