Nietzel, M. (2022, January 20). University Of Hawaii Receives Record Gift From Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan. Forbes. Retrieved February 6, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2022/01/20/university-of-hawaii-receives-record-gift-from-mark-zuckerberg-priscilla-chan/?sh=45ae34946a90

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, are giving $50 million to the University of Hawaii’s school of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. This is the largest donation that the school has ever received. Part of this money will go towards Hawaii’s coral reef restoration and the training of coral scientists and ocean conservationists. This will be done by creating new internships, mentoring, and research fellowships.

Even though the health of our oceans is a huge issue right now, most wealthy people in technology chose to not donate to this cause or help out in any way. I think it is great that Mark Zuckerberg did this because so much can be done to help with this amount of money. Hopefully their generosity inspires others to donate to help save coral reefs and our oceans. With more people researching the reef, they will most likely find more ways to conserve marine life.

Aguirre, L. (2022, January 12). Reef-cleaning group is saving ‘the crown jewel of Florida’. WPLG Local 10. Retrieved February 6, 2022, from https://www.local10.com/news/local/2022/01/12/reef-cleaning-group-is-saving-the-crown-jewel-of-florida/

Since the 1950’s, the planet has lost half of it’s coral reefs, and pollution is one main reason why. Trash and old fishing equipment is often left in the ocean which damages coral or gets eaten by and kills the animals. An organization called Debris Free Oceans wanted to do something about this. 11 people dove into the ocean a mile offshore from Fisher Island, Florida to clean their reef. By the end of their dive they collected almost 100 pounds of debris.

Pollution in the ocean can be very harmful to coral reefs and the animals living in them. Oftentimes animals like turtles die from starvation and lack of nutrients after only consuming plastic in the ocean. What the people from Debris Free Ocean are doing is great for their ecosystem and might have saved many animals’ lives. I hope people hear about this and get inspired to go out and pick up trash or are even just reminded of the terrible effects of littering.

Udel, D. (2022, January 25). Sediments a likely culprit in spread of deadly disease on Florida coral reefs, study finds. Phys.org. Retrieved February 6, 2022, from https://phys.org/news/2022-01-sediments-culprit-deadly-disease-florida.html

Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) was first noticed in the coral in Florida in 2014. Since then it has spread through Florida’s coral reef and the Caribbean and has affected over 20 different species of coral. Researchers from the University of Miami found that seafloor sediment might be the cause of this outbreak. They tested this theory by bringing healthy coral in contact with this sediment. Within 24 hours it was clear that the coral was infected with SCTLD from the sediment.

I find it interesting that this disease has been spreading and killing millions of coral for years and scientists could not figure out how until now. This discovery is a huge accomplishment because now that we know how this is spreading, scientists can take this information to figure out how to treat this disease or stop the spread before more coral and species are harmed. Hopefully this new information will prevent many coral and other species from dying.

Hughes, M. (2022, February 3). Florida Aquarium coral restoration project aims to regenerate, restore state’s reef tract. FOX 13 Tampa Bay. Retrieved February 6, 2022, from https://www.fox13news.com/news/florida-aquarium-coral-restoration-project-hopes-regenerate-restore-states-reef-tract

The Florida Reef Tract is located along the Florida Keys and is 360 miles long. Because of pollution and climate change, the coral here is not thriving and many species are in danger of going extinct. Seven years ago, the Florida Aquarium started a program to help out this situation. These scientists take coral from the reef and use technology to help them reproduce. They take care of each individual coral and later replant them in the reef. 

It is amazing that the Florida Aquarium has taken so much time to try to help revive their coral reef. I had no idea that technology like this existed and that this process was possible. Although it seems like a slow process of growing and planting one coral at a time, this helps the ecosystem greatly because each coral can be a home and source of food for so many organisms. Other aquariums and organizations around the world should do the same thing in order to save the dying reefs.

Liberatore, S. (2021, November 22). Hawaii’s second largest island BANS coral killing sunscreens. Daily Mail. Retrieved February 6, 2022, from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10231493/Hawaiis-second-largest-island-BANS-coral-killing-sunscreens.html

In 2015, scientists first discovered that the chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate cause coral bleaching. These are two major ingredients in most sunscreens. Coral bleaching is when the coral becomes stressed, turns white, and dies. That same year, officials found that 56% of the coral surrounding Maui was bleached. In November of 2021, Bill 135, which bans over 80 different types of sunscreen to be used or sold on Maui, was passed. It will be signed into law on October 1, 2022. People there will now only be allowed to wear mineral sunscreens which do not contain these damaging chemicals.

This law is necessary for saving the ecosystem in Hawaii. Even though people know that certain sunscreens are harmful to the environment, they still continue to use them. Now that it is illegal to use them, people will be forced to start switching to better options. Decreasing the amount of chemicals in the ocean is important for environmental science because when the coral is healthy, the fish and other animals have a source of shelter and food. Without coral the whole food web in the ocean would be unbalanced which would lead to many species going extinct. I am glad Maui has passed this bill and I hope every place that has coral reefs will do the same. My only question is, if it was discovered in 2015 that these chemicals are dangerous to our oceans, what took so long for something to be done about it?

Peters, A. (2021, August 19). These probiotics for coral could help save the reefs. Fast Company. Retrieved August 21, 2021, from https://www.fastcompany.com/90667050/these-probiotics-for-coral-could-help-save-the-reefs

As scientists are trying to find more ways to help save the coral reefs, they might be on to a new solution. This is a mix of bacterias. They tested this by heating the water in a tank for many days, and only spraying some of the coral with the new solution. After the experiment, they found that all of the coral that was sprayed survived, while some that did not died. This idea is still being tested, and is working on ways to insert it into the coral in the ocean.

Even though this product has not yet been put into the oceans, when it is, it will help the situation greatly. When the coral reefs are preserved, all marine life will have shelter and food. The food chain will be balanced. I think this bacteria could be a great short term solution to use while we are educating people on what they can do themselves to help keep the coral reefs alive.

Mirage News Team. (2021, August 10). Innovative marine science approach is a “game-changer” for global reef recovery efforts. Mirage News. Retrieved August 20, 2021, from https://www.miragenews.com/innovative-marine-science-approach-is-a-game-610549/

The Australian Institute of Marine Science and BHP are currently working together to restore damaged coral reefs. Together they will build technology that will play sounds from healthy reef systems in areas where reefs are bleached, dead, or struggling. Once fish and other animals hear these noises they will be attracted to them and travel towards it. At the same time, this group of people will be trying a new approach of re-seeding these run down reefs. Hopefully, the combination of these two techniques will return species to dead coral reefs,

This topic is related to environmental science because companies like these now have to create new technology in order to fix the problems that us humans have created. If we had not polluted the oceans and caused climate change, there would be no need to go to these extreme measures to try to make things go back to normal. There is also no way to know if this will work 100%, all we can do is wait and see. In my opinion, this is a great idea and I hope it works the way they want it to. However, I wish the problem never got this bad in the first place because inventions like this would not be needed.

Saner, E. (2021, August 6). Lotion in the ocean: is your sunscreen killing the sea? The Guardian. Retrieved 20 August, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/06/lotion-in-the-ocean-is-your-sunscreen-killing-the-sea

A major factor of the decline of coral reefs is sunscreen in the ocean. Studies have shown that, once in the ocean, it bleaches the coral and damages algae and other species. The percent of coral that has been bleached continues to rise each year. While some people chose to wear “reef safe” sunscreen, this is not much better. Tests have shown that these also bleach and harm wildlife in the ocean. Some places, including Hawaii and Mexico, have started to ban some or all brands of sunscreen.

Bleaching of coral is obviously a huge environmental issue at this time, that has been caused by humans. Even though chemicals like oxybenzone help protect us from the sun’s rays, they damage the DNA in coral. If it is impossible for one to stop using sunscreen while in the ocean, they should at least avoid brands with chemicals like these at all times. I was shocked by this article, for I was never taught that products like sunscreen could be so harmful to our earth. More people should hear about this information, because if more people were educated on this topic, they could make smarter and cleaner decisions. I for one will definitely look into what effects the products I use have on the environment before buying and using them.

Kurmelovs, R. (2021, August 19). Great Barrier Reef: scientists discover 400-year-old giant coral. The Guardian. Retrieved August 20, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/19/no-one-has-noticed-it-400-year-old-giant-coral-discovered-on-great-barrier-reef

A very large piece of coral found in the Great Barrier Reef. 10.5 meters wide, 5.3 meters tall, and over 420-440 years old, it was recently found off the coast of Australia. This is shocking because most other species around it live to around 450 years old, while this piece of coral is still alive and doing well. It is very important to its environment because it brings new species of fish and other animals to the area that use it for food and shelter.

This article shows a positive outlook on the health of the coral reef. So much of the news right now only revolves around the issues that the oceans are facing. Even though it is important to be aware of the negative things happening in the world, it is encouraging at times to also hear good news. It is beneficial to have such large pieces of coral like this because it provides shelter and food for many animals, keeping them alive. This piece of news shows that not all coral in the ocean is dying. If a quantity this large of coral has survived for this long, through so much pollution, there is still hope to save the oceans.