Taking Earth's Temperature In "Less Coral to Go Around" [R&D;, December] marine scientist Ove Hoegh-Guldberg says that as a result of global warming, coral reefs as we know them will be gone in 50 years. This kind of sensationalist rhetoric makes me doubt that scientists have the faintest clue about what is happening. During previous warm spells in Earth's history, reefs existed in some form; the exposed rock of prehistoric reefs is visible all over the world. The estimated temperatures during some of these earlier warm periods were comparable to the worst estimates for global warming, and yet somehow the reefs survived.
Ed Puntin—Brigantine, New Jersey
Ove Hoegh-Guldberg responds: The majority of recent scientific evidence has led to the conclusion that reefs as we know them will be gone in 50 years. This is neither a sensational nor an unsupported statement. I refer Discover readers to the Third Assessment Report ...
