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Article: Pink coral into grey rubble.(reports blames death of coral reefs in Indian Ocean on global warming)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- October 28, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Economist Newspaper Ltd. 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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MARINE biologists, studying the death of coral reefs in the Indian Ocean--stretching from South Africa to India, plus all those islands-- have provided dramatic evidence of global warming. In the past, news of this kind has tended to be kept secret for fear of scaring away the tourists who pay to dive, swim and snorkel among the corals. But a study published this week, "Coral Reef Degradation in the Indian Ocean" (CORDIO), concludes that 50-95% of the ocean's coral reefs have died in the past two years.
"A large part of the most diverse eco-system on the planet has simply tipped over," says Olof Linden, the report's Swedish co-editor. Coral reefs are an essential ...