A group of experts in Tokyo suggested pouring radioactive water from Fukushima into the open sea. A marine biochemist explains the consequences of this absurd decision.
Oceans
Help save Belize’s reef, with an email
Quasi in 150mila hanno firmato un appello del Wwf al governo del Belize: salvi la seconda barriera corallina più grande del mondo e la Grande Voragine Blu.
About 145,000 people from all over the world took action, by sending an email to Belize’s Prime Minister Dean Barrow, by virtue of a plea organised by the WWF. The aim is saving the Belize barrier reef World Heritage site, which extends for 300 kilometres and is the Northern hemisphere’s largest reef and the world’s second, after the Australian Great Barrier Reef.
Concrete and oil pose the major threats
The natural site – home to the renowned Great Blue Hole, a giant submarine sinkhole formed in the last ice age – is endangered. The main threats are pollution, tourism, navigation, industrial activities, fishery, coastal construction and climate change.
This is just one of 114 precious places threatened by harmful industrial activities. → https://t.co/YzsI97hicA pic.twitter.com/W3kTnkGoN3
— WWF (@WWF) July 10, 2016
Coral bleaching is one of the main consequences of such critical situation. WWF decided to directly ask the government to “halt oil extraction activities in Belize’s waters, given the risks they bring about and that the government has committed to developing renewable energies”.
Belize’s reef is home to 1,400 animal and plant species
“In recent years, the reef’s ecosystems have been damaged by coastal construction and oil concessions,” writes the association. This could lead to an environmental catastrophe, considering that the area is home to at least 1,400 animal and plant species.
La moitié des sites du Patrimoine mondial menacée par des activités industrielles https://t.co/h40DpC4mxC #UNESCO pic.twitter.com/aAhWjLzFkg
— WWF France (@WWFFrance) July 12, 2016
Not to mention that local populations, which mainly rely on fishery and tourism, are threatened by intensive industrial exploitation. For all these reasons, WWF urges effective actions to be defined during the World Heritage Committee in Istanbul.
Featured image via YouTube.
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