Australia’s under-pressure Great Barrier Reef is an asset worth Aus$56 billion (US$42 billion) and as an ecosystem and economic driver is “too big to fail”, a study said Monday. The World Heritage-listed reef is the largest living structure on Earth and its economic and social value was calculated for the first time in the Deloitte … Read more
Chemicals from human cosmetics and drugs have been found in the blood of turtles living in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Green turtles were found to have hundreds of thousands of different chemicals in their blood stream, which had caused the animals to suffer from liver dysfunction. Scientists said the discovery highlighted the devastating impact of … Read more
Human medicines and household substances have been discovered in the blood of green turtles in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, researchers said Friday, highlighting the impact of man-made matter on marine life. Medications for the heart (milrinone) and gout (allopurinol), as well as cosmetic and industrial chemicals, were among hundreds of thousands of substances detected in … Read more
Australia’s plan to rescue the beleaguered Great Barrier Reef has been set back at least two decades after the fragile ecosystem suffered its worst-ever bleaching last year, experts said Friday. The vast coral reef — which provides a tourism boon for Australia — is under pressure from agricultural run-off, the crown-of-thorns starfish, development and climate … Read more