Peter Ridd: Science and the Great Barrier Reef | Tom Nelson Pod #191

Jan 30, 2024

44:33

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Peter Ridd is a geophysicist with over 100 publications and 35 years’ experience working on the Great Barrier Reef and developed a wide range of world-first optical and electronic instruments for measuring environmental conditions near corals and other ecosystems. He was head of Physics at James Cook University for over a decade before being fired, in 2018, for questioning the quality assurance systems used by reef science institutions. Some of the poor-quality work relates to the effect, or lack of effect, of climate change, and agriculture, on the reef. Ridd now works, unpaid, with agricultural organisations, and the Institute of Public Affairs to improve quality assurance systems of “science” used by Australian governments to make environmental laws and regulations.

00:00 Introduction

00:37 The Great Barrier Reef: A Brief Overview

01:44 The Resilience and Health of the Reef

02:25 The Impact of Climate Change and Pollution on the Reef

02:55 The Physical Structure and Location of the Reef

04:42 Coral Growth Rates and the Impact of Temperature

09:03 The Alleged Impact of Farming on the Reef

12:17 The Future of the Reef and the Role of Young People

16:22 The Firing from James Cook University and the Fight for Quality Science

20:16 The Replication Crisis in Science and the Importance of Reliable Research

21:39 The Replication Crisis in Science

22:23 The Problem with Peer Review