Thanks to your action to protect the Reef we have forced unprecedented scrutiny and public awareness of industrial developments that threaten and damage Australia’s World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef.
Written by Nicole Ghio, Sierra Club International Climate Program
After his stop in Los Angeles, everyone’s favorite cartoon clownfish, Nemo, continued his tour of the U.S., stepping out in sub-freezing temperatures in Washington, D.C. to ask Americans to help him save his home, the Great Barrier Reef.
Growing up in suburban Melbourne and Sydney, I’ve always considered the Great Barrier Reef a faraway treasure. Though I’ve never visited, images of colourful coral, pristine beaches and curious wildlife flood my mind when I think of our national icon.
The United Nations is concerned about port expansions and dredging disposal in the Great Barrier Reef – but that bigger picture is ignored in new ‘Reef Facts’ commercials. -By Jon Brodie, James Cook University
The Great Barrier Reef is a national icon. It’s a place people all over the world travel to Australia to see. It’s the world’s largest reef. Now all of this is at risk. It’s an absolute outrage that the Government would allow Indian mining giant Adani to dredge millions of cubic metres of seabed within the Great Barrier Reef marine park to make way for its coal ships.
As the tropical state of Australia, Queensland is known for its summer storms. We’re used to it being hot and steamy one day and raining buckets the next. This summer, though, was particularly crazy, and the Queensland election last weekend perfectly matched the unpredictable weather.
The Australian government is running a PR campaign to convince the world that the Great Barrier Reef is fine - most recently inviting international journalists to take a guided tour of the Reef.