WRITTEN BY H. STERLING BURNETT ON MAR 12, 2024. POSTED IN NEWS AND OPINION
Media Push Coral Catastrophe As Possible Bleaching Event Gathers Steam
Reuters and CNN each posted stories in the past week warning that a major coral bleaching event may soon appear, affecting coral communities in the Southern Hemisphere, in particular, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR)—and climate change is the cause, by the way.
Bleaching may occur, but history shows such events do not equal coral death, and the evidence suggests that the cause for any bleaching that occurs this year is a short-term spike in ocean temperatures due to natural El Niño patterns, not climate change. [emphasis, links added]
In its story, “Exclusive: World on brink of fourth mass coral reef bleaching event, NOAA says,” Reuters writes: “[t]he world is on the verge of a fourth mass coral bleaching event which could see wide swathes of tropical reefs die, including parts of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said.
“Marine biologists are on high alert following months of record-breaking ocean heat fueled by climate change and the El Niño climate pattern,” Reuters continued.
https://climatechangedispatch.com/media-push-coral-catastrophe-as-possible-bleaching-event-gathers-steam/