Australia's Great Barrier Reef <br />Is In Big Trouble.<br />The ecosystem's status has been downgraded to "very poor" by <br />the continent's government.<br />The reveal comes in a report that Australia releases on the reef's condition every five years, <br />starting in 2009.<br />The analysis adds that the main cause for the system's status is <br />climate change.<br />The result of global warming leads <br />to "bleaching," which causes <br />coral to turn white.<br />Coral reefs are capable of <br />recovering from bleaching, but <br />they starve while in the condition.<br />Threats to the reef are multiple, cumulative and increasing. The window of opportunity to improve the Reef's long-term future is now. , Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, via report.<br />Scientists add that recent <br />bleaching has led to a near 90% drop <br />in new coral numbers.<br />This is now the third Outlook Report. We've had 10 years of warnings, 10 years of rising greenhouse emissions and 10 years watching the Reef heading for a catastrophe, Australian Marine Conservation Society's <br />Imogen Zethoven, via BBC
