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posted by takyon on Wednesday April 25 2018, @02:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the going,-going,... dept.

Gazette Day reports:

In the year 2016, there was a heatwave that affected many parts of the world. The extreme temperatures were especially felt in and around the continent of Australia. As a result of the heatwave, the waters around the Great Barrier Reef warmed considerably. Scientists were worried that with the oceans already warming due to global climate change, the additional heat stress might cause considerable damage to the Great Barrier Reef.

After the heatwave subsided, a team of scientists conducted tests to find out how the heatwave damaged the reef. Extensive aerial surveys were conducted. These surveys concluded that a great deal of the reef had bleaching that had killed off many parts of the reef. [...] The surveys found that 90 percent of the corals in the reef suffered at least some type of bleaching. The worst damage was on the northernmost third of the reef. In this section, much of the damage was caused by the initial rise in temperature.

The other damage occurred later. The coral reefs depend on a symbiotic relationship with a certain type of algae. Over the course of a few months after the heating event, the algae separated from the reef causing additional reef death.

During the heating event in 2016, one-third of the coral reefs in the world were bleached and damaged in some way. The reefs do have the ability to come back from this [heat-induced damage] as long as the damaging events are not too frequent.

Global warming transforms coral reef assemblages (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0041-2) (DX)


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  • (Score: 2, Troll) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday April 25 2018, @03:08PM (62 children)

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday April 25 2018, @03:08PM (#671646) Homepage Journal

    In this section, much of the damage was caused by the initial rise in temperature.

    This is why you fail, Erica Smith. In science you must prove a thing before you may state a thing. I don't know if it's your bad or the scientists you talked to's bad but if you cannot understand what you did wrong you need to be covering human interest stories rather than science.

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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @03:34PM (12 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @03:34PM (#671657)

    How is that baf science? Also per your SIG the next move is informing you that you are a trailer trash level asshole.

    • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday April 25 2018, @04:00PM (11 children)

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday April 25 2018, @04:00PM (#671667) Homepage Journal

      Can you not read? She made the claim that "much of the damage was caused by the initial rise in temperature" without providing evidence to support this. I did point this out.

      Nice use of the second person there. You win five Internets.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:30PM (10 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:30PM (#671713)

        I guess we're down to RTFS now.

        After the heatwave subsided, a team of scientists conducted tests to find out how the heatwave damaged the reef. Extensive aerial surveys were conducted. These surveys concluded that a great deal of the reef had bleaching that had killed off many parts of the reef. [...] The surveys found that 90 percent of the corals in the reef suffered at least some type of bleaching. The worst damage was on the northernmost third of the reef. In this section, much of the damage was caused by the initial rise in temperature.

        So unless some massive other factor changed at the same time that they happened to overlook; then yes the claim is just fine. You want access to all the aerial photography and local samples so you can verify yourself? Do you even have the first clue what to even look for / compare to?

        I like winning but I don't have much space at home for all five internets. Please ship to my offsite inventory warehouse, it gets a lot of traffic with people sending stuff in and out so we can probably squeeze five internets int here somewhere. Please send to:

        187 Upyerbutt Drive
        Rockwood, Tennesee

        • (Score: 3, Interesting) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:55PM (9 children)

          by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:55PM (#671730) Homepage Journal

          Yeah, someone should RTFS again but it ain't me. Keep looking at it until you see that nothing said there provides evidence to the statement you're arguing in favor of.

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
          • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @08:49PM (8 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @08:49PM (#671854)

            Haha suuuure buddy, just further evidence that you libertarian types have hoooorrrible reading and critical thinking skills.

            My bet is Atlas Shrugged was a Deep State plant coded with linguistic viruses to turn readers into unwitting shills.

            • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday April 25 2018, @09:10PM (7 children)

              by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday April 25 2018, @09:10PM (#671865) Homepage Journal

              No, it was just monotonous, tedious, and written by someone who I would not have advised to quit her day job.

              --
              My rights don't end where your fear begins.
              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @10:28PM (6 children)

                by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @10:28PM (#671912)

                I figured you'd read it, you just put the crazy linguistic virus idea up a few notches.

                • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday April 25 2018, @11:26PM (5 children)

                  by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday April 25 2018, @11:26PM (#671934) Homepage Journal

                  If you haven't, you've got no ground to stand on criticizing the content. I have, thus I can criticize and know what the fuck I'm talking about.

                  --
                  My rights don't end where your fear begins.
                  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 26 2018, @03:14AM (4 children)

                    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 26 2018, @03:14AM (#672003)

                    Well the whole thing was a joke, linguistic virus? Cmon bud

                    • (Score: 5, Informative) by Pav on Thursday April 26 2018, @07:05AM (3 children)

                      by Pav (114) on Thursday April 26 2018, @07:05AM (#672052)

                      A few years ago I happened to work at James Cook University, one of the world leaders in tropical marine science (and most probably the home of the scientists mentioned in this story). I've spoken at length to academics about exactly this topic.

                      Coral is a symbiotic organism consisting of a coral polyp and a certain type of algae called zooxanthellae. The polyp provides a home for the algae, and the algae produces carbohydrate for the polyp. Under stress (either caused by heat, or on inshore reefs during low salinity due to relatively rare flood events) the algae loses the ability of photosyntesis and produces harmful waste products which poison the host polyp. In this scenario the polyp ejects most of the algae which causes the coral to lose its colour ie. bleach - this happens over such vast distances it can be monitored from the air. This doesn't mean the coral is dead - if conditions normalise quickly then the coral can rebuild its zooxanthellae population before it starves. Coral starvation depends on a number of factors eg. how "fat" the polyps are, and if there's plankton around. Coral reefs are underwater deserts which is why visibility is usually so excellent, but during rare plankton blooms bleached polyps can survive much longer by consuming plankton.

                      Although certain strains of zooxanthellae are more tolerant of heat than others they usually only differ in their tolerance by a few tenths of a degree C, so by monitoring water temperature, salinity and coral colour it's very easy to pinpoint the cause of a bleaching event. If temperatures remain high for long corals WILL die unless there's a plankton bloom or the polyps are in very good condition initially - a series of short high temperature events stress the corals and make permanent bleaching more likely in the longer run.

                      • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday April 26 2018, @11:06AM (2 children)

                        by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Thursday April 26 2018, @11:06AM (#672110) Homepage Journal

                        Thank you. See, folks, that's what was needed.

                        --
                        My rights don't end where your fear begins.
                        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 27 2018, @02:56AM (1 child)

                          by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 27 2018, @02:56AM (#672442)

                          lol, if only every journalist was an expert in every field! If only the researchers decided that a summary needed in-depth explanations for the less important details. I mean why not rewrite every textbook for every article? We wouldn't want special snowflakes to actually do any research for their own questions.

                          I guess this is the best we can expect from you, having pretty much everyone yell at your for your ridiculous statements until someone finally gives you enough detail that you can pretend that's all you were looking for! You are one of the most intellectually insecure and dishonest people around this site.

  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @04:43PM (31 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @04:43PM (#671691)

    So it is bad science because she needs to cite the thirty years worth of research on coral bleaching and temperature effects that you are apparently unaware of? Bad science because if YOUR ignorance?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:00PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:00PM (#671698)

      Bad science because of wetback faggot cunt nitpicking.

      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:34PM

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:34PM (#671715) Journal

        Heh . . . I initially dismissed your post as asinine bullshit. Took a few seconds. You get a partial point, I guess. Point 1 points sound reasonable? Nine more poss of equal quality, and you'll have one whole point. Phhhhtttt. On the other hand, you could make an actual contributing post, and get multiple points for the effort.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:05PM (15 children)

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:05PM (#671702) Homepage Journal

      Why, yes. Absolutely. You simply do not get to make claims that you cannot point to supporting data about in science.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Thexalon on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:28PM (2 children)

        by Thexalon (636) on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:28PM (#671711)

        Point is, there are some findings that are so well established they don't require citation. For instance, if I employ "F=ma" in a physics paper, nobody's going to complain that I didn't go through in-depth data and research to prove it.

        My guess is that the effects of overheating on coral is quite well established, which isn't a surprising finding because all animals that get too hot have bad things happen to them.

        What you're really saying, I'm reasonably certain, is "I don't believe the Earth is getting warmer, so therefor I'm going to doubt any research that could possibly imply that I'm wrong." Which is a fundamentally anti-scientific position, and you know it.

        --
        The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
        • (Score: 4, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:36PM

          by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:36PM (#671716) Journal

          the effects of overheating on coral is quite well established

          That's why I always simmer my coral, and never boil it. And, never put it in the microwave!

        • (Score: 3, Interesting) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:58PM

          by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:58PM (#671733) Homepage Journal

          Point is, there are some findings that are so well established they don't require citation.

          And that one is plainly not. Anyone who even sort of paid attention in highschool can cite "F=ma" or "E=mc2" but this is nowhere near that sort of notoriety.

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:36PM (7 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:36PM (#671717)

        Ahh yes, the might Libertarian in his native habitat of narcissistic denial. Bullshit claims you make don't require any evidence because "if you need lots of words to explain something it is probably bullshit - TMB" but anything even tangentially touching sensitive topics like climate change require ten copies of the data signed in triplicate and buried in soft peat for five years. The Mighty Buzztard hard at work today!!

        * if you wouldn't be so pushy about your own shaky opinions and state things more reasonably then we might have nice discussions. Use hyperbole and bad logic to support a sweeping judgmental statement and prepare to receive the same.

        • (Score: 3, Funny) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:59PM (2 children)

          by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:59PM (#671735) Homepage Journal

          Denial? This is pedantry, thank you very much.

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
          • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @09:46PM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @09:46PM (#671886)

            Le sigh, the denial aspect comes from having a bias towards a certain position and going through ridiculous leaps of logic to deny anything that contradicts your assumption. Heat wave hits in 2016, no other obvious cause for coral die off, coral biology well understood to be sensitive to environmental conditions such as heat and CO2 concentrations.

            More brazen confidence in your ability to deflect and deny. Nowadays anyone who displays the same type of confident bullshitting I label as an educated idiot best ignored. Often such people have a core foundation of very basic and often flawed concepts, and they build from there.

        • (Score: 4, Flamebait) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday April 25 2018, @08:34PM (3 children)

          by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Wednesday April 25 2018, @08:34PM (#671844) Journal

          The worst part is the dumb beaky bastard projects like a mile of movie theaters. I've rarely seen anyone so "driven by feelz" as he himself accuses others of being. And bare assumptions? The inside of his head has to register as a brothel, it's got so many bare naked assumptions in it.

          --
          I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
          • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday April 25 2018, @09:12PM (2 children)

            by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday April 25 2018, @09:12PM (#671867) Homepage Journal

            The inside of his head has to register as a brothel, it's got so many bare naked assumptions in it.

            Oh there's plenty of naked in it but very few assumptions left.

            --
            My rights don't end where your fear begins.
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @10:04PM (1 child)

              by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @10:04PM (#671897)

              lawwwwwwwwwwwwwl

              TMB has no assumptions everybody! Don't mind the million times he's had good evidence refute his statements, he is a purely logical fact-driven MACHINE! Much wow, so amazeballs.

      • (Score: -1, Troll) by aristarchus on Wednesday April 25 2018, @11:43PM (3 children)

        by aristarchus (2645) on Wednesday April 25 2018, @11:43PM (#671949) Journal

        You simply do not get to make claims

        Oh dear! The Micturating Blowhard is at it again, censoring Soylentils with mad abandon? Oh, the humanity!

    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday April 25 2018, @09:47PM (12 children)

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday April 25 2018, @09:47PM (#671887) Journal

      So it is bad science because she needs to cite the thirty years worth of research on coral bleaching and temperature effects that you are apparently unaware of?

      Argument from obfuscation is not evidence.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @10:31PM (9 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @10:31PM (#671915)

        Arguments that come from underneath a pile of sand should remain buried below, preferably washed out to sea and eaten by a starfish who can convert it into rainbows.

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday April 25 2018, @10:59PM (8 children)

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday April 25 2018, @10:59PM (#671928) Journal
          Well, at least you got that one right. Didn't stop you from doing it though.
          • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @11:26PM (7 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @11:26PM (#671935)

            I'm rubber and you're glue, whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you!

            Wow, haven't had a good reason to use that since 2nd grade.

            • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday April 25 2018, @11:31PM

              by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday April 25 2018, @11:31PM (#671942) Homepage Journal

              Damn you! I'd been waiting for a good opportunity to use that one for ages.

              --
              My rights don't end where your fear begins.
            • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday April 25 2018, @11:40PM (5 children)

              by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday April 25 2018, @11:40PM (#671948) Journal
              I know it's so unfair that I use reason and superior intellect on you. But how are you going to learn otherwise?

              Wow, haven't had a good reason to use that since 2nd grade.

              And you still haven't had a good reason.

              • (Score: 2, Redundant) by aristarchus on Thursday April 26 2018, @12:25AM

                by aristarchus (2645) on Thursday April 26 2018, @12:25AM (#671964) Journal

                I know it's so unfair that I use reason and superior intellect on you.

                Use? khallow, you are incapable of even recognizing either of these things! So the ball is now firmly stuck to you, like a Anthropogenic Global Climate Warming Tarbaby.

              • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 26 2018, @03:18AM (3 children)

                by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 26 2018, @03:18AM (#672005)

                Reason and superior intellect? You realize I had to resort to 2nd grade tactics so you'd understand what I was getting at right?

                • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday April 26 2018, @07:29AM (2 children)

                  by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday April 26 2018, @07:29AM (#672058) Journal
                  I get that you're whiny. That's 6 minute old tactics.
                  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 27 2018, @02:59AM (1 child)

                    by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 27 2018, @02:59AM (#672444)

                    Argument from obfuscation is not evidence.

                    Sounds pretty whiny to me. "Waah waaaah they didn't include info from high school bio up to graduate level marine biology waaaaah." Pretty fucking whiny guy, no amount of projection is going to cure your brainwashing.

                    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday April 27 2018, @08:11AM

                      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday April 27 2018, @08:11AM (#672523) Journal
                      At this point, I'm just not interested in your perception. Let's look at the context again:

                      So it is bad science because she needs to cite the thirty years worth of research on coral bleaching and temperature effects that you are apparently unaware of?

                      Argument from obfuscation is not evidence.

                      How much of that "thirty years worth of research on coral bleaching and temperature effects" have you bothered to read? None right? When someone invokes a huge mass of literature in which, somewhere the answer allegedly lies, and which they haven't themselves bothered to peruse, then that's an argument from obfuscation fallacy. You're hiding your lack of answer in a pile of work.

                      My view on this is TMB had a point which has been roundly ignored by half a dozen posters. Science is precisely the place where one doesn't assert things without any sort of support. This journalist has been playing games with us.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 26 2018, @06:57AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 26 2018, @06:57AM (#672050)

        If the Market wanted coral, it would evolve some to cope with the higher temperatures.

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday April 26 2018, @07:33AM

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday April 26 2018, @07:33AM (#672061) Journal

          If the Market wanted coral, it would evolve some to cope with the higher temperatures.

          Which let us note, has happened no matter what "the Market" "wanted". Markets aren't just the ones run by humans.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:02PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:02PM (#671700)

    Your expectations are appropriate for a scientific paper, not for a story in the popular press. Fortunately, there's a scientific paper linked.

    • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:07PM (4 children)

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:07PM (#671703) Homepage Journal

      Honestly, I'd prefer it to be cited in the press before it would a paper. Those reading an article in some random magazine are more likely to need the information than those reading a scientific journal.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:45PM (3 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @05:45PM (#671723)

        The overwhelming majority who read these articles in random magazines wouldn't bother to read the actual science and probably couldn't determine the validity factor for themselves. It has been a long while since I've done lab work and statistical analyses so it would take me quite a bit of effort go through and determine if their numbers are even vaguely reasonable. Even then without their actual data I couldn't say for sure.

        I think you're just hiding your knee-jerk reaction due to "global warming" with a bunch of "I just want good science" bullshit. You're an intellectual fraud and sadly many many people can tell. If you think you are saving some dignity by being stubborn and appearing confident, well that is the realm of scam artists but in this case you're really just scamming yourself.

        Oh, and feeding into the anti-science circle jerk bubble.

        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday April 25 2018, @06:02PM (2 children)

          by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday April 25 2018, @06:02PM (#671740) Homepage Journal

          A citation to a well written news article would be preferred but a scientific paper would do if none were available. This has nothing to do with my belief in the truth of the statement. It very likely is true. But claims need to be supported or it's either shitty reporting or shitty science.

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
  • (Score: 2) by captain normal on Wednesday April 25 2018, @06:03PM (6 children)

    by captain normal (2205) on Wednesday April 25 2018, @06:03PM (#671743)

    Come on Buzzy...you are supposed to be an editor. The Gazette article was merely a report on the study published in Nature (which I do not have access to). The Abstract actually hints at this: "... corals began to die immediately on reefs where the accumulated heat exposure exceeded a critical threshold ..."
    You should not be so quick to jump to confusions merely because what you think you are reading does not conform to what you believe.

    --
    When life isn't going right, go left.
    • (Score: 3, Informative) by captain normal on Wednesday April 25 2018, @06:13PM

      by captain normal (2205) on Wednesday April 25 2018, @06:13PM (#671754)

      Missed a link in TFA, which apparently you did not read (maybe because you have a hard on to rag on Original Owner):
      " Many corals — especially those in the northern third of the reef — died immediately from heat stress."
      https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-04660-w [nature.com]

      --
      When life isn't going right, go left.
    • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday April 25 2018, @06:51PM (4 children)

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday April 25 2018, @06:51PM (#671782) Homepage Journal

      Come on Buzzy...you are supposed to be an editor.

      The hell you say. I'm a code monkey and, when it can't be avoided, an admin.

      So shoddy journalism instead of shoddy science? Okay, I'm with you now.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @10:06PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @10:06PM (#671901)

        No, shoddy criticism. Own up to your shit and do some soul searching as to why you chose a bad nit to pick.

      • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday April 26 2018, @08:11AM (1 child)

        by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Thursday April 26 2018, @08:11AM (#672072) Homepage Journal

        It's too bad you're not an editor. Because you're very smart. You saw that this story is bullshit. Fake News. I see that. So many folks see that. But the editors didn't see that.

        We should be focused on clean and beautiful air, not expensive and business closing global warming. A total hoax! They changed the name to "climate change" because it got too cold. By the way, we may have a climate change problem, but it will be of the nuclear variety.

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by PiMuNu on Wednesday April 25 2018, @06:59PM (3 children)

    by PiMuNu (3823) on Wednesday April 25 2018, @06:59PM (#671785)

    You are right in that it is not proven, but...

    * there is correlation, i.e. there was significant heating of the ocean correlated with coral die back
    * there is a mechanism, i.e. many years of research supporting coral die back being caused by heating
    * there are no known confounding factors

    ... so there is strong, perhaps overwhelming evidence supporting the hypothesis that heating caused the coral die back.

    I agree that it is easy to say "because global warming" about every natural disaster (or environmental catastrophe or whatever you want to call it). This is the wrong battle to fight though, don't you think?

    • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday April 25 2018, @09:14PM (2 children)

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday April 25 2018, @09:14PM (#671868) Homepage Journal

      If that's what they said, I'd have no beef.

      This is the wrong battle to fight though, don't you think?

      Precision is important in science. Advocating for this is never the wrong battle.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @10:10PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 25 2018, @10:10PM (#671902)

        Advocating for precision when it has already been addressed to the best of their ability AND when you haven't even done the basic research like RTFA then yeah, you're a fool.