Australia's Great Barrier Reef (大堡礁) is the world's largest reef system. It is over 2,600 kilometers long. You can even see it all the way from outer space.
The reef is home to many animals: fish, birds, turtles, sharks and even whales.
Climate change, overfishing, tropical storms (热带风暴) and water pollution are damaging the reef every year. Coral (珊瑚) reef experts at Australian universities say that if we do nothing to stop it, the coral reef could be destroyed before 2030.
Everyday things like driving cars, using electricity and running a factory create greenhouse gases that go into the air. These gases make Earth warmer. This is a problem for the Great Barrier Reef and other reefs around the world.
Coral is very fragile (脆弱的). Even a 2-degree increase in water temperature is enough to kill it, according to Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a reef researcher at the University of Queensland, Australia.
But it's not only the coral that's in danger. If air pollution is not slowed down or stopped, then the water will warm by at least 3 degrees in the next 20 years, according to reef experts in a recent report from University of Queensland.
| A. One-quarter of all sea life lives on coral reefs. B. Unfortunately, the reef that all these animals call home is in danger. C. But if you haven't been there, you'd better go soon before it's too late. D. This would spell the end for the Great Barrier Reef and all its sea life. E. Most scientists agree that humans are the main cause of climate change. F. If the water temperature doesn't go down, the coral will die. |
