Video: Why you should be more worried about kelp

Around the world, towering underwater kelp forests provide shelter and sustenance to thousands of species of marine animals. Their flowing forms absorb carbon dioxide and sway with the tides—slowing the impacts of climate change and limiting coastal erosion. Evidence of this valuable natural resource has been traced back at least 32 million years, sustaining marine ecosystems that fed, and continue to feed, communities globally. Today, however, they may be more at risk than ever.

Rising global temperatures, overharvesting, and overgrazing have put kelp forests at risk. Over the last 50 years, more kelp forests have been in decline than have been growing, and their annual rate of decline is faster than coral reefs. While many groups are pushing to conserve and regrow kelp forests, many scientists worry it won’t be enough to save them. Without rapid and meaningful action, kelp forests may disappear, taking with them a host of economic and environmental benefits.

Learn more about why kelp is so important in this new video from the Bulletin and read the full story in Paul Tullis’ latest investigative journalism piece for the Bulletin: The Underwater Amazon. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel while you’re at it.