Shen Neng 1, A Sign of Things to Come?

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the natural world. It’s nearly 2000 miles long and up to 40 miles wide in some parts. To put that into perspective the Grand Canyon is 10% of the length, at only 280 miles long. The Great Barrier Reef is not only the largest living thing in the world, but the only living body visible from space. It holds the world’s largest collection of coral, with over 400 different kinds, 1500 species of tropical fish, sea turtles, giant clams (over 120 years old) and so much more. And now it’s got an added feature of a stranded Chinese coal ship leaking hundreds of tonnes of oil.

Coral reefs cover just 1% of the ocean surface but account for 25% of all marine species. The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia accounts for over 40% of all reefs around the world making it the largest coral reef system in the world. A 2004 study estimates that since the 1950s, twenty percent of all reefs worldwide have been destroyed, with no chance of recovery, and an additional twenty-four percent of reefs were under “imminent threat of collapse”.

So even before this most recent incident climate change, acidity levels, over-fishing, coral mining, and other types of pollution and human activity threatened the reef. Climate change, of course, has had one of the largest impacts on the reef in recent years though. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) dissolves in the seawater which in turn increases acidity, making it more difficult for coral organisms to grow and maintain their shells.

The ship which has crashed was carrying 72,000 tons of coal from Queensland to China for power plants in China, but this is not the issue. The ship could have been carrying nothing but flowers and it would have the same impact on the reef after the crash, as it is the ships fuel which is leaking on

the untouched reef. Although only a tiny amount of the 975 tons of fuel carried has leaked so far, there is the worry that if the ship is moved it could rapidly increase the leakage by either splitting the rip even more (A 3km trail of oil has already escaped). Australian officials have also warned the ship is unable to move unaided at present as the rudder and engine have been damaged.

The bulk carrier crashed into the reef at full speed 24km off its set course, well outside the authorised shipping corridor, which begs the question: Why? There has been an investigation launched to find this out but it’s also thought that this is the third major international incident involving its owners in four years.

The captain of the ship, responsible for destroying the beauty of an untouched wonder of the world, could be fined up to $250,000 whilst the owners of the shipping company have been fined a total of $1 million… If the reef contains 25% of all marine species does this mean the entire ocean is only worth $4 million? This is of course ludicrous! The amount put in place is simply to scare other shipping owners and to try and prevent this happening in the very near future.

But this could be a sign of what is to come. This is the third oil spill of its type in a year, off the coast of Australia, and as Gladstone is trying to increase into Australia’s major port the amount of traffic will no doubt increase.

Will the increased need for fuel and transport mean our oceans will suffer? Is there anything we, the public, can do to prevent such things happening again?

Earth Hour

First post!

Rather than blogging as such, this time i'm just posting something I've made. It's just a short amateur video showing before and after shots of various cities around the world during Earth Hour... Hope you all like it, let me know what you think and if it's popular there will be more videos! It is by no means professional so please forgive a certain amount of shoddiness :-)

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