About 75 per cent of the world’s coral reefs are threatened by overfishing, coastal development, pollution, rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification, a report said. Named “Reefs at Risk Revisited”, the report was released by the World Resources Institute along with the Nature Conservancy, the WorldFish Centre and a network of over 25 other organisations, Xinhua reported.
“This report serves as a wake-up call for policy-makers, business leaders, ocean managers, and others about the urgent need for greater protection for coral reefs,” said Jane Lubchenco, head of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “As the report makes clear, local and global threats, including climate change, are already having significant impacts on coral reefs, putting the future of these beautiful and valuable ecosystems at risk.” Local pressures — especially overfishing and destructive fishing — are causing many reefs to be degraded. Global pressures are leading to coral bleaching from rising sea temperatures and increasing ocean acidification from carbon dioxide pollution. According to the new analysis, if left unchecked, over 90 per cent of reefs will be threatened by 2030.
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Zuckerberg new comic book hero
Boston: First there was a book, then a movie and now Facebook’s billionaire founder Mark Zuckerberg is the subject of a new comic book.
The 48-page glossy comic Mark Zuckerberg: Creator of Facebook, promises to give a “more balanced portrayal of Zuckerberg” than the Oscar-nominated movie The Social Network, which portrays him as a detached, cold and calculating Internet visionary.
The biographical comic book, brought out by Canadian comic book company Bluewater Productions and written by freelance journalist Jerome Maida, hits stands in the US today and is priced at $6.99.
“This is a fascinating story,” Maida said in a statement.
“I enjoyed researching it because it is extremely compelling. Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire on the planet and created something that has already had a profound impact on the world. Yet hardly anyone knows much about him.”
Maida said the script does not shy away from the harsh reputation Zuckerberg earned as a result of his business practices and aloof public persona, but tries to give context to a complex figure. —PTI