| Why Offset |
| How it Works |
| Our Projects |
| Our Partners |
| About Climate Change |
| Carbon Calculators |
| Save Energy |
| Buy Green Power |
| About Us |
| Our Vision |
| Media |
|
In the News |
|
Press Releases |
|
Newsletters |
 |
Media
An Interview with Coral Expert James Engman
There isn’t much coral around Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, but as an expert on the tiny marine organisms, Professor James Engman studies them firsthand to learn how they are being affected by rising ocean temperatures brought about by climate change. Each year he flies to Panama with his advanced biology students—but that creates a dilemma for Professor Engman: the act of flying contributes to the climate change that is wreaking havoc on the coral populations he is traveling to study.
How does Professor Engman travel to study coral but also contribute to a clean energy transformation? Carbon offsets through Carbonfund.org.
Carbonfund.org: How long have you been doing these trips with your students? Where do you go?
Professor James Engman: I started the trips in 1999, and we went to Jamaica for four years. Since 2004 we’ve gone to Panama. One of the best places in the world to learn about climate change and the tropics is the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, which is in Panama. Understanding the effect that global climate change is having on tropical systems is a research priority there.
CF: What are some of the problems coral reefs face?
JE: Coral reefs around the world are threatened by a number of environmental factors, and rising sea surface temperature is one of the most important. As ocean temperatures rise, coral are increasingly experiencing “bleaching,” a condition in which the algae living beneficially in their tissues become toxic and must be expelled, which can cause the coral to die. One of the most devastating bleaching events occurred during an El Nino event in 1998, with massive and widespread mortality occurring throughout the Indo-Pacific region. That bleaching event can be viewed here.
CF: How important is it for your students to see the coral first-hand?
JE: It’s very important. The dire condition of the Earth’s coral reefs comes as a shock to almost all of my students. As a scientific community, we have done a fairly good job of informing the public of the threats that face our rainforests. Unfortunately, few in the general public understand how drastically our reefs have changed in the past few decades. The video “Silent Sentinels” does a very good job of outlining the threats that climate change pose for reefs, and watching that video in my class is an eye-opening experience for students. When they visit the reefs in person a week later, the gravity of the situation becomes clear.
CF: Where does Carbonfund.org come into the picture?
JE: I was aware that flying contributes to the greenhouse gas effect, and I had thought about offsets for a couple years. The International Coral Reef Symposium is coming up this July, and I noticed that the event was being offset, so I wanted to find out more. When I looked into it, I was a lot happier with Carbonfund.org than some of the other for-profit companies I’d heard of. By offsetting with Carbonfund.org, I can do the travel I need for my studies but also contribute to the solutions we need to come up with to end climate change and protect the coral. I just hope it’s not too late.
