Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
The Great Barrier Reef has recorded six years of exceptionally high coral cover. Peter Ridd examines what the data reveal—and why the public is still told the Reef is in crisis.
0:00 Cold Open
0:28 Six Years of Record Coral
0:57 The Reef’s Uncomfortable Good News
1:49 The Great Barrier Reef Fairy Tale
2:39 A Million Years of Death and Regrowth
4:03 Scientists Discover the Reef
4:30 The Crown-of-Thorns Scare
5:25 AIMS Begins Monitoring
5:55 Dredging, Pollution and Climate Change
6:31 Coral Cover Hits Rock Bottom
6:50 Natural Cycles of Death and Regrowth
7:55 The Record Recovery
8:48 The Real Villain
9:22 Bleaching, Funding and Dissent
10:10 Groupthink and the Madness of Crowds
10:45 The “Wrong Type of Coral”
11:09 The Staghorn Coral Paradox
11:41 Why Reef Science Needs Reform
13:06 The Reef Is Fine
13:55 The Most Pristine Ecosystem on Earth
https://www.aims.gov.au/research-topics/monitoring-and-discovery/monitoring-great-barrier-reef/reef-reports-hub
https://www.aims.gov.au/research-topics/environmental-issues/coral-bleaching/coral-bleaching-events
For more details on how the graph was calculated from the AIMS data, see
platogbr.com/308-2
youtu.be/KN9eGdI5OoI
Dr Peter Ridd has been researching the Great Barrier Reef since 1984, has invented a range of advanced scientific instrumentation, and written over 100 scientific publications.
Since being fired by James Cook University for raising concerns about science quality assurance issues, Peter Ridd receives no payment for any of the work he does.
Also see facebook.com/ProjectforRealScienceReefRebels
The Great Barrier Reef has recorded six years of exceptionally high coral cover. Peter Ridd examines what the data reveal—and why the public is still told the Reef is in crisis.
0:00 Cold Open
0:28 Six Years of Record Coral
0:57 The Reef’s Uncomfortable Good News
1:49 The Great Barrier Reef Fairy Tale
2:39 A Million Years of Death and Regrowth
4:03 Scientists Discover the Reef
4:30 The Crown-of-Thorns Scare
5:25 AIMS Begins Monitoring
5:55 Dredging, Pollution and Climate Change
6:31 Coral Cover Hits Rock Bottom
6:50 Natural Cycles of Death and Regrowth
7:55 The Record Recovery
8:48 The Real Villain
9:22 Bleaching, Funding and Dissent
10:10 Groupthink and the Madness of Crowds
10:45 The “Wrong Type of Coral”
11:09 The Staghorn Coral Paradox
11:41 Why Reef Science Needs Reform
13:06 The Reef Is Fine
13:55 The Most Pristine Ecosystem on Earth
https://www.aims.gov.au/research-topics/monitoring-and-discovery/monitoring-great-barrier-reef/reef-reports-hub
https://www.aims.gov.au/research-topics/environmental-issues/coral-bleaching/coral-bleaching-events
For more details on how the graph was calculated from the AIMS data, see
platogbr.com/308-2
youtu.be/KN9eGdI5OoI
Dr Peter Ridd has been researching the Great Barrier Reef since 1984, has invented a range of advanced scientific instrumentation, and written over 100 scientific publications.
Since being fired by James Cook University for raising concerns about science quality assurance issues, Peter Ridd receives no payment for any of the work he does.
Also see facebook.com/ProjectforRealScienceReefRebels
