Coral Scientists between Hope and Despair

Coral Whisperers is structured as a pendulum swinging between hope and despair. Chapter 1, “Coral Scientists between Hope and Despair,”explains the workings of this pendulum and the stakes involved. Relying considerably on my observations at the International Coral Reef Symposium in Hawai’i in June 2016, this chapter relates the intellectual and emotional debates betweenscientists about how to manage the impending catastrophe facing coral reefs. This chapter is, in many ways, a microcosm of the entire book, in that it depicts the oscillation between hope and despair and tells the stories of particular scientists who have experienced this oscillation themselves.