THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

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You don't have to be a scientist to know that the actions of mankind have had, and are still having, an overwhelming impact on our planet. A few things we do know: Despite the claims of some, that the earth was warmer sometime in the past, hundreds or thousands of years ago, the continuing rise of global temperatures is a problem for people and the planet right now. Most of the global temperatures for the last 18 to 20 years have set records with each year being warmer than the previous year. Ocean temperatures are rising causing more frequent and stronger storms, and weather extremes, like droughts and excessive rain and flooding. Instead of oil pipelines, (which have hundreds of leaks every year), we should start building water pipelines to carry water from where there is too much, like floods to where there is too little, like droughts. Dry spells contribute to more frequent and intense forest fires, fire storms, and fire tornados. Two years ago, Alberta, Canada, had the largest fire in Canadian history. California is having more fires every year, and very little rain to help extinguish them.

And now, The Amazon is Burning. The many Fires in the Amazon (the lungs of the World) are up 88% from the same time last year.

The polar ice caps are melting. Glaciers are receding. Sea levels are rising. The Great Barrier Reef is dying. (Coral formations take hundreds of years to grow.) South Florida's water aquifer is being threatened by salt water incursion, not to mention man-made pollution.  Water levels in Lake Mead, the largest man-made reservoir in North America, have been down some 80 feet for years. The world's clean drinking water supply is being threatened, not to mention a couple billion people in the world have never had clean water or sanitation. Conditions are ripening to give rise to new diseases, super viruses and bacteria. 

Agricultural production, and quality of food nutrition are being threatened everywhere in the World.  Honey Bee Populations are being diminished by pesticides and some kind of strange virus. (Remember, honey bees pollinate plants, and crops). Rain Forests are disappearing. The world needs more trees; and yet, we are still cutting Old Growth Timber that is hundreds or sometimes even thousands of years old.

Many of the world's oceans are covered with huge patches of plastic garbage. Look up: "The Great Pacific Garbage Patch." When we say huge we mean like the size of Australia and Texas, and they are numerous. One report says around the world we dump the equivalent one garbage truck load into the ocean every minute, every sixty seconds.

It has been said that if all Environmental Pollution Totally Stopped, Instantly, it would still take years for the RATE of increase in degradation to slow and stop.  Then there would be years of no change before the very slowest of reversal would begin.  But, so far, our rate of increase is still accelerating.  Even if it were only half this bad, it would still be pretty bad.  So far it is still getting worse.  There is so very much to do!  And, it doesn't seem like we are doing ANYTHING.

It is very easy for middle age and older people, along with younger people who have curious and inquiring minds to see that the Global, Environmental Conditions of our Planet have been deteriorating. Today, scientists and many older people can attest to the fact that just a few decades ago weather was more predictable, it was cooler, and our climate conditions were not nearly as bad as they are today.

Now, there are many scientists predicting that we are only 10-12 years away from reaching a Critical Point, after which it will be Too Late.  The rate of deterioration will be so rapid that we will not be able to stop it. Even if this sounds like science fiction, it won't hurt us or our Planet to do everything we can to change our Bad Habits, and try to clean up our world. It will be sad if we do nothing, and the scientific predictions turn out to be  SCIENTIFIC TRUTH. It's up to us...WE THE PEOPLE MUST ACT NOW! 

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