Once upon a time, in the distant 60s and 70s, the Great Barrier Reef faced imminent destruction. Tenement applications for drilling and mining covered vast swathes of the reef, with both government and industry enthusiastically backing the plans for mass exploitation.
It was a Sunday morning in July, 2015, that I got a chance to board the Rainbow Warrior as a member and go on a guided tour of the vessel. When I was on the rubber dinghy on the way out to the boat I remember thinking, “I hope there is some type of an environmental emergency that the ship, the Rainbow Warrior would have to rush off to, with me still on board.”
NOTE: Since the time of writing, scientists have announced that for the second year in a row, a major coral bleaching event is unfolding. You can take action here.
My name is Graeme Kelleher, and for 16 years, I was in charge of the Government authority trusted with designing and protecting the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
Activism legend Naomi Klein speaks to Greenpeace's David Ritter about the "insanity" of government coal collusion, scenarios for the Great Barrier Reef, and her admiration for Australia's environmental movement.
This year the Great Barrier Reef experienced its worst bleaching event ever and the Australian public didn’t let the Reef down. The public said loud and clear they support coral rather than coal. The Australian public know the fossil fuel era is over.
This year the Great Barrier Reef experienced its worst bleaching event ever. Almost a quarter of the Reef died. According to Reef scientists only an immediate and drastic reduction in the use of fossil fuels will save the Great Barrier Reef.
