Mainstream Media Hypes False Claims Climate Change is Killing Coral

A search of Google news for the term “climate change” turns up dozens of stories in the mainstream media covering a report which claims global warming has killed 14 percent of the world’s corals in the last decade. This is false. The cause of coral deaths in the past decade are multifaceted with most being the result of coastal pollution from various sources as well as a known sensitivity to sunscreen used by reef snorkelers.

Coral can only exist in warm waters and data show as the world’s equatorial oceans have warmed modestly, corals reefs expanded their range. In instances where temperature spikes have contributed to coral bleaching, most of the corals have recovered.

The New York Times, NPR, and the Washington Post were among the dozens of mainstream media outlets publishing alarming stories about a new report from the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN).

“Rising ocean temperatures killed about 14 percent of the world’s coral reefs in just under a decade, according to a new analysis from the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network,” wrote NPR.

The first corals arose during the Cambrian Period about 535 million years ago and the number and type corals increased dramatically more than 400 million years ago, coming into existence when global temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations were much higher than at present. Coral have proved adaptable, expanding their range and evolving and thriving through periods of higher and lower temperatures than the Earth is either currently experiencing or reasonably expected to experience in the foreseeable future.

As discussed in Climate at a Glance: Coral Reefs, coral thrive in warm water, not cold water, and recent warming has allowed coral to expand their range poleward, while still thriving near the equator.

Recent peer-reviewed research described in a Phys.org article, titled “Half a trillion corals: World-first coral count prompts rethink of extinction risks,” should serve to calm any concern for the continued survival and flourishing of corals. The study cited places the number of corals in the Pacific Ocean alone at more than half a trillion. There are likely trillions more worldwide.

The scientists involved in the research say the sheer number of corals and coral species means the risk of extinction due to climate change is vastly lower than previously claimed.

“In the Pacific, we estimate there are roughly half a trillion corals,’ said the study lead author, Dr. Andy Dietzel from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University,” writes Phys.org. “This is about the same number of trees in the Amazon, or birds in the world.”

“Dr. Dietzel said the eight most common coral species in the region each have a population size greater than the 7.8 billion people on Earth,” says Phys.org, continuing, “The findings suggest that while a local loss of coral can be devastating to coral reefs, the global extinction risk of most coral species is lower than previously estimated.”

This research points out that 12 of the 80 coral species the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists as having an elevated extinction risk, have estimated population sizes of more than one billion colonies.

NPR says the GCRMN’s “report … found that warming caused by climate change, overfishing, coastal development, and declining water quality has placed coral reefs around the world under ‘relentless stress.’”

Coral reefs do face many stressors, but the best available evidence suggests warmer waters is a factor they can adapt to.

Previous posts on Climate Realism, for example, here, here, here, and here, show local conditions, like runoff from beach front development and agriculture, and pollution tied to sun block used by swimmers, not warmer temperatures or ocean acidification, pose the biggest threat to coral reefs. But even these threats are highly localized and often temporary, with many coral reefs recovering within a few seasons after bleaching events.

Science has multiple studies showing corals can and do adapt to the gradual long-term pace of global warming.

Most portions of coral reefs around the world that have bleached and been declared dead or permanently damaged over the past two decades have, in fact, recovered. Whether the 14 percent of corals identified GCRMN as being dead will eventually recover is unknown. What is clear from history and the available evidence is there are trillions of corals in the world, many unaccounted for, and to the extent they are threatened with harm, various types of pollution are the primary cause, not warmer waters.

https://climaterealism.com/2021/10/mainstream-media-hypes-false-claims-climate-change-is-killing-coral/

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Among Europe’s dirtiest: ‘Green’ biomass power plant in Yorkshire burning ‘renewable’ wood emits MORE CO2 than UK’s coal – reportNBC Sounds Sea Level Alarm at Navy Base – With No Sea Level Acceleration

NBC News local affiliate WAVY channel 10 in Virginia’s Portsmouth-Norfolk-Hampton viewing market published an article this past week blaming global warming for local sea-level rise that allegedly threatens naval facilities. In reality, objective tidal gauge records in the Norfolk region show no acceleration of sea level rise.

The WAVY article is titled, “Preparing for Battle: Naval Station Norfolk engages with the forces of climate change to keep troops ready, jobs intact.” The article claims, “The most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows that impacts from climate change are happening at a pace far more rapid than originally estimated.” The article then documents ways in which the Navy is adapting to sea-level rise.

In reality, the only thing happening “at a pace far more rapid than originally estimated” is alarmist misinformation in the news media.

While WAVY is quick to link sea-level rise to global warming, the WAVY article leaves out a very important fact – there has been no acceleration in sea-level rise in the region. How can climate change be causing accelerating sea-level rise if there is no acceleration in sea-level rise?

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has maintained a tidal gauge at Sewell’s Point in Norfolk since the 1920’s. The tidal records, as shown in the NOAA graph below, show the pace of sea-level rise remains the same now as it was 100 years ago – when there was minimal human-emitted carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

NOAA has maintained three other tidal gauges in the Norfolk region, dating back to the 1930s, 1950s, and 1970s, respectively. None of the other three show any acceleration, either.

Despite the claims of WAVY and climate alarmists that the U.S. Navy and everybody else is having to cope with rapidly accelerating sea-level rise due to global warming, the objective facts show no acceleration at all. And if there has been no acceleration despite more than a century of global warming, by what theoretical mechanism will rapid acceleration suddenly kick in now – after an unexplained century-long delay?

The fact is global warming is not causing, and will not cause, a rapid acceleration in sea-level rise. For more than a century, humans have handily managed modestly rising seas. Managing that same pace of sea-level rise will be even easier with modern and future technologies.

https://climaterealism.com/2021/10/nbc-sounds-sea-level-alarm-at-navy-base-with-no-sea-level-acceleration/

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Amid Energy Crisis, UK Refuses To Develop North Sea Natural Gas Field

According to media reports, the UK government’s Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) had refused permission for Royal Dutch Shell to further develop the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea.

Government has yet to issue a statement and it is not clear why OPRED rejected Royal Dutch Shell’s proposal on the Jackdaw field, which could have supplied up to 10% of the annual consumption of natural gas in the UK. This would be equal to about 15% of consumption by UK households.

It is suspected that the UK government was reluctant to be seen consenting to fossil fuels in the run-up to COP 26, the UN climate conference to be held in Glasgow this November, and which the UK is chairing.

The refusal of the Shell Jackdaw proposal is all the more confusing since natural gas is an essential component in the government’s Net Zero proposals.

Natural gas guarantees the security of supply on the electricity grid during periods of low wind and solar output.

It is also the source of the about 80% of the hydrogen that government requires to decarbonize otherwise impossible sectors such as marine transport, Heavy Goods Vehicles, agricultural traction, and crucial elements of domestic heating in the drive for Net Zero (See GWPF’s paper on Hydrogen: The Once and Future Fuel for details of the government plans).

Since natural gas is so important to the government’s very own policy goals it is essential that UK national resources should be developed to prevent the over-dependence on international markets that is driving the current gas crisis.

This entails facilitating further development in the North Sea, amongst other sources.

Dr. John Constable, GWPF’s energy editor said:

“Refusing permission for national gas production in the middle of gas import crisis is a bizarre decision, and seems to be driven by the short-term optics of COP26 rather than the public interest and a rational approach to low-cost decarbonization. Energy policy is too important to be distorted by virtue signaling. Natural gas is essential from many perspectives, and domestic natural gas production should be strongly encouraged.”

Dr. Benny Peiser, the GWPF’s director, said:

“In face of a worsening energy crisis, Boris Johnson should encourage, as a matter of urgency, the exploration and further development of Britain’s vast natural gas resources, including shale gas, which would bring down energy costs and enhance energy security significantly.”

https://climatechangedispatch.com/amid-energy-crisis-uk-refuses-to-develop-north-sea-natural-gas-field/

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