"Life on the Rocks" by Juli Berwald

Building a future for coral reefs may not seem to be a priority in a world threatened with climate change, an ocean festooned with plastic and alarming extinction rates being registered even in insects, always thought of as the planet's ultimate survivors.As Juli Berwald notes in her interview with Steve Tarter, coral reefs aren't just pretty places to view while on vacation. Coral reefs take up less than 1 percent of the ocean's area but help a fourth of all marine species survive at one time or another. "A billion people rely on those ecosystems for sustenance or work," she writes."The combined revenue from food, recreation and protection from storms attributed to coral reefs has been calculated at between 2.7 and 10 trillion dollars a year. The death of the reefs means food insecurity for tens of millions," noted Berwald.Some predictions indicate that the world's great coral reefs could be lost by 2050.But Berwald injects hope in her account. Coral farming is a real thing and, with more support, could show some great results.One of the unsung heroes, among many individuals that Berwald consults in her research, is Frank Mars of the Mars candy firm, one billionaire who's not flying into space but diving into the problem of saving the coral reefs.Berwald isn't just seeking answers to environmental problems but also provides a touching account of her daughter's battle with mental illness in "Life on the Rocks."