Author: Andrew C. Revkin
Source: The New York Times
July 14, 2012

"The Op-Ed section has published “A World Without Coral Reefs,” a provocative and disturbing essay by Roger Bradbury, an ecologist studying resource management at Australian National University. He asserts that these dynamic biological communities, long heralded as the rain forests of the sea, are doomed “zombie ecosystems” — with the triple whammy of overfishing, pollution and ocean acidification from the global buildup of carbon dioxide bound to overwhelm conservationists’ efforts.

Needless to say, his essay is eliciting reactions as varied and passionate as those greeting Peter Kareiva’s very different critique of conventional conservation strategies.

Randy Olson, the marine biologist who turned to filmmaking, blogging and authorship (with “Don’t Be Such a Scientist“), first alerted me to Bradbury’s line of thinking and said he’s thrilled with the piece."

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