The future of coral reefs depends on the effectiveness of the Paris Agreement adopted in 2015. Despite initial optimism, emissions continue rising, with a projected global temperature increase of 2.7°C by 2100. Urgent action is needed, yet fossil fuel companies hinder progress. However, potential shifts toward renewable energy offer a glimmer of hope.
This post was previously published in Reef Encounter, the news magazine of the International Coral Reef Society, volume 39, no. 2. That appeared in March this year. I’ve decided to put it up here as well, along with a photo… Read More »The tipping point is behind us. What do we do now?
Have the world’s coral reefs already passed a tipping point? That is the headline of an article in Grist this week concerning the latest circumtropical coral bleaching event now taking place. It’s a sad question in several respects. First, it’s… Read More »Reefs Passed the Tipping Point Long Ago.
I am saddened to write this short comment on this particular day. But it emphasizes how unwilling, or incapable, humanity seems to be when it comes to living within the capacity of the planet to support us. The world is… Read More »Getting Real for Earth Day – Addendum
On April 22nd 1970 the first Earth Day was celebrated across the United States as students and mentors in schools and universities across the country participated in teach-ins and demonstrations about the environmental crisis. Some 20 million Americans participated in… Read More »Getting Real for Earth Day
Part One – Why This Quest, and Why Now? What should people who care be doing as we enter 2024? Maybe we should get people to calmly admit that we are in an end-game? But first we need to get… Read More »Searching for My Perfect Beach
I’ve recently returned from a small conference in Mexico. It concerned the state of the coastal ocean. I listened to the same discussions of the same problems that have featured at such conferences for decades. We are overfishing. Our coastal… Read More »Wildfires in Canada, The Complexity of the Mess We Make
April 22nd 2023. The fifty-third Earth Day. A day when, hopefully, we all pause and reflect on what we have been doing to our home. A day when, hopefully, at least some of us become inspired to do better, to… Read More »How Do We Plan For an Orderly Collapse of Human Civilization?
We are said to be mere stardust. Most of the elements that make up our bodies were initially created deep within stars and distributed through the cosmos during supernovas when stars collapsed and died. Some people stress we are 60%… Read More »Humanity and its Impacts on Our Planet; Can We Develop Sustainably?