THE Great Barrier Reef is dying, crushed by an onslaught of rising ocean temperature, farming run-off, plagues of crown-of-thorns starfish, fishing and tourism. Better visit this rainforest of the oceans before it’s too late. Right?
Wrong. Far from being on its last legs, the reef is in glowing health. Indeed, according to the 2002 “Report on the Status of the World’s Coral Reefs”, the reef is “predominantly in good condition”, and just about pristine compared with reefs elsewhere in the world. So how has the perception that the reef is in imminent danger of collapse become entrenched in the public…
