What happens when an ecosystem on the brink receives the full weight of human ingenuity—and even then, it still might not be enough?
This week, Vox published an exclusive look into the largest coral restoration effort ever attempted. Australia is mobilizing hundreds of scientists, nearly $300 million, cutting-edge technology, robots, floating nurseries, millions of baby corals grown and reseeded by hand, and years of research to keep the Great Barrier Reef—the largest living structure on Earth—from collapse. It is the most ambitious intervention of its kind. And even at this scale, the outcome is uncertain.
Vox environmental correspondent Benji Jones spent two weeks in the field in December, embedded with the people racing to save the reef. He joined night crews on the wild ocean as they tracked and collected coral spawn during the planet’s largest reproductive event. He observed assisted spawning and coral breeding—“coral IVF,” as the researchers call it—inside SeaSim, a state-of-the-art lab that functions like an industrial-scale coral nursery. He also logged hours underwater, diving the reef itself to witness firsthand the astonishing life it still supports and the damage already done by warming seas.
Benji’s story shows what’s possible, but also what seems futile and absurd. Australia is doing almost everything imaginable to protect its most iconic ecosystem—except the one thing that ultimately determines whether any of this ambitious restoration work can endure: cutting global emissions fast enough.
The piece, which I edited and encourage you to read, is a deeply reported and visually stunning account (thanks to Harriet Spark’s incredible photography) of a world trying to outrun its own mistakes—essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the true scale, and limits, of climate solutions. —Paige Vega
