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Article: Dear EarthTalk: I've heard about the die-off of coral reefs due to global warming. I've also read that coral reefs themselves store carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the main global warming gases. So if coral reefs are dying out, isn't that a double whammy that increases the CO2 in the atmosphere?
- Article from:
- EarthTalk: Questions & Answers About Our Environment. A Weekly Column
- Article date:
- October 14, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Earth Action Network, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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--Tom Ozzello, Maplewood, MN
According to marine scientists, the world's coral reefs--those underwater repositories for biodiversity that play host to some 25 percent of all marine life--are in big trouble as a result of global warming. Data collected by the international environmental group WWF (formerly World Wildlife Fund) show that 20 percent of the world's coral reefs have been effectively destroyed and show no immediate sign of recovery, while about 50 percent of remaining reefs are under imminent or long-term threat of collapse.
Most scientists now agree that global warming is not a natural phenomenon but a direct result of the continual release ...