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I am coral.
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Some people think I’m just a rock.
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When, in fact, I’m the largest thing alive on this planet.
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I’m so big, I can be seen from space.
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But for how long?
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I grow for almost 250 million years.
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And humans came along and now one fifth of me is gone.
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Sure, l live at the bottom of the sea.
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And you might not see me that often.
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But you do need me.
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Do you realize that one quarter of all marine life depends on me?
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I am the nursery of the sea.
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Little fish depend on me for food.
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And to hide from the big fish.
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And guess who eats the big fish?
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That’s right. You do.
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I’m the protein factory for the world.
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Yet you raise the temperature of the ocean so I can’t live here anymore.
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And when big storms and tsunamis barrel through the ocean,
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I’m your fortress.
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Yet you tear me apart with dynamite and poison me with cyanide.
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Well, here’s a crazy thought:
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Stop killing me.