Coral Bleaching Podcast

The speaker discusses coral bleaching, which is caused by the stress the coral experience when ocean temperatures become too hot. This is primarily due to climate change and the greenhouse gas effect. The speaker emphasizes the importance of addressing climate change quickly to save the vibrant colors of coral reefs. They share a personal experience of seeing the devastating effects of coral bleaching and urge listeners to consider the impact on these ecosystems. The speaker concludes by highlighting the need for awareness and action to protect our oceans. Good evening, everyone, and welcome back to Episode 347 of Can Climate Change Reach You Under the Bedsheets? Now, today we're going to be talking about a special topic that is not very talked about in the public setting, but if you are a marine biologist or studied in the field of marine biology, you would know this topic very well. If I could get a drumroll, please, I'd appreciate that. And today's topic is coral bleaching. Yes, yes, I know, very exciting. But on a serious note, I would appreciate it if you could close your eyes momentarily and allow me to read you this quick story I have for you, and try to place yourself within this story and try to understand it a little better before I talk about it. Now, remember when there used to be beautifully colored coral reefs filled with life, vibrance, and grace? Well, now they're starting to vanish, and the cause of that is coral bleaching. Coral bleaching is caused from the stress the coral sense when the temperature of the ocean and the water is getting too hot for them to handle. And in response to that stress, they release the algae that give them their beautiful color, leaving them white or gray, and most of the time, dead. The main criminal that's causing this is climate change and the greenhouse gas effect. Now, to put this into perspective, imagine it as a pot of water, and the hotter the pot gets and the hotter the water, it's the same thing as saying the hotter the earth gets, the hotter the ocean gets. And that can be applied to this topic. Climate change needs to be fixed and fast if we want to ever see those vibrant colors in the coral again. Now, I first heard about coral bleaching when I was a senior in high school, in my marine biology class, funny enough. And it was sad to see these beautiful reefs in these pictures in a short time span get turned into dark and white-gray coral reefs in the dark waters. And it was truly disheartening to see the changes that were, frankly, causing for this beautiful ecosystem that's now being depleted of life and grace. And it's sad to see these once-beautiful things just so empty. But imagine yourself in their shoes, if you could, even. Now, imagine yourself having a beautiful home in a beautiful neighborhood, and an outside factor, so to say, kicks you out, boots you to the curve, and you have no say to it. You have to. You just can't do anything against it. How are you going to feel? You're going to feel powerless. You're going to feel like you can't do anything. And that's exactly how these ecosystems are feeling. They can't do anything against it because they can't. But we can. In this scenario, we're the outside source, and we have all the power in the world to change this topic, this effect. And, frankly, we're doing it too slow, and the effects of it are too fast, and we can't fix it fast enough, then we are destroying it, and the rate we're destroying it. It's a sad thing to think of. But I hope I brought awareness to at least one or two people today on this topic, and I hope they think about it a little bit more when they go swimming in the ocean. But, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for tuning in to Does Climate Change Really Exist Under the Bedsheets?