Earth Advocate

“When it comes to salmon, Alaska is a little like a wise old man sitting on a far northern perch overlooking the destruction that humanity has wrought farther south. Almost visibly, the shock wave from the global near eradication of wild salmon seems written into the landscape of this richest of seafood states.” -Paul Greenberg, Four Fish

It’s strange to think that we as human beings have so much power and influence over which species thrive and which do not on this planet (whether it be direct or indirect). If humans have the power to nearly eradicate an entire industry of fishing, let alone entire species of wild salmon, then surely we have the power to stop, take a step back, and reassess our actions.

As I prepare to head out to Cordova, I’m beginning to realize that many people do not understand the magnitude of their actions and how those actions affect other species as well as our climate. Humans, fish, water, trees, air; we’re all connected. I’m ready to be out in the field writing, drawing, documenting, and sharing these connections in Alaska, in order to help others understand that what we have here is worth protecting and worth changing for.

5 days to go.

Kevin Camacho

We recently reported on how Hawaii could be facing the worst coral bleaching in its history this year as surrounding water temperatures rise at unprecedented rates. Now scientists are warning that it’s not just Hawaii but the entire world that is in the midst of the worst coral die off in history.

A consortium of scientists today from the University of Queensland, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), XL Catlin Seaview Survey and elsewhere confirmed today that we are facing a third global coral bleaching event. The first major global coral bleaching event occurred in 1998 when a “huge underwater heatwave” triggered by the El Niño of that year killed 16 percent of the coral reefs around the world, according to the group. The second bleaching event was triggered by the El Niño of 2010.

NOAA is “predicting another strong El Niño and has now announced the third global bleaching event,” says the group. “The event is expected to impact approximately 38 percent of the world’s coral reefs by the end of this year and kill over 12,000 square kilometers [4,600 square miles] of reefs.”

The massive bleaching has occurred in recent years because of rising temperatures. Coral reefs, often referred to as “rainforests of the sea” simply “haven’t been able to adapt to the higher base temperatures of the ocean,” say the scientists. “Although reefs represent less than 0.1 percent of the world’s ocean floor, they help support approximately 25 percent of all marine species. As a result, the livelihoods of 500 million people and income worth over $30 billion are at stake.”

The University of Queensland’s Global Change Institute director Ove Hoegh-Guldberg told The Guardian “the current event was directly in line with predictions he made in 1999 that continued global temperature rise would lead to the complete loss of coral reefs by the middle of this century.”

“It’s certainly on that road to a point about 2030 when every year is a bleaching year … So unfortunately I got it right,” he said.

Coral reefs are threatened on so many fronts. “Today, many coral reefs are threatened by overfishing and pollution, as well as ocean acidification, disease and warmer ocean temperatures,” says NOAA. “Even if corals survive a mass bleaching event, their vulnerability to infectious disease increases and their ability to reproduce decreases.” The coral scientists estimate we’ve lost 40 percent of corals around the globe in the last 30 years alone.