Coral reefs suffering due to climate change

Most of us think about, talk about and experience climate change here on land. June was the hottest month ever recorded, and we sure felt it. Beneath ocean waters in the coral reefs, sea life is feeling it too. 

The Coral Restoration Foundation found 100% coral mortality at Sombrero Reef, a restoration site near Key West that the group has worked on for a decade. 

Their discovery is staggering and depressing, but ideally it helps all of us redouble our efforts to address the problem. And solutions are out there, including these three (out of thousands): 

• Putting solar on rooftops, including convincing companies such as FedEx to go solar on warehouses. 
• Recovering and reintroducing keystone species that help habitats store carbon. For example, reintroducing sea otters will lead to kelp growth, and kelp stores carbon. Recovering beaver populations will help fight climate change, too. 
• Creating more marine protected areas in oceans or expanding existing sites, including the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. These ocean sanctuaries help mitigate the impacts of climate change. 

You can read more about the coral reef story on a CBS News site here.