Reef Madness: A Baseless Coral Panic

The Great Barrier shrank over the past year but was bigger than ever in 2024

By Bjorn Lomborg. Excerpts:

"Australian scientists have meticulously tracked the reef’s coral cover since 1986. For many years, they published an annual average coral cover figure. The data show that the reef was mostly stable until 2000, then began declining, and by 2012 it had shrunk to less than half its original cover.

But then the reef started growing. It rebounded spectacularly. The scientists stopped publishing their reef-wide average, perhaps because it didn’t further the climate-change narrative. But they continued publishing regional and sectorwide averages, making it possible for anyone to effectively recreate the reef-wide average.

By 2021 coral cover was higher than it had been since measurements began. It increased further, staying at unprecedentedly high levels in 2022 and 2023. The coral grew more still in 2024."

"CNN: “Australia’s Great Barrier Reef devastated by worst coral bleaching on record, new report finds.”"

"Never mind that the reductions came off the record high of 2024, or that large year-to-year variations are typical."

"there are very little data before systematic tracking began in 1986."