Page 11 - December 2017 Newsletter

Company Company

So Rinda and Dave have So. The Great Barrier A Safe Haven for Aquatic
a triple dose of good Reef Lesson :-) LIfe
news for the coming year Contributed by: Jorge Casuas
to share Pulling away from the Great
One of Australia’s most re- Barrier Reef, and viewing it
Contributed by: Rinda Hicks markable natural gifts, the from a greater distance, you
Great Barrier Reef is blessed can understand why. It is larger
So Rinda is superexcited (and with the breathtaking beauty than the Great Wall of China
Dave too) because starting in of the world’s largest cor- and the only living thing on
January 2018 (talk about start- al reef. The reef contains an earth visible from space.
ing the year off with a bang), abundance of marine life and
they will be available to babysit comprises of over 3000 indi- A closer encounter with the
not one, not two, but count vidual reef systems and coral Great Barrier Reef’s impressive
‘em THREE new grandkids. cays and literally hundreds of coral gardens reveals many
picturesque tropical islands astounding underwater at-
We’re talking a triple scoop of with some of the worlds most tractions including the world’s
blessings here! beautiful sun-soaked, golden largest collection of corals (in
beaches. fact, more than 400 different
Rinda says to look for her first kinds of coral), coral sponges,
bunch of Grandma bragging Because of its natural beau- molluscs, rays, dolphins, over
photos in just a few weeks! ty, the Great Barrier Reef has 1500 species of tropical fish,
become one of the worlds more than 200 types of birds,
most sought after tourist des- around 20 types of reptiles
tinations. A visitor to the Great including sea turtles and giant
Barrier Reef can enjoy many clams over 120 years old.
experiences including snor-
kelling, scuba diving, aircraft The reef is a breeding area for
or helicopter tours, bare boats humpback whales, migrating
(self-sail), glass-bottomed boat from the Antarctic and is also
viewing, semi-submersibles the habitat of a few endan-
and educational trips, cruise gered species including the
ship tours, whale watching and Dugong (Sea Cow) and large
swimming with dolphins. Green Sea Turtle. In recogni-
tion of its significance, UNE-
A Natural Wonder Great Barrier Reef Doomed by 2030 Without SCO listed the Great Barrier
Immediate Action (So plan to go soon) Reef as a World Heritage Site
The Great Barrier Reef is one in 1981.
of the seven wonders of the Researchers warn that climate said University of Queensland
natural world, and pulling away change will cause irreversible reef researcher Ove
Hoegh-Guldberg in the report,
from it, and viewing it from damage to Australia’s Great
a greater distance, you can Barrier Reef by 2030 unless presented Thursday ahead of
this month’s Earth Hour global
understand why-- it is larger immediate action is taken.
than the Great Wall of China climate change campaign. “It
and the only living thing on “This is not a hunch or alarm- is the conclusion of the world’s
most qualified coral reef ex-
earth visible from space! ist rhetoric by green activists,”
perts.”
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