Let’s face it.
There are A LOT of us,
and it’s getting more than a little crowded.
Right now,
there are over 7.7 billion people on Earth,
and the United Nations predicts
we'll have 8.6 billion people
sometime in 2030.
And that's a problem.
Many scientists think Earth can only support
9 to 10 billion people.
We’re running out of room.
But, could there be a way to get more land
to accommodate our
ever-increasing population?
Enter the atoll,
made of doughnut-shaped
underwater mountains,
and islands,
formed by underwater volcanoes.
Could these submerged rings of land
be just the thing we need
to create more living space?
What if we could drain
the world’s largest atoll?
An atoll forms when an underwater volcano
(also known as a seamount) erupts,
with the lava from the volcano hardening
as it hits the water.
After many eruptions,
the seamount grows
until it rises above the water.
You’ve probably seen one of these before.
We call them
islands.
The hardened lava under the water
then becomes a home
for many living organisms,
especially corals.
As the corals grow,
they form a fringing reef around the island.
Over time, the reef continues to grow,
and the island begins to shrink.
As the island shrinks,
the reef remains and the corals
begin to grow upwards.
Then, it becomes a coral rim,
which means you’ve got a nice chunk of land
accompanied by a warm,
shallow and salty lagoon,
an atoll.
Atolls are some of the most
beautiful habitats in the ocean.
They're some of the most evolved
coral reef systems in the world,
homes for thousands of species of plants
and sea creatures.
The largest of them all
is none other than the Great Chagos Bank.
This atoll has a massive area
of 12,642 square km (4,881 square mi).
Could this be our new redevelopment project?
Well, if we were to drain this atoll
and fill it with sand,
concrete, or any other solid material,
we'd have some brand new land there.
The development of these new areas
would begin immediately,
with the economic boost coming soon after.
It would go something like this.
More land
means more space for people.
More people
means more development.
More development
means more jobs.
And more jobs
mean more money.
So, sounds like a winner, right?
Well, not so much.
Remember those coral reefs
I mentioned before?
Well, we kind of need them.
And when I say "kind of,"
I mean
But if we drain the water around them,
the reefs die.
About 80% of the oxygen you breathe
comes from the ocean,
not from land.
We need healthy oceans to produce oxygen.
Healthy oceans need coral reefs.
Do you see what I’m getting at?
And if you’re still hung up on the lost profits
from not draining the atoll,
get this:
coral reefs are essential breeding,
spawning and feeding grounds
for more than 4,000 species of fish.
Those fish are a major source of food
for over a billion people worldwide.
The National Marine Fisheries Service estimates
the annual commercial value from coral reefs
at over $100 million.
And that’s not even getting into
how they act as coastal bodyguards.
Healthy coral reefs have rough surfaces
and complex structures that scatter
much of the force of incoming waves.
This means these reefs
act as buffers for currents,
waves and storms.
Coastlines protected by reefs
are a lot more stable.
So, it’s best that we don’t kill
these silent heroes of the sea.
Just because we can do something,
doesn’t mean we should.
Draining an atoll is certainly possible
But draining the world's atolls,
would have catastrophic effects worldwide.
So let's rethink this.
What if,
instead of draining water out of the atolls,
water became a new home for us?
What if we could find that extra room we need
by building underwater cities?
Well, that’s a story for another WHAT IF.