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Excuse me for thinking that working on tonight's story makes me one of the luckiest people in the world. I got to see first-hand the spectacular Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia. With a snorkel, mask and great guide, a world you cannot see even from a boat opened up before me: giant clams, staghorn coral, clown fish. I
Anne Thompson at the helm over the Great Barrier Reef.
even got to swim with sharks... the ones with fins rather than the two-footed kind. Producer Mario Garcia, photographer Nelson Tharp and I couldn't stop smiling at each other and high-fiving over this assignment. Between the three of us, we've seen enough wars and
murders and man-made disasters to merit years of therapy. To see and report on one of the natural wonders of the world is a privilege and a delight.
The water over the reef is a shade of blue I have never seen anywhere. It is rich and yet crystal clear at the same time. And I am very thankful for that clarity. I was wearing one of those Aussie bush hats and my sunglasses were sitting on the crown. I took off the hat to go in the water and my sunglasses went flying into the ocean. I wasn't upset. It was a
From left, First Mate Andy, Captain Perry Jones and son Jazz, Nelson Tharp, Mario Garcia and Anne Thompson.
remarkable day and nothing was going to mar it. But our guide and captain, Perry Jones, insisted on diving to find them. His first attempt turned up nothing. Then he asked me where I was standing when I took off my hat. I showed him. He went to the same spot on the boat and dropped his
sunglasses in the water. Then he went in. Following the current that carried his glasses, he found mine! So glad I didn't litter on the reef.
A WELL-TIMED WAVE
On a purely personal note, I love this picture. It was taken right after I finished doing one of the standups (where I appear on camera) you'll see tonight. As I said my last words, a wave came over the reef and swamped me and the dinghy I was sitting in. When I got up, Nelson burst out laughing when he saw me from behind. He grabbed his still camera and snapped this photo. It makes me laugh every time I see it and reminds me of a wonderful day.
For all our excitement about this trip, there's a lot to be concerned about, and that's the real focus of our story tonight -- the many challenges from man that the reef faces. Overfishing and water pollution are two issues, but the most pressing may be global warming or climate change. There is no question this area is under siege from climate change. Corals are extraordinarily sensitive to warming waters, meaning it is affected much faster than other ecosystems around the world.
Tonight, we'll show what has already happened, whas is predicted, and what is being done to prevent more damage. I hope you'll come with us on what was the trip of a lifetime.
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Bravo for an excellent, eye-opening report! Thanks for showing us a beautiful part of the world many will never have the chance to view firsthand. I hope science comes up with a way to save the coral reef and all its fascinating creatures.
Olivia (Sent Jul 10, 2007 8:34:21 AM)
The bleaching of the reef is a shame. However, there is also threats from agro. run-off which is producing crown of thorns starfish which also destroy vast amounts of coral. They use divers to try to extinguish the over flowing population of these heavily shielded predators.
(Sent Jul 9, 2007 8:09:51 PM)
Czn't hardly wait to view tonights broadcast. sound like it will be fascinating.
Helen Calhoun Monytose Iowa (Sent Jul 9, 2007 4:22:40 PM)
This reminds me of when I was in the Navy. We would, of course, need to dump trash & other waste, while @ sea. On my Submarine - Trash would be put in metal containers & weighted; so it would sink & we couldn't be 'tracked'. Surface ships wouldn't worry about this. There, we would just dump it over the 'fantail'. There wasn't much other concern, as long as we were outside the '12 mile' limit. Even Nuclear Submarines would occasionally dump radioactive wastewater, outside of a country's 200 mile 'ecomomic' zone. We weren't supposed to dump over coral reefs, but; I don't remember this being "set in stone".
Mike Moran; Derry, NH (Sent Jul 9, 2007 4:20:38 PM)
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