FQ3: What Were The Environmental Impacts?

The social and human impacts of cyclone Debbie on the community were heavy with over $1.5 billion in property damage. On Whitsunday islands, the winds reached up to 263 km/h which damaged the power connections to homes and approximately 63 000 properties were effected. Multiple trees fell onto to power lines which caused the power outages. Due to the cyclone mines, all around Queensland were effected. An estimated 10 million tonnes of coal were lost. Mines were flooded which was

Corals build colonies that secrete calcium carbonate to form ocean reefs. When they're healthy, coral reefs provide shelter and food for animals all along the food chain, including the top: us. Across the planet, half a billion people rely, directly and indirectly, on corals for their living. That's why what happens to the 9,000-year-old Great Barrier Reef, as well as to other reefs worldwide, is critical. The floods in Queensland have hurt the Great Barrier Reef by funnelling into the ocean vast plumes of freshwater and agricultural runoff that could severely damage the coral. Besides the extreme rain that sparked the floods, rising ocean temperatures, changes to the ocean's chemistry and the global trade in natural resources — all symptoms of our fossil-fuel economy — are waging a multiform war on the marine

Because the GBR is such a highly visited tourist attraction for snorkeling and diving, there has been a large number of human structures that have been built in natural areas. Every five years, the Australian government publishes an Outlook Report that examines the Great Barrier Reef’s health, pressures, and likely future. “The report is required under Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (section 54) and aims to provide a regular and reliable means of assessing reef health and management in an accountable and transparent way.” The report shows the actions that have been taken since 2009, including the focus on improving the quality of water that runs off the land. The increased freshwater run-off is in direct relation to the coastal development that has occurred since the major bleaching events have begun. The report released in 2009, states that the greatest risks to the Reef are still climate change, land-based runoff, coastal development, and some remaining impacts of fishing and illegal fishing and poaching. The report points out climate change as being the main cause of the destruction or bleaching of the reef (Department of Environment and Energy 2017). Most observers conclude that the climate change is a direct result of human

The Great Barrier Reef is under threat due to many human impacts and natural impacts. These impacts lead to other consequences that may harm our society as well. For example, if the Great Barrier Reef was to be damaged by pollution, tourism levels would decrease, which can lead to a drop in the economic stance of Australia. For these reasons, it is important to keep our ecosystems safe and protected. Some of the human impacts towards the Great Barrier Reef include:

Moreover, global warming has had a great effect on the Great Barrier Reef. Because the ecosystem in such a delicate balance, the continuous warmer weather kills the algae and the coral in this area. If the coral dies, the fish and other animals relying on the coral also die or are forced to move to other areas. While some reefs can recover after a stretch of time in overly

One environmental issues posted on the Facebook group on Ecologically Conscious Social is climate change’s effect impacts on the Great Barrier Reef where is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites. The Great Barrier Reef is located in Queensland, state of Australia.

Located in tropical ocean waters, coral reefs provide priceless resources to both human and marine life. The leading natural cause of destruction among the coral reefs is global warming. Other natural causes are earthquakes, hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons. The destruction to the coral reefs from these natural disasters is minimal compared to the dangers caused by man. Man-made destruction has a much wider impact on the health of the coral reefs. This destruction includes over-fishing, damage from anchors, aquarium industry, overgrowth of seaweed, and being smothered by sediments.

While government officials looked the other way, half of the coral has disappeared from along the length of the Great Barrier Reef. Additionally, vast areas of the reef’s coral have suffered serious degradation. It isn’t surprising that the area’s unique level of biodiversity is being threatened by the damage as well.

Who is it to blame for the pollution of 1970, the people, industries, etcetera? After watching the two videos it was a common theme throughout them that it is the industry to take responsibility for the air and the people to take responsibility for the unsuitable water and rivers.

The Great Barrier Reef always under constant threat due to pollution, human use, global warming, crown thorn starfish and more. The Australian Governments putting new systems in place to try and save the reef. They currently have the 2050 reef plan in action as a long-term sustainability strategy along with contributing millions of dollars to the Reef Trust.

The floods started at the end of November 2010 and Cyclone Tasha a category 1 cyclone hit on Christmas Eve; they continued through till mid-January 2011. Cyclone Yasi then hit in February soon after the floods causing even more havoc to the already damaged Queensland.

Australia has Beautiful coasts, habitats and an abundance of land, climate change can destroy all of this. Climate change effects not just sea level rises but also weather patterns, global temperature, water quality and ecosystems. The threat of rising sea level is big *gestures towards power point* this image shows the Gold Coast when sea levels rise less than a meter; most of Carrara is underwater, not to mention all the areas where water might flow *power point gesture*. The climate also affect the oceans acidity and temperature which greatly affects the oceans ecosystem and our loved Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef is classed as the largest living Earth, however the warm ocean temperatures are killing the algae that sustains the reef without it the reef will die. Many businesses rely on the reef to make a living, not to mention when the sea rises many homes will be lost all across Australia. If nothing is done about climate change, there will be repercussions within your lifetimes.

The Great Barrier Reef is a highly active ecosystem. Tropical cyclones are a major source of damage to this reef system. These storms create great waves that damage corals. They bring large amounts of fresh water onto the reef though forceful rain. The fresh water alters salinity levels, placing stress on the corals and other animals. Human’s impacts have affected the Reef for thousands of years.

Coral reefs around the world are in danger. One of the causes is global warming, which has been increasing the temperature of the ocean water resulting in coral bleaching. This essay will focus on damage occurring to the Great Barrier Reef.

The Great Barrier Reef has recently been faced with threats of climate change which is set to wreak irreversible damage by the year 2030. This is because over the past century, human activities have released considerable amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The majority of greenhouse gases come from burning fossil fuels to produce energy, although deforestation, industrial processes, and some agricultural practices also emit gases into the atmosphere. the increase of these greenhouse gases can change Earth's climate and result in dangerous effects to human health and welfare and to ecosystems. The Great Barrier Reef has been and will be more and more soon, greatly effected by this as well as other serious threats such as, catchment pollution, coastal development and fishing.