2019
December
03
Tuesday

Monitor Daily Podcast

December 03, 2019
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Today’s five hand-picked stories cover American influence on progress in Afghanistan, a challenge to the legitimacy of the U.S. Electoral College, the symbolism of a new skyscraper in South Africa, scientific insights from the visually impaired, and a modern-day movie homage to Agatha Christie

First, as my colleague noted here yesterday, the challenge of climate change is upon us. We can sleepwalk “past the point of no return” or we can choose “the path of hope,” resolve, and sustainable solutions, said the United Nations secretary general Monday.

Let’s look at one ingenious step on that path: A reef rave. 

Using sound, scientists are breathing life into dying coral reefs. In 2016 and ’17, nearly half of the Great Barrier Reef was ravaged by coral bleaching caused by higher water temperatures. And all marine life tends to abandon dying coral.

But British and Australian researchers put loudspeakers in 22 separate patches of dead coral and played audio recorded from living reefs. “Healthy coral reefs are remarkably noisy places. ... Juvenile fish home in on these sounds when they’re looking for a place to settle,” said Prof. Steve Simpson of the University of Exeter, one of the authors of a study published in Nature Communications on Friday. 

Drawn by a nightly symphony of life, the number of fish doubled over the six-week experiment. The variety of species increased by 50%. Exeter marine biologist Tim Gordon, the study’s lead author, says “acoustic enrichment” isn’t a panacea. But it can help “kick-start natural recovery processes, counteracting the damage we’re seeing on many coral reefs around the world,” Mr. Gordon said via email.

What does a community of hope sound like? 

The grunt of a cod fish. The snap of a shrimp. The whoop of a clown fish. 

Listen


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

A deeper look

Mohammad Ismail/Reuters
Afghan engineers work on a map of the ruined Darul Aman palace in Kabul, Afghanistan Oct. 2, 2016. Female engineers played a key role in the restoration of the palace. Inclusion of women in professional life has been a focus of U.S. efforts in the country.
Legacy Group
At a reported 234 meters tall, the Leonardo, a new luxury mixed-use building in the Johannesburg suburb of Sandton, claims to be Africa's tallest building.

Difference-maker

On Film

Claire Folger/Lionsgate Publicity
Lieutenant Elliott (LaKeith Stanfield, left), Trooper Wagner (Noah Segan), and Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) appear in “Knives Out.”

The Monitor's View

Netblocks.org/via REUTERS
The graphic shows the shutdown of internet access in Iran during protests in mid-November.

A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

A message of love

Lisi Niesner/Reuters
France's President Emmanuel Macron leaves Downing Street after talks with Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, ahead of the NATO summit in Watford Dec. 3, 2019. The French and American presidents had a testy exchange during the first day of the summit, with President Donald Trump responding to Mr. Macron’s earlier comments that removal of U.S. leadership had led to the “brain death of NATO.”
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte and Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Thanks for joining us. Come back tomorrow: We’re working on a story about the exit of California Sen. Kamala Harris from the 2020 presidential race.

More issues

2019
December
03
Tuesday
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