accioharo:

breakingnews:

Study: Half of Great Barrier Reef coral lost in last 27 years

BBC: Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has lost more than half of its coral cover in the past 27 years, a study shows. Results from the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, show that coral cover declined from 28% to 13.8% between 1985 and 2012. Researchers attribute the decline to storms, a coral-feeding starfish and bleaching linked to climate change.

Photo: A Harlequin Tuskfish shows off its tusks at Heron Island, a popular diving spot in the southern Great Barrier Reef. (Courtesy: Caitlin Seaview Survey)

Fuck. I want to cry.

veggieveggielove:

-inspired:

Man Lives on cliff and talks down suicide jumpers for last 50 years

Meet the Australian Who’s Saved 160 People from Suicide

Don Ritchie lives across the street from the most famous suicide spot in Australia: A cliff known as “The Gap.” Most people would move, but Ritchie’s stayed for almost 50 years—saving an estimated 160 people from suicide.

So what’s his big secret? Ritchie wakes up every morning and looks out the window for “anyone standing alone too close to the precipice.” If he sees someone who looks like they might be contemplating a jump, he walks over and… strikes up a conversation.
He just gives them a warm smile, asks if they’d like to talk and invites them back to his house for tea. Sometimes, they join him.

“I’m offering them an alternative, really,” Ritchie says. “I always act in a friendly manner. I smile.”

Ritchie’s house might be the worst real estate ever. One person a week commits suicide at the “the Gap,” the cliff he lives across from. It’s protected only by a small, one-meter fence, despite its legendary reputation as a suicide spot dating back to the 1800s.

But the former life insurance salesman says he doesn’t feel “burdened” by the fact that people are always contemplating jumping to their deaths outside his house. In fact, he and his wife Moya see it as a blessing: “I think, ‘Isn’t it wonderful that we live here and we can help people?’”

Ritchie, who basically sounds like the nicest guy in the entire world, is 84, and has spent much of the last year battling cancer. But, as you might expect for a dude who’s managed to live across from a fucked-up, tragic place, and not become a casualty himself, he’s optimistic: “I imagine somebody else will come along and do what I’ve been doing.” I hope so.

This is unbelievable. This man is such a hero.

(via accioharo)