This 2017 video is about Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, one of the natural wonders of the world and the largest living structure on our planet.
From AFP news agency:
16 December 2015 – 09H25
Australia seeks corporate sponsorship of Barrier Reef
SYDNEY – The Australian government is seeking corporate sponsorship for the Great Barrier Reef, sparking fears Wednesday that companies could potentially use such investments to hide poor green credentials.
The world’s biggest coral reef has been under increasing threat from climate change, farming run-off, development and the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish.
In a brochure entitled ‘Partnerships for the Reef’, the government-backed Reef Trust said it was interested in sponsorship, joint investment and collaborative arrangements to deliver conservation projects.
It noted these could range from Aus$1 million (US$719,500) to improve seabird resilience to Aus$7 million to help control the crown-of-thorns starfish.
“Your role and commitment to protecting and conserving the Great Barrier Reef will be widely acknowledged,” it said.
“All Reef Trust investments will be recognised in branding of project materials, ranging from online publications and reports to social media activities and reef events.”
The Great Barrier Reef stretches more than 2,300 kilometres (1,426 miles) along Australia’s east coast in resource-rich Queensland state.
Conservationists have long argued that exploitation of these resources, particularly coal, will risk harming the reef, as the material will have to be shipped out of the area, which is teeming with marine life.
The Australian Greens political party condemned the sponsorship idea, with Senator Larissa Waters asking: “What’s next, naming rights, like for football stadiums?
“While private donations for reef protection are welcome they shouldn’t be in exchange for advertising rights and they must be on top of adequate public funding, not in place of it,” she added in a statement.
“The most alarming part of this proposal is the potential for companies which are threatening the reef to buy positive reef branding to try to avert the reputational damage they deserve.”
Waters said potentially letting coal companies sponsor the Great Barrier Reef “would be like letting tobacco companies sponsor hospitals”.
Or letting the hospital bombing United States air force and/or the hospital bombing Saudi royal air force sponsor hospitals.
Australia Pressed UN To Ignore Great Barrier Reef In Key Climate Report. Officials worried it would negatively impact tourism: here.
A Massive Reef Was Just Discovered Hiding Behind the Great Barrier Reef: here.
THE GRAVEYARD OF THE GREAT BARRIER REEF Mass casualties plague the coral. [Nick Visser, HuffPost]
Researchers from Australia and the United States have reported that a 700-kilometer span of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has lost two-thirds of its shallow-water coral in the past nine months as a result of coral bleaching induced by global warming. This is the most severe episode of coral loss on the Great Barrier Reef on record, surpassing the events of 1998, 2002 and 2006. It will take at least ten years for the region to recover: here.
Dear Kitty. Some blog 
Wednesday 23rd December 2015
posted by Morning Star in World
by Our Foreign Desk
AUSTRALIA’S federal government formally approved the dredging of vast swathes of the seabed from an area near the Great Barrier Reef yesterday.
The proposal is part of a major coal port expansion and was agreed after the government rejected arguments by environmentalists that it will hurt the region’s fragile ecosystem.
Environment Minister Greg Hunt initially approved the expansion of the Abbot Point coal port in northern Queensland in 2013, but the process has been repeatedly delayed and revised amid protests by conservation groups.
The expansion requires a massive dredging operation to clear channels and make way for ships entering and leaving the port.
Up to 39 million cubic feet of dredged material would be removed and disposed of on land in an industrial area, a spokeswoman for Mr Hunt said. The plan still requires the approval of the Queensland government.
Conservationists have argued that dredging will be catastrophic for the delicate reef.
Beyond the initial concern that dumped sediment would smother coral and sea grass, environmental groups have warned that the increased shipping traffic would boost the risk of accidents, such as oil spills and collisions with coral beds.
International conservation group WWF condemned the decision, warning that the dredging will still threaten sea life and noting that the dumped sediment will now be disposed of in an area adjacent to wetlands that are home to thousands of birds.
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-1470-Australia-Controversial-port-gets-green-light#.VnvobFJtdSE
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Dear friends,
They’re trying to put a toxic coal complex next to the magical Great Barrier Reef! It’s a crazy plan, but we’ve got a chance to stop it.
The Australian government wants to give $1 billion to build a massive coal complex that could destroy the sea floor home of turtles and tropical fish. But first an independent panel must approve the loan, and they’ve never come under public pressure.
It’s time to make them feel the heat. Let’s put this reef-killing deal in a global spotlight with a million person petition and a massive campaign in the Australian media — add your name:
Click to save the Great Barrier Reef
The Reef is one of our planet’s natural wonders but it’s dying fast. Scientists say it’s literally being cooked to death by waters warmed by climate change. This coal complex is so gigantic it will make warming worse – for the reef and all of us!
The Australian government is desperate to create jobs, but reports show the coal complex will cost $680,000 in taxpayer money for each new job created. It’s an epically stupid plan.
This is a do or die moment for the reef-wrecking coal complex: the company behind it is buried in debt, and without this loan their finances could fall apart. Let’s stop the reef-killing deal — add your voice now:
Click to save the Great Barrier Reef
Avaaz has mobilised again and again to block financing and support for this coal complex! This could be the last time — let’s get an epic win for the planet, and for future generations.
With hope,
Oliver, Danny, Mais, David, Andrew, Alice and the whole Avaaz team
PS – Every signature really does matter! Sign here.
MORE INFORMATION
Great Barrier Reef Hit by Worst Coral Die-Off on Record (New York Times)
Adani coal mine: green groups fume over plan for $1b federal loan (The Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/dec/03/adani-coal-mine-green-groups-fume-over-plan-for-1b-federal-loan
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