of earth's oxygen is produced by coral reefs
of coral reefs have died within the past 30 years
Why Care?
Coral Reefs produce 50% of earth's oxygen, and absorb 33% of carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuels
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They prevent erosion and make coastal ecosystems possible, and have been found to lessen effects of tsunamis
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Cancer treatments and other medicines have been (and continue to be) discovered in coral reefs
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They provide a habitat for 25% of marine life, despite covering 0.0025% of the ocean floor
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50% of the worlds coral reefs have died within the last 30 years and 90% are estimated to die in the next century.
Learn more at scubadivermag.com and secure.orc
It's Fragile Ecosystem
Coral's color comes from an algae, zooxanthellae, that lives on them, provides them food, and acts as an immune system. They depend on zooxanthellae for their survival.
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Irregularly warm or cold water temperatures and/or some chemicals and pollutants can cause the algae to leave, in an event known as coral bleaching, because it looses its color.
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This does not directly kill coral, but it leaves it without food or protection, and coral often dies as a result.
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Coral reefs can take up to 300,000 years to grow, so it takes a long time for them to recover from bleaching events
Learn more at ocean service.noa.gov
What Can You Do?
As with many other effects of climate change, you have limited power over what the world as a whole is causing. However, that doesn't make you powerless.
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Coral reefs are beautiful and fascinating to see in real life, but if you go scuba diving or snorkeling (or even swimming in the ocean), your sunscreen dissolves into the water, and the chemicals in most sunscreen is unhealthy for corals (and isn't the best for us either). Check out our Reef Safe Sunscreen Guide (below), which includes a list of sunscreens that won't harm the reefs.
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Knowledge is power! Share this with anyone else who is planning a trip to a reef!
The Reef Safe Sunscreen Guide
One person does make a difference: One drop of sunscreen in 6 Olympic-sized swimming pools' worth of water can be harmful to the residing coral.
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Enter your email to download our Reef-Friendly Products Guide, which also includes soap, shampoo, conditioner, and other products for boating or camping expeditions.
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