And so continues the wailing of our eternal disaster merchants.
The Great Barrier Reef, that great chain of islands, reefs, shoals and atolls stretching near 2,000 miles and some 40 miles wide in parts (and possessed of its own pain-in-the-butt people-hating bureaucracy operating under the acronym GBRMPA, pronounced ‘Gabroompa’), which has proven indestructible through ice age and interglacial, surviving sea level change of hundreds of feet and a current sea surface temperature span of some 10 °C, is allegedly at risk (again/still) at the puny hand of Man.
This time they are recycling the agricultural chemical scam, probably as a result of Coalition discussion papers on greatly expanding agriculture in Australia’s water-rich north through irrigation infrastructure and development.
If it’s not gorebull warbling it’s development, tourism, chemical outwash, silt, Crown-of-thorns starfish, boat anchors or space aliens (I might have made up that last one) but eternally there’s some fool crying danger to “The Reef! The Reef!”.
Silliest part of all this is that there’d be no buildup of chemicals, silting problems and far less chance of the GBR lagoon warming far enough to cause coral bleaching if we blew some decent shipping channels through the damned thing and let the Pacific flush the lagoon rather than leaving it trapped there like a stagnant puddle.
Study finds unsafe toxin levels in reef
September 22, 2011 – 1:57PM
Tests have revealed high levels of toxins at the Great Barrier Reef. Photo: Supplied
The Great Barrier Reef is being contaminated by farm chemicals up to 50 times the levels deemed safe, World Wildlife Fund Australia says.
Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management scientists have found three chemicals – atrazine, diuron and metachlor – were at toxic levels exceeding national standards for contamination of freshwater ecosystems at eight sites along the Great Barrier Reef coast.
The discovery comes as the national chemical regulator, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, considers whether to allow the continued use of diuron. (Brisbane Times)
