I have followed the climate since scientists predicted we were entering a new ice age in the late 1970s. I have seen all sorts of predictions, all of them wrong.

IF the globe is warming and the co2 level is elevated, then vegetation will thrive and with it humans.

Quote from: Renegade Quark on October 15, 2025, 12:53:41 AMI have followed the climate since scientists predicted we were entering a new ice age in the late 1970s. I have seen all sorts of predictions, all of them wrong.

IF the globe is warming and the co2 level is elevated, then vegetation will thrive and with it humans.

That is the thing. Higher C02 concentrations are making the earth greener.

A much-publicized claim that the world's coral reefs are being destroyed by climate change has been refuted by the CO2 Coalition with the support by one the world's leading experts on coral health.

"Surging temperatures worldwide have pushed coral reef ecosystems into a state of widespread decline, marking the first time the planet has reached a climate tipping point," says the report released recently.

The report claims that the world's reefs have been enduring the worst mass bleaching event on record since 2023 as oceans reach record high temperatures, with more than 80% affected.

The final version of an analysis by Dr. Peter Ridd who has studied for more than 35 years the world's largest coral structure, the Great Barrier Reef off the eastern coast of Australia. His report debunks similar claims made in another report issued last month. We will have Dr. Ridd's analysis ready for publication soon. In the meantime, here are the key facts: 

The Great Barrier Reef is Thriving: The world's biggest and most thoroughly researched reef system has had record amounts of coral as recently as 2024. Rather than dying and in great danger, the GBR is doing marvelously well.

Corals Like it HOT: And the hotter, the better. Coral growth rates increase with temperature by up to 25% per degree Celsius. In addition, by changing the species of symbiotic algae inside them, which corals do routinely, they are better adapted to cope with increasing temperatures than almost any other organism.

 
Indeed, data from the Great Barrier Reef collected by the Australian Institute of Marine Science indicates that growth rates for corals living in the southern, cooler parts of the GBR can increase by 50% with a 2oC increase in water temperature (Lough 2008).

Any modest increase in ocean temperature, such as has occurred over the last few decades, is far more likely to be beneficial than harmful to coral.