Coral Reef Issue

Today I read an article about how Coral Reefs are in danger of disappearing.  Coral Reefs are important to human and marine life because it protects the shores from large waves, provides benefits to humans in the form of food and medicine, and provides economic benefits for communities that deal with tourism.  I think Coral Reefs are the most forgotten environmental problem because when people see them, they only see the healthy ones and many people don't see them because they are under the ocean.  In 2004, 20% of Coral Reefs have been destroyed and another 60% is threatened by human activity.  This large and scary percentage is due to coastal development, overfishing, inland pollution, and the overall climate change due to greenhouse gases.  Scientists have discovered that over 90% of Jamaica's Reefs are destroyed and dead.  This issue will continue to grow if we are not careful of what we put into are water and if we continue deforestation and harmful pollution is put into our air.  Shah, Anup.  "Coral Reefs."  28 December 2004.  08 March 2009.  http://www.globalissues.org/article/173/coral-reefs