Michele Navakas in The Conversation: Climate change is destroying coral reefs, but the effects are more than ecological
Reefs have provided knowledge, stories, hopes, and histories in many cultures. Navakas says. Coral’s loss also takes an enormous spiritual, psychological, and cultural toll
Michele Navakas in The Conversation: Climate change is destroying coral reefs, but the effects are more than ecological
Ocean temperatures in many parts of the Atlantic and Pacific are at record highs, and scientists warn that the world may be witnessing the start of a global coral-bleaching event, which would be the fourth on record, says Michele Currie Navakas, professor of English and affiliate in the Institute for the Environment and Sustainability.
While corals can survive bleaching, they won’t if the waters stay warm for too long. Large-scale reef destruction tends to be measured in biological and economic terms But coral’s loss also takes an enormous spiritual, psychological, and cultural toll, Navakas says.
Navakas, a 2023-2024 Altman Fellow in Environmental Justice, recently published the book "Coral Lives: Literature, Labor, and the Making of America."
Read her article “Climate change is destroying reefs, but the effects are more than ecological – coral’s been woven into culture and spirituality for centuries” in The Conversation.
