Great Barrier Reef Environmental Impacts

Mindlessly burning fossil fuels to benefit large corporations, is an unethical practice that’s repercussions endanger the lives of other people. The burning and use of fossil fuels leads directly to global warming; however, fossil fuels have brought in billions of dollars of revenue for certain large corporations and people. The consequences of global warming are dire. There has been a sharp increase in water temperatures, natural disasters, and destruction of the world’s ecosystems. Most of the world’s pollutants is produced largely by China and the United States; however, the effects of global warming on the economy are felt more in developing countries than others. Natural disasters are more likely to destroy the economies of many developing

Corals are colonial organisms that live on the sea floor, and are essential to the ecosystem. Corals provide a three dimensional habitat for small organisms that live in the ocean, produce food using their symbiotic algae in photosynthesis, and filter the debris out of sea water. Corals are an essential part of the underwater ecosystem off the coast of Australia The corals are also a large source of revenue for Australia, as tourism site that millions visit each year. However, global warming has also led to an increase of seawater temperature. Large amounts of carbon being dissolved into the ocean, has completely changed the underwater ecosystems (2). Oceanic ecosystems are extremely stable in temperature; thus, the small change in oceanic temperature has wreaked havoc on the coral reefs. With an increase in temperature, the coral reefs have started to die and the underwater habitat has been completely destroyed for thousands of different species of fish that live in the coral reef. Australia is the 16th largest producer of carbon dioxide emission in the world, but the effects of global warming are being felt on a much larger scale. Thus, global warming is not affecting countries proportional to the amount of carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, it is vital to reduce the use of fossil fuels and produce new sources of energy to lower

The family in Australia make a living off Great Barrier Reef by providing tours, and the family in China owns a factory that has a very large carbon footprint. Although, the Chinese family may be doing well for themselves and providing a good livelihood for their family, but the carbon emissions they are producing lead to a larger climate change issue. From a moral standpoint, both of the families have equal standing and value for human life. However, the consequences of the family is having a direct negative effect on the other. The whole livelihood of the other family and standard of life is being destroyed for the benefit of another. According to the philosopher Richard J Arneson, “All humans have an equal basic moral status. They possess the same fundamental rights, and the comparable interests of each person should count the same in the calculations that determine social policy” (1). Therefore, it means that on moral grounds both families have the same value, but the actions of one of the families is hurting another. The same applies to countries. China is the largest polluter in the world, and the effects of global warming aren’t as extreme in their case. In places like Australia, India, and Haiti the livelihoods of millions of people is degraded to fit with the greed of a few large corporations that advocate the use of fossil