Hey everyone! Ready to learn about Coral Reefs? They are actually a lot cooler than you think. 

Although coral reefs don’t even take up 1% of the ocean they are considered to be “Biological Hotspots” of the ocean. They are also very diverse considering that they are the homes to ¼ of all marine life. Coral reefs are by far one of the most valuable ecosystems on earth and are key indicators to the ocean’s health. Coral reefs are considered animals and are very similar to jellyfish. 

Did you know that on top of the ¼ of animals living in coral reefs over 4,000 different species of fish depend on coral reefs as their home at some point in their lives?

Now that you know a little bit about coral reefs let’s talk about the sad part and how we can save them.

In the past 30 years we have lost an estimated 50% of coral reefs. This is projected to reach up to a 90% loss by 2050. Over half a billion people depend on coral reefs whether they know it or not for food, income and protection. Coral reefs attract around $36 billion every year. They also help the shoreline to stop eroding and as you already know they are a home for a lot of animals. Even with how important coral reefs are they continue to die from human interactions, overfishing and even global warming. A way that global warming is killing coral reefs is bleaching. Bleaching is when the ocean waters get to hot and the coral releases all of its algae, this causes the coral to turn completely white. When coral bleaches it is not dead, if the temperature stays warm it then causes the coral to not let the algae back in and it dies. Around 30% of coral reefs died in the Great Barrier Reef during the huge amounts of bleaching in 2016. Another thing that hurts coral reefs a lot is sunscreen. Believe it or not 6,000 – 14,000 tons of sunscreen falls off of humans and into the ocean per year. Chemicals that are in the sunscreen are killing coral reefs. 

If you are still not feeling strongly about saving coral reefs then read this. Coral reefs provide sources for medicines that are being developed to treat things like cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and so many more viruses and diseases. Coral reefs are possibly the gateway to finding the cures that once felt impossible. 

Here are some ways you can help protect coral reefs:

• Buy reef safe sunscreen.
• Try volunteering at a local beach cleanup if possible.
• Try to conserve water 
• Use energy efficient light bulbs- to help the amount of greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere and help climate change.
• Try using environmentally friendly things. For example, use a reusable water bottle or when you are at a store you can look for the environmentally sustainable products (most stores have them)

Lastly, keep informed and spread the word. Below I have attached a video with some more information about coral reefs and make sure you tell your peers about this problem and direct them to my blog or show them some videos.

Thanks for reading this and I hope you now know a little more about coral reefs. We are officially one step closer to saving the world. Please leave a comment saying one reason you plan to help protect coral reefs and share the link to your blog so I can stop by and look around.