Sorry!

From ClimateREALITY

Via H. Sterling Burnett -March 29, 2022

The Washington Post (WaPo) published an article today discussing the fact that Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR) recently suffered a “sixth major bleaching event”, blaming the change climate. Evidence that long-term climate change, as opposed to short-term fluctuations in ocean temperatures, causes bleaching is currently very limited. In addition, WaPo provides no proof of cut-off points. Indeed, based on past bleaching events, reports of current levels of bleaching may be overstated. What is clear from the history of the GBR is that most bleached corals are resilient.

In a WaPo article titled, “Climate warming has dealt another blow to the Great Barrier Reef“Darryl Fears wrote:

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is experiencing its sixth major bleaching event as climate change has warmed oceans, raising concerns about whether one of the world’s natural wonders is about to reach to the climax or not.

Reef managers on Friday confirmed that aerial surveys had detected catastrophic bleaching on 60% of the reef’s coral.

…

Unusually high sea temperatures, up to 7 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, may have caused the event. This is the sixth major bleaching event the reef has suffered in two decades, and the fourth since 2016. Consecutive bleaching events in 2016 and 2017 affected two-thirds of the reef. the world’s largest.

The data do not support WaPo’s claims about the extent of previous bleaching events in the GBR. Although several scientists widely cited in corporate media reports on the 2016 bleaching event claimed 93% of GBR was bleached in 2016, follow-up research from Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) shows that only 22% of coral reefs have bleached with AIMS estimating more than 75% of bleached corals will recover. As discussed in Climate realismThe AIMS survey determined that there was “minimal impact” from the 2016 bleaching of hard corals on 85% of the reef expansion year-over-year.

In fact, rather than recent bleaching events suggesting corals may be nearing the point for reef collapse, the AIMS survey found that, by the end of August 2021, corals had at historic highs in numbers. AIMS reports “Hard coral cover increased in all three regions (North, Central and South) and most of the surveyed reefs had moderate or high coral cover. Overall, 59 out of 127 reefs had medium hard coral cover (>10% – 30%) and 36 reefs had high hard coral cover (> 30% – 50%). (See picture below)

Citing AIMS data, at the end of July, the United Nations World Heritage Committee (WHR) rejected calls to list GBR as “in danger”. The WHR’s decision came despite last-minute pleas by climate alarmists to ignore the AIMS report and list the GBR as threatened with extinction due to climate change.

The current bleaching may be due to the unusual temperature conditions in the oceans around Australia. However, climate change is unlikely to be responsible for the six bleaching events that have occurred in the past 20 years as there has been no long-term increase in temperature in the seas around Australia. As discussed by meteorologist Anthony WattsReport on recent researchBill Johnston, Ph.D., a former research scientist with the Department of Natural Resources of New South Wales, Johnston compared temperature data from 1871 with recent data obtained from 27 dataloggers Australian Institute of Marine Science at a reef area where recent bleaching events occurred.

Johnson concluded:

No difference was found between the temperatures measured at Port Stephens and Cape Sidmouth by astronomers from Melbourne and Sydney using bucket samples in November and December 1871 and data taken samples at those times from 27 AIMS datasets spanning from Fifth Island, in the north, to Boult Reef in the south. The alarming claims that the East Australian Current has warmed due to global warming are unfounded.

Without the long-term average warming of the GBR-containing seas, warming cannot threaten the existence of the GBR.

Indeed, it would be surprising if warmer waters pose a threat to the GBR or other coral reefs around the world. Coral already exists continuously for the past 40 million yearsadapt to regular Sudden and significant temperature changes continuously. Historically, corals thrived during the oceanic period significantly warmer temperatures than today.

Corals need warm water, not cold water, to grow and survive. They cannot live and reside outside of tropical or subtropical waters. As a result, as the Earth warms moderately, corals are extending their range towards the poles while still thriving at and near the equator.

Coral reefs are natural marvels, providing unique habitats for rich marine life and contributing to the health of the oceans. No reef is more famous than the GBR. Fortunately, as the recovery from previous bleaching events shows, in contrast to the collapse of the GBR implied by WaPo as a result of the recent bleaching it blamed, without providing As evidenced by human-caused global warming, much of the coral bleached this year is likely to recover.

Fear [Journalists? sic] should stop fueling climate fears and place current bleaching within the broader context of history and science. Corals have demonstrated the ability to adapt and recover over their millions of years of existence. There is no reason to believe that they cannot adapt to moderate warming, whether it should continue or not.

H. Sterling Burnett

H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D. is managing editor of Environment & Climate News and a research fellow in environmental and energy policy at the Heartland Institute. Burnett has worked at the National Center for Policy Analysis for 18 years, most recently as a senior fellow in charge of the NCPA’s environmental policy program. He has held various positions in public and professional policy organizations, including serving as a member of the Environmental and Natural Resources Task Force on the Texas e-Texas committee. Comptroller.