Jim Porter lands NSF grant to continue studying corals
Jim Porter is a retired professor of Ecology at the University of Georgia, and the National Science Foundation just did something highly unusual: It funded a research grant to continue his studies on coral reefs in the Florida Keys.
Jim is unaware of anyone else who has received an “Individual Investigator” grant from NSF in retirement. His best guess about this accomplishment is this: Because his long-term work is so timely in assessing the future of coral reefs, NSF and its expert panel of external reviewers decided to fund it regardless of the age or retirement status of its investigator.
Jim comments “Despite the, quite justifiable, pattern of giving this sort of funding exclusively to fully employed principal investigators, I believed in the work and decided to push the proposal SUBMIT! button anyway. I’m glad I did!”
Jim goes on to say, “Last summer we measured water temperature of 101.1° F (38.4° C) off Key Largo south of Miami. This is the hottest temperature ever measured anywhere on Earth in seawater. As a direct result of these high temperatures, we documented the death of a lot of corals there
Climate Change is a killer of sea life everywhere. It’s an understatement to say that we are worried about summer 2024. But thanks to the new NSF grant, we will continue to be on the front lines investigating climate change.”
Jim has testified before Congress several times. See, e.g., Jim Porter Testifies Before Congress On Climate Crisis. He also spoke at our 50th Reunion about how corals are serving as a sort of “canary in a coal mine” for climate change. Jim explains further:
“It’s not just in the Florida Keys. In our Emmy Award-winning film, Chasing Coral, we showed that climate change is threatening coral reefs in all 94 sovereign nations on Earth that have them.
“Coral reefs generate 10 trillion dollars/year for developing nations that need this massive input of cash for their struggling economies. A billion people are reliant on coral reefs for their income and protein. Without reefs, these people are likely to become climate refugees.
“Rising temperatures cause rising seas. Burning fossil fuels at our present rate will likely inundate places like the Bahamas, Grand Cayman, and Turks & Caicos by the beginning of the next century. “With approximately 6 feet of sea level rise now projected by the end of this Century, South Florida is clearly in the sea-level rise crosshairs, too.”