Mod5 CS1 - Chasing Coral

 First, highlight three key moments in the documentary Chasing Coral that struck you as
particularly meaningful, interesting and important. How do these moments connect to the
concepts and arguments you've been learning about in this module?

o “It’s a world most people never explore. […] Hidden below the surface of the world’s
oceans, spectacular gardens of coral, reefs are where much of the seafood we eat begins
life. Reefs are source of food and income for over 500 million people.”

 “The Land Ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters,
plants, and animals, or collectively, the land.” Leopold

 “There are about 340 different species of coral on the Great Barrier Reef. […] Corals, unlike
any other form of life on Earth, except man, have the capacity to grow their own
environments, to create their habitats. Think of a city, corals are experts at creating high-
rises. They’re basically creating this incredible dimensionality, this three-dimension
framework. The more complex a structure, the more biodiversity can potentially live there. In
a healthy coral reef system the entire landscape is covered with coral. They’re competing for
space with one another, they grow over and under. The Great Barrier Reef is the Manhattan
of the ocean. “

 “We are members of multiple communities,” Callicott.

 “Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land,” Leopold.

o “Already biologists say some corals are dying, bleached white, a sign in the first stage of
death. […] This isn’t a natural cycle. This is a phenomenon directly attributed to climate
change and it’s something we’ve only seen in recent years. One of the ways of looking
back in time with a reef is to take coral cores or to slice through coral. You can look at
growth rings in corals in the same way as you look at growth rings in trees. […] The
cause is, unequivocally global climate change, driven by emitting carbon into the
atmosphere. A lot of people don’t realize that climate change is happening because most
 of the extra heat trapped by greenhouse gasses has been transferred to the oceans. 93% of
heat is going into the ocean.
o When you burn fossil fuel such as oil, gas or coal the carbon dioxide goes up into the
atmosphere.
o “We abuse the land because we see it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land
as a commodity to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”
Leopold

 In order to answer the above questions, you will need to explore the issue through the lens of
Aldo Leopold's Land Ethic.
o How are our conceptions of our relationship to the world reflected in the conditions of
our world's coral?

o When I began watching this documentary I didn’t realize there was coral bleaching and
didn’t realize it was an effect of global warming. Global warming is talked about but I
don’t know if a lot of people actually understand what it is. Global warming has an
impact on every part of the world, not just the corals, but also the weather, hurricanes,
plants, the artic animals etc.…
o The planet and all of the species inhabiting the Earth are being affected by global
warming. Global warming is caused by the release of carbon dioxide and methane. The
heat is locked in and 93% of the heat is going into the ocean causing the corral bleaching.

 How does Leopold's Land Ethic conceive of an alternate moral perspective? (Here you will
be explaining and applying his ideas of biotic pyramids, ecocentrism, and other key
principles from Leopold's writing).
 The biotic pyramid is Leopold’s way of describing how we are as a whole work together.
Just like a pyramid there are layers that support the foundation making it a whole. The
bottom layer is soil, next are plants, and so on until the top is reached by the top carnivores.
This layer of the pyramid is the smallest because it has the least amount of animal
abundance.

 What are some of the many social, economic, nutritional and cultural dimensions that come
into play when we try to understand and respond to bleached and dying coral?

o Coral bleaching is a result of warm temperature in the ocean water. When the water
becomes too warm the coral’s color becomes completely white (bleached) which is when
the living tissue becomes damaged or can die.
o The changes in temperature are due to global warming. To assist in reducing the carbon
footprint and reducing greenhouse gasses we as a community can do things to help the
environment. Recycle to reduce waste, drive less, do not dump chemicals down drains,
and become electronically version friendly, use less water.
 o The coral bleaching effects are immediate and typically long term.

o Changes in the ocean causing the reef to become bleached and die off eventually
becoming an endangered species. Coral are where much of the seafood we eat begins
life. Reefs are source of food and income for over 500 million people.” Changes in the
coral reef are also affecting the livelihood of the species that depend on them for food
and shelter.

 To what extent do the obligations or interests within the many communities we inhabit
(family, neighborhood, state, nation, environment, etc.) conflict with each other on this issue,
and how do we negotiate the tensions? How would J. Baird Callicott's Second-Order
Principles apply in a case like this?

o Changes in the ocean caused by us as humans make this our responsibility to do

something.
o Once the corals die the reefs will follow shortly after. With these species dying as a result
of bleaching and global warming as a domino effect we will see other marine life dying
off as a result of it.
o Callicott’s Second-Order Principles - Stronger interests generate duties that take
precedence over those duties generated by weaker interests. To protect the coral we need
to “evaluate and prioritize our obligations.” As a society let’s protect this species. This is
a unique opportunity to raise awareness and protect a specie that may not be as
noticeably dying off (At least in Utah, where we are not as close to the ocean).

 What can and ought we do? That is, what are our moral obligations here--politically,
economically, personally, etc.? How does the Land Ethic approach help us to understand our
moral obligations differently than we normally might?

 Leopold’s philosophy surrounding the framework that land ethic and environmental
management are the key elements to his theories. Humans see land as an opportunity for
capital and that we as humans lack land ethics. Because humans feel that they are superior to
land instead of equal to it, humans have separated themselves from it and forget our oblation
to in fact be a part of it and help take care of it. The land ethic was Aldo Leopold’s theory on
how we as humans should treat the land and nature living in it. Leopold felt that we as
humans should include non-humans in our biotic community. Not just focusing on area such
as us as humans, or just the plants, or animals but all of us should be given consideration as a
whole.