Lindsey Maschler, Week 2: Our Coral Reefs Are Dying

 Coral reefs are very underrated. Not only are they beautiful, but they are also homes to thousands of fish and living creatures in our ocean, and actually have a lot of effects on land. Over the summer, I did a lot of community service in the Florida Keys, and one of the organizations I worked with was the coral restoration foundation. The main goal was to restore coral reefs by out-planting coral and trying to help our ocean whenever possible. Something most people don’t know is that corals are actually animals, which is why I think they are in such bad shape today. By people not knowing they are alive, they tend to not care as much about them and would rather care about a different kind of animal. 

The main reason our reefs are dying is because of humans. By pollution, overfishing, climate change, bleaching due to the rising ocean temperatures, and people simply not realizing what they are doing, we are destroying one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on our planet. As of today, about 25% of coral reefs have disappeared and about two-thirds of the coral reefs are at risk to disappear as well.  Since 1975, more than 90% of the reefs in the Florida Keys have died. The reefs are also homes to other marine life, and if they don’t have a habitat, then they will not survive, and the marine life that counts on those species will do the same thing, over and over until there is no life left in our oceans. 

As someone who has been scuba diving and exploring our oceans since I was around 10 years old, the thought of the coral reefs dying is very scary, for multiple reasons. I have also learned that due to the coral reefs dying in about 80 years if things stay the same that they are right now, we will have little to no air. But let’s say we do have air, it will not be the quality that we are used to, and people will not be happy and wish they did something when they could. By everyone doing small changes, there will be a huge effect on our reefs, and our ecosystems in general. Do you want our coral reefs to die?

Comments

  1. AnonymousSep 13, 2021, 9:59:00 PM

    I do not want our coral reefs to die. I agree that us humans are killing our planet, and in this case specifically our coral reefs. I researched deep into this subject last year and it is also killing sea life and the food chain too. If we keep this up, we might lose all sea life by 2050, and thats where we get most of our oxygen...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mrs. HSep 15, 2021, 10:34:00 AM

    This is so heartbreaking. When you dive around reefs, one of the first things they tell you is to not touch the coral at all. It's important to protect, both for the animals making up the reef and for our own environment.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSep 15, 2021, 5:22:00 PM

    That's really cool that you've been scuba diving for years, I've always wanted to learn how to! Reading this is frightening, and it definitely gives us another perspective about what's going on in other places that may not seem so important to us. I think that it's crucial that everyone knows this information because if people knew that if they just played there part in cleaning up the garbage they find on the street, or using cars less to get around would help our environment and these coral reefs, then maybe they would do it. Thank you so much for sharing this crazy information and bringing it to our attention!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSep 16, 2021, 9:05:00 PM

    I remember a couple of years ago when I went snorkeling a few miles off of Key West at a coral reef. It took a very long time in order to find a coral reef for us to snorkel at. It must have been because many of the closer or shallower coral reefs had already died. The coral reef was an amazing place, and it is disheartening to hear that they are disappearing. I think that humans should be doing everything that they can in order to conserve the reefs.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousOct 20, 2021, 6:32:00 PM

    Similarly to Jack, I remember seeing little to no coral reefs when I went out snorkeling in the keys a few years ago. It's a shame that not enough people actually care enough to do anything about this problem. I guess we'll have to learn the hard way, if so. Hopefully though, people like you will raise awareness about this issue and fix these reefs and the processes that kill them so that we don't run out of air!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ben Nikpour - Week 10: Oscar Viewers are Dropping

Image
     Before a few days ago, I did not know much about the Oscars. I knew it was an award show, but besides that, I was basically clueless. It wasn’t until the Will Smith and Chris Rock situation that I spent the time to look into what the Oscars are.       For some background, the Oscars, properly known as the Academy Awards, are awarded to artists in the film industry. The first show was in May of 1929. At its peak, in 1998, the Oscars brought in over 55 million viewers; that same year was the release of one of the biggest movies of all time: Titanic. Since then, viewers have been dropping. In 2020, the Oscars had their lowest amount of viewers with only 24 million people watching the event. In 2021, the Oscars broke their 2020 record of lowest viewers by only bringing in less than 11 million people. This year the Oscars brought in close to 17 million viewers which is an improvement but not by much. Award shows like the Grammys, Emmys, Golden Globes, ...
Read more

Noah Bard Week 1 - The Misunderstanding of our Modern-Day Gladiators

Image
   When I hear the word gladiator, I Immediately think of the Colosseum and humans being eaten by lions. However, times have changed, and so has the term gladiator. I’m talking about the sport of MMA, and more specifically, UFC fighters. Besides the few million crazed fight fans out there like myself, the current consensus about MMA is that it’s stupid. At face value, it’s a very sensible conclusion to make. Why in the world would anybody want to risk their lives on national television, or in that case at all? Well, here’s why.      Every day before that bell rings, these men and women are mastering the art of fighting. It takes much more than just supernatural athleticism; it ultimately comes down to the fighter's mental fortitude. Every slight move in the eyes, feet, and hands of your opponent must be taken into account to win. It’s a common stereotype to think that fighters aren’t very smart and not only because of what they do for a living, but oftentimes it...
Read more

Ariella Green Week 7: The Airport

Image
  Ariella Green Week 7: The Airport      Don’t ya hate going to the airport?       I absolutely can not stand going to the airport. As I’m sure most of you know, I am very organized and like to plan out everything. When things don’t go according to the plan, it stresses me out.       Thursday morning, I assumed I would have an easy experience flying from PBI to JFK on JetBlue airlines. Little did I know, there would be many little bumps along the way that I had to deal with while trying to catch my flight.       First, we arrive at the airport at around 10:30 for our 11:45 flight. I personally believe that you should always give yourself enough time at the airport, so you don’t have to rush at the gate or if you want to make a purchase. We also had to face the challenge of finding somewhere to park, which is nearly impossible sometimes. After searching for a while, we found...
Read more