Flat "Pancakes" 珊瑚礁变成“薄饼”了

While we are shamelessly grabbing snacks from CFC-producing refrigerators, or riding in a carbon monoxide-emitting cars, coral reefs are dying somewhere out there in our world.

And it’s all because of climate change.


Yup. Due to climate change, a multi-layered structure of Caribbean coral reefs are flattened like pancakes (ok, not really, but you get the idea) on the seabed. That’s how horrible it is.

Coral reefs are really important. Sure, they look beautiful and stuff, but they actually DO more than that! Coral reefs provide homes to fish, and act as a barrier against hurricanes and storms. Coastal villages can be protected from tidal surges and storm waves.

And the really sad thing is that if you were to dive in the Caribbean seas, you would see about THREE QUARTERS of flattened coral reefs scattered on the reef area! That would seriously be a horrible sight for scuba divers who want to relish the beauty of undersea beauty!

Fishing communities will be badly affected as marine creatures of commercial importance such as lobsters cannot find refuge in coral reefs anymore. This is because coral reefs also provide hunting areas for fishermen to catch large fish.

However, not all the “destruction” of coral reefs are attributed to climate change. Coral reefs get sick too, you know. Yup, diseases can also kill coral reefs.

And even tiny organisms have STRESS! Can you believe that? Stress is one of the factors that make coral reefs join the coffin team. That is because tiny organisms which are responsible for building coral reefs will abandon their colonies if they get STRESSED! Yup, it could be the uncomfortable climate change. This kind of damage is known as “coral bleaching”.

But we can’t blame that. It’s not like these organisms are getting their paycheck.

The only way we can SAVE coral reefs now is to change the way we do things as humans and strive to find ways to reduce pollution which contribute to climate change. As individuals, we can start by carpooling, which reduces car use. Which in turn reduces the emission of carbon monoxide.

Recycling is also IMPORTANT. Remember, the more you recycle (especially paper), trees will thank you for preventing chainsaws from rapidly cutting them for paper manufacturing. The more trees we have, the air will be cleaner and healthier.

These are several SMALL things we can do which can make a HUGE DIFFERENCE.

Yeah, I know. Big industrial factories emit toxic gases into the air every few seconds. I don’t expect you to run to the factory and start a mass picket.

No, I don’t.

Just do those small things. Every little effort helps. Read up more on ways to conserve to environment. Go to the library. Have a group talk with friends about the environment (and WAYS to save them of course).

And when you dive into the Caribbean one day, you won’t have to see ugly flat “pancakes”.

You can read more on the Caribbean coral reefs at: http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre55872w-us-climate-reefs/


当我们从产生氟氯化碳的冰箱拿取点心来吃，或坐在排放一氧化碳的汽车里的时候，珊瑚礁正在世界的某处慢慢死亡。

这都是因为气候变化的影响。

由于气候改变，一个多层次结构的加勒比海珊瑚礁，就在海底像薄饼一样被夷为平地（这当然不是真的，但你可以想像得到）。这是多么可怕。

珊瑚礁是非常重要的。它们是美丽的海洋生物栖息地，但它们的作用还不只如此！珊瑚礁提供鱼儿一个家，并且还能防止飓风和暴风雨伤害海洋生物。沿海村庄可以受到保护，免受潮汐和风浪的破坏。

使人伤心的是，如果你在加勒比海潜水，你将会看到约有四分之三平坦的珊瑚礁分布于珊瑚礁区！如果潜水员想要欣赏美丽的海底世界，他将会看到一个可怕的景象！

像龙虾这种具有重要经济利益的海洋生物，如果找不到珊瑚礁作为避难所，将会对渔业社群造成严重的影响。这是因为珊瑚礁也是渔民捕捞大型鱼类的捕猎区。

然而，不是全部的珊瑚礁都是被气候变化破坏的。珊瑚礁本身病了。疾病也可以杀死珊瑚礁。

共生藻类也有“压力”哦！你相信吗？“压力”是使珊瑚礁加入“死亡队伍”的其中一个原因。珊瑚体内的共生海藻会提供能量给珊瑚。但当它们有了“压力”而离开珊瑚时，就会使珊瑚白化，最终因失去营养供应而死；也有可能是全球暖化导致水温升高造成的。这种损害称为“珊瑚白化” 。

但这又不是它的错。它并没有得到什么回报。

我们现在唯一能救珊瑚礁的方式就是改变人们的行为，并努力寻找解决的方法，减少污染有助于改善气候变化。作为个人，我们可以开始共同乘车，减少使用汽车，就能减低排放一氧化碳。

回收也很重要。请记住，你越是回收（特别是纸），树木就会避免被砍伐来造纸，它们会感谢你的。我们拥有了更多的树木，空气就会更清新和健康。

这些都是我们可以做到的很多小事情，但却能有很大的改变。

大型工厂每隔几秒钟就排放有毒气体到空气中。我没有要你离开工厂，并开始大规模罢工。

不，我没有。

只需做好这些小事情。每一份小小的努力都有帮助。想了解更多关于保护环境的方法，可以去图书馆；也可以和朋友谈论生态环境的话题，以及如何拯救它们。

那么，当你有一天在加勒比海潜水时，你再也不会看见又丑又平的“薄饼”了。

如果你想阅读更多关于加勒比海珊瑚礁的资讯，请点选以下网址：
http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre55872w-us-climate-reefs/