If you know anyone who doesn’t believe that we humans have an effect on the oceans, just tell them to watch Chasing Coral. When this breath taking documentary was released in 2017 we held a premiere showing at 3W dive shop on Gili Air in Indonesia.

Divers, dive instructors, and ocean advocates gathered to watch this documentary, which highlights the urgent issue coral reefs face: coral bleaching. Coral reefs, known as the rainforests of the sea, are essential to humankind; we cannot live without them.

Coral reefs are disappearing

Scary enough, coral reefs are disappearing at an unprecedented rate. We lost half of the global coral reefs in the last 30 years. Due to climate change, the ocean temperatures are increasing. This causes the seawater to become acidic, known as ocean acidification, which leads to coral bleaching. Chasing Coral captures these dying reefs from Thailand, the U.S., Philippines, to the Great Barrier Reef. Sadly, in the year 2016, 22% of the corals in the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef have died.

My eyes filled with tears as I saw the coral reefs around the world vanishing right before me. Even someone who isn’t attached to the ocean as much as I am, will still feel an emotional connection watching the slow death of corals shown in time-lapse video. The majority of our air gets produced in the ocean. That itself should be enough of a reason to protect our waters. Chasing Coral ends on a positive note emphasizing the power of advocacy that will make people work towards saving the world’s coral reefs.

Spread the word & create awareness

Watch Chasing Coral on Netflix and visit www.chasingcoral.com to find out what you can do to help. Raise awareness by SHARING this blog and help us to create change. Hope is always around as long as we want to change things.

Written by: Hana Bulow