A reaction paper on

“A Brave New World for Coral Reefs”

To sum up the article it says that the reefs of the future will be different from today or the
past, the possibility of restoring them to their former condition is no longer possible and we should
focus on steering the reefs into the future and retain their ability to support the livelihoods and
wellbeing of the people who depend on them. “We need to understand why they are declining, and
encourage changes in human behavior to sustain reefs for the future,” says co-author Professor
Josh Cinner, from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (Coral CoE). A rise of
one degree of average global warming already caused three global coral bleaching events and the
Earth is getting warmer and warmer, so the scientists all over the world hopes the COP21 Paris
agreement could save the coral reefs slowly but surely but if COP21 fails then the coral reefs we
know of today will be destroyed.
I completely agree with their conclusion we must raise awareness on the effects of global
warming and how can we prevent the outright death of the environment. Humans really are scary
on one hand we can save and help the environment flourish on the other hand we are the one’s
who are the cause of destruction in the first place. I feel bad for the environment because even the
professionals think that it’s too late to save many species including our coral reefs. The best we
can do is steer them into the future by following programs that doesn’t really guarantee success, I
think this is not enough but this time all we can do is defend and prepare. It is simply saddening
that a single degree rise of the global temperature can do a lot of damage and know that it is still
rising up to this day as our polar caps melt. Coral reefs are very important to all of us. Fishes live
here and in turn predators catch those fishes and eat them, while humans catch those fishes too as
well as their predators. Not only can fish feed humanity it is also one of the driving factors in the
economy, it provides livelihood, jobs, and income. All of that functions and they are in danger, we
must hurry and help retain the coral reefs, let us not take its great adaptability for granted.
Saddening but still I am hopeful because of the resistance provided by many people and
professionals alike.
In conclusion, we humans have already damaged our environment beyond repair and all we
can do is prevent its further destruction. Instead of focusing on making it the way it was back then,
we should adapt and help the environment especially the coral reefs to adapt and make it functional
for the future generations to come. The good thing for us is the coral reefs is very adaptable even
to rising temperature but in return it becomes different and that is what we should be ready for. It
might be different but if we steered them into the future correctly then it should still be functional
albeit somewhat different. We should prepare for the future, the future of the environment,
humanity, and the whole world is in our hands. We are the one who will decide if the world will
still be habitable by the time comes. If not for yourself, then think that every effort in saving the
environment will be for your future children and their descendants. We are moving in the right
direction with COP21 but this is not enough, we need to act more and fast.
 A reaction paper on
“Predicting threats to rainforests: New approach”

A new study by scientists from the Universities of Oxford, Montana and the US Forest
Service highlights the use of an innovative approach in tackling deforestation. They focused their
study on Borneo, an island which lost 30% of its forest since the 1970s and is among the most
threatened on planet Earth. The loss of Bornean forests threatens species such as the orangutan,
Sumatran rhino, and the Sunda clouded leopard. The results from the study shows great hope for
humanity as it viable and the scientists hope to utilize this approach more and apply it in studying
other biodiverse forests too. The analysis demonstrates the power of multi scale approaches to land
cover change modelling and they hope that other researchers will adopt this approach.
I agree with this, as I read how they approached their research I knew that it is better than
what is commonly used. In a nutshell the approach they used existing maps of the area and the
machine learning algorithm 'Random Forests', the scientists built a multi-scale model of
deforestation on the island over time from the year 2000-2010. With this they saw the trends in
deforestation, the relationship of landscape variables and deforestation and predict future
deforestation risks for Borneo. This is very gladdening as humans are now applying their high-
tech and advanced technology for the conservation of the environment. With this approach we can
solve deforestation and cure it. I truly agree that more scientists should use this approach because
I reckon this is very effective and it is backed by evidences and facts. We all know that forests are
very helpful and is vital for world survival, a lot of species are located here and what will happen
if the forests die? These species will have nowhere to go and will go extinct. In Borneo alone a lot
of species are threatened like the orangutan, Sumatran rhino, and the Sunda clouded leopard. So
this makes me truly happy that we are now investing on saving the forests and understanding why
and how we will avoid deforestation and destruction to the environment.
In conclusion, this proves that technology can and will help humans a lot in conserving
the environment. It is a very powerful tool capable of doing amazing things. Humans are utilizing
this because they know that the future is in danger and we must act swiftly. Good job to the team
that handled the research, I hope they inspire other scientists to use this approach and apply it to
many different places too. This study is not solely for Borneo, it’s for the whole world to use and
apply. This great effort should and will help use in maintaining the environments, so that future
generations can see the beauty of the Earth too and live without the hazards of pollution. We are
just borrowing the world from God and we should take care of it. Everything we do will be for our
descendants so we should work harder and ensure a great future for generations to come.