Gold Coast Drivers Case Study

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

Australia is in debt to The Great Barrier Reef as it has brought economic and environmental stability not just to Australia, but the World, from a business and ethical standpoint everyone must put an end in this growing issue.

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:

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system. It is located in Queensland and stretches 2,300 km along the coast, covering 348,000 km2. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority was established in 1975 in order to sustainably manage the natural heritage for future generations.

Accordingly, environmental conservation groups estimated that the amount of CO2 emissions is around 130 million tonnes per year and this amount is accounted for about 25 percent of the total emissions of Australia. Furthermore, environmentalists suggested that emissions from burning of coal and coal mine processing are substantially contributing to the increase of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere that results in the global warming. Importantly, the effects of climate change will have a great significance of impacts on the Great Barrier Reef.

In summary, in order to save the future of the Barrier Reef “we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and we need to make policies to protect the Barrier Reef. We also need shift away from power sources like different coal products.” The products that most people are using to this day pollute the air and slowly and slowly and damage the different types of reefs around the world; and we need to switch to renewable energy, because it is not as harsh to the environment as other products. If we do this we can save the Future of the Barrier Reef, Fringing reef, and the Atoll reef and all of the other reefs around the world.

How can Gold Coast drivers contribute to the sustainability of the Great Barrier Reef whilst in traffic congestion?

The GBRMPA as an organisation strives to protect the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park by ensuring all human interactions with the reef are ecologically sustainable and maintain it’s natural

Oceans are important when it comes to slowing down climate change, they absorbs heat and greenhouse gases but it becomes more acidic dues to carbon dioxide (Dorey, 2015). By 2045, the pH level of seawater is expected to reach 7.8, which is slightly more acidic than normal and many sea creatures will not survive in this condition (Dorey, 2015). The acidification makes it difficult for sea creatures with external shells or skeletons to develop their structures, creatures such as corals, planktons, and crabs may even start to dissolve when the pH levels are too high (Dorey, 2015). This poses a major threat to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, affecting the food chain from plankton to the fish at the top, and ultimately damaging the ecosystem. Coral reefs are sensitive even to the slightest changes in ocean temperatures, along with the ocean’s acidity, the coral reefs are unable to grow properly nor survive storms, resulting in the mortality of certain areas of the Great Barrier Reef (Dorey, 2015). It is expected that 95% of the existing coral reefs may be lost by 2050, and creatures that rely on the reefs for shelter will suffer (Dorey, 2015). Australia’s loss in its ocean resources and Great Barrier Reef will impact the ecosystems, affecting all life as climate change occurs too

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most beloved regions of the world but due to recent human activity in surrounding areas and subsequent sediment delivery, coral and seagrass habits within are being negatively impacted. Extending 2000km along the North-eastern Australian coast (Brodie et al., 2007), the Great Barrier Reef is a major source of income for Northern Australia and fuels the growth of local businesses. As industrialization in areas adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon have increased since European settlement (McCulloch et al., 2003), the need for more resources to compensate for human population has led to harmful land practices such as overstocking and deforestation for cattle grazing inland. These are causing a significant

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.

Economic development is mostly compatible with maintaining the long-term biodiversity and ecosystem functions of the Great Barrier Reef as shown by its economic contribution. In north-east Queensland

The ocean comprises approximately 70% of the Earth’s surface and due to its colossal size; it is unanimous that the ocean itself is an important natural resource capital to the Australian nation. The numerous benefits associated with the ocean are so significant that it provides the human resource of food, helps regulate climate, and has boosted the Australian economy through ocean-bound transportation. However despite the array of benefits, in which the ocean has to offer, it is unfortunate that most of the Australian Coast has to suffer due to inappropriate human intervention. The natural structure and function of coastal marine ecosystems are constantly in combat with environmental and ecological challenges, majorly due to the issues of

Ocean Acidification is an incredibly important topic that has not been addressed toughly by mainstream media. It is causing ocean warming, mass extinction of fish species, coral bleaching, phylogenic changes in ocean populations, and many more negative consequences. I did my senior project on coral bleaching due to ocean acidification and there has been little new information on the subject, in the public sector, since then. According to a study done in 2016 a strong link between seawater pH and coral calcification is supported by data “the pH of the coral calcifying fluid (CCF) is elevated relative to the surrounding seawater pH, and that acidification of the surrounding seawater causes a reduction in pH of the CCF” (Edmunds et al., 2016). The Great Barrier Reef has been in crisis for at least a couple decades because of severe coral bleaching and calcification. In the last couple years, large sections of the reef have died because of changing environmental conditions. The situation is similar in many of the coral reefs around the planet. Ocean Acidification will continue to have monumental lasting negative effects on the environment unless drastic changes are made to the way humanity is using our natural resources.