"inside story". see you next time, i'm ray [ ♪♪ ] on "america tonight", a community on the edge. and the steward of its waters. >> reporter: water fuller has been watching over the wetlands for 20 years. this is personal. >> yes it is, to see is gone - i don't want it gone "america tonight"'s michael oku on the fight to present the california beach front that is not home to movie stars. and a warning under water. >> reporter: you are showing us

places where the coral bleached and it's gone beyond bleaching to basically being covered in fungus, almost like a mould, and crumbling away "america tonight"'s sheila macvicar in the south pacific with a die-off and the threat it poses it all of us. thanks for joining us, i'm joie chen. tonight a look at the endangered oceans and the threats beneath the service. >> coral reefs are like the rain forests of the ocean. diversity protects the fish, sustains the ecosystems and people. unless carbon dioxide can be brought under control, what is known as coral bleaching - a die off of the creatures could set off a chain of environmental disaster. "america tonight"s sheila macvicar travelled to the south pacific's marshall island to get a first-happened look.

go. >> yes. >> reporter: on the boat. this is a dive master on the island of majero - located in the vast pacific ocean between australia and hawaii. he is the most pop u -- it is the most populous of atolls making up the marshall i would say. the way to make a living by diving. >> reporter: this is a place you time. >> a long time. >> reporter: how many years? >> reporter: last year he was shocked at what he saw when he returned to this spot. >> i saw bleaching coral. >> what happened - the coral turned white. >> very white. very white. >> and normally it should be full of colour. >> yes, green, purple. red.

but no more now. >> that is happening in all of these places. >> yes. all the white is damage. >> we had a major bleaching event that started in the islands in last fall. it was part of an event developing over time. as warm waters moved into the area around the marshall islands in, it stressed the corals, and they are in bad shape. >> reporter: mark is coordinator of reef watch at noah. app expert on the complex ecology of coral. >> coral is interesting. it's mineral. >> you have an animal living in the tissues. >> when the temperatures are too high, the corals expel the

algae, spit them out and goes from having nice algae and the tissues to spitting them out into the water. a few remain. the coral is getting lighter. colour. >> most turp white when they kick the algae out. they literally ripped their cuts out to get rid of those in their tissues, and they are sturkarving. it's a very stressful event as we descend below the waves and explore the reef, there's none of tell-tale taxes of white this signified the stress and live coral, what was seen last october. instead, interspersed, we see skeletal remains, devoid of life, drained the colour,

covered with a thick layer of algae. others have begun to collapse and crumble to the sea floor. he was showing us places where the coral bleached and it's gone beyond bleaching to being covered in fungus, almost like a mould, and crumbling a mould. that should have been a spectacular coral garden, there's beautiful coral, but you see there's so much damage. >> i fish a lot as well. and one particular morning as i was going out, i saw this line of white in areas where there was live coral. >> reporter: reginald white it chief meteorologist. >> when it's a temporary event, coral can regenerate or get back

to their normal, you know, life. otherwise, you are seeing the death of the coral at certain levels, certain depths, and that is very alarming for marshall islands in. most of the families in the islands in depend on a subsis tent economy. this is the food source. dies? >> food sources for many people goes with it as well. >> it's the rising ocean temperature that causes the die off to continue. experts worry the results could be disastrous. >> half a million rely on the reef as their food. >> reporter: scientists use an array of satellites to take the temperatures of the earth's oceans. what is happening in the marshall islands in appears to be growing into a global event.

>> the bleaching is in kiribati in the tropical system on the equator. we have the south-east asia triangle. with a lot of warming in the philippines, and bleaching. the marr shops are starring to see a bit of stress -- marshalls are seeing a little stress returning again, and in the galapagos in other areas. >> reporter: in the months ahead it's predicted they'll hit closer to home. >> we'll see the stress return to hawaii. if this happens, it will be the second time they've had mass . >> reporter: that's twice in two years. >> twice in two years. we are seeing the caribbean - the northern caribbean areas, western atlantic, and gulf of mexico, we are looking at

bleaching in cuba, bahamas and florida. what does that tell you about what is happening with the climate, earth's temperatures. >> we are seeing the heating of the indian ocean, the atlantic ocean. the content, the heat in the oceans is huge. and it's something that has been growing continuously as the ocean's temperature rises, it's taking less and less to tip the earth's coral reefs over the edge. >> this is the third time that we have seen what looks like a global event. >> third time ever. >> third time ever. >> by around the mid part of the century. as much of 90% of the coral reefs may be seeing the temperatures that can cause coral bleaching every year. >> can they recover? no. >> aiken had a glimpse into a

future when he dove to inspect a coral reef during the bleaching of 2010. >> if there is anything that i could wipe from my memory, it's what that reef looked like. you are seeing coral. it's white. everything is white all over. starting looking at the arrest, watching the fish. the fish were stunneded. some of the corals were dying at that point. the difference between that and a healthy reef was just so off. it was like nothing i had seen before. and it was heart-breaking. aiken and other scientist say the fate of the other's reef hinges on talks in paris in december, aiming to keep global warming below 2 degrees celsius. if we condition with admissions increasing at the rate they are, corals don't stand much of a

chance. if, on the other hand, we keep the atmosphere to a 2 degree warming, then at least at that level the corals have a chance that there's going to be a peak of stress, and then the recovery will pick up because they are adapting to conditions, we hope for those depending on the coral reef for livelihood and survival, that hope may be all they have. >> until all of the world will unite in one force, one voice, and say let's find a way to reduce it. we have no choice out here. >> whether the bigger nations will hear the plea remains to be seen. >> "america tonight"s sheila macvicar is here. it almost seems like the corals are a canary in the coal mine. it's not just the

marshalls, but all over the world. >> it is all over the world, and as shown on the maps, where they are seeing higher temperatures, they are seeing the bleaching. a mower cast released by noah -- forecast released by noah today shows more coral bleaching in florida and other parts of the caribbean. when you think about the marshalls, people in these communities are aware of what is going on. is there anything they can do alone to protect their own areas? >> well, they can do simple things to protect against rising seas. build a higher seawall. that doesn't help when prospects suggest over the course of the next 50 years, that sea levels will rise in nothing is done, that the islands in will be under water and become inhabitable because regular sea

water will kill off plant life. they can do little on their own. they don't have a big carbon footprint. they are looking - while they look to the sea, they see what is happening around and to the coral, they see the big spring sides coming in with frequency and flooding their lands, and are looking to the big industrialized nations. with the u.s., they hope taking a lead role, looking forward to the climate summit in paris. >> people think about big plumes of smoke coming up over factories, it's getting people to look beneath the surface that may matter here. >> it's getting people to understand that climate change is not in the future, for people of the marshall islands in and other island nations, china,

they are people that live to the impact. they look to the fewer and see something is not down on a global scale. their lives will be difficult, and land become inhabitable. there's a president who has brought land elsewhere with the understanding understanding. >> at first glance this beautiful hawaiian beach may appear untouched. >> the plastics problem in hawaii, and what the islands in are doing about it now. later, another coastal community and the fight to save its shore line from unwelcome

our fast-forward look now at

another peril in the pacific. with its private each beaches and wildlife, hawaii is a picture of paradise, something everyone uses threatens to destroy it. adam may visited hawaii to see paradise. beaches. >> this is my home. i feel a responsibility to do my party to make sure my children and children's children have clean beaches. >> reporter: he made doing his part a full-time job. he works for noah. for more than 13 years, noah has been trying to keep these islands in clean. >> there's a constant flux of battle. >> the plastic problem is not always evident. at first glance the beautiful hawaiian beach may appear untouched, until you dig in and take a closer look.

shift the sand, you find tiny pieces of plastic from who knows wildlife. >> these guys will eat plastic bags are and pieces of plastic, thinking that it's food. it will get lodged in their intestinal tract, and worse is plastic. >> reporter: jeff works with animals affected by plastic at hawaii's sea life park. >> if we don't do something, and we can't treat our environment better with more respect, it will have an impact, and maybe this guy will be gone fast-forward to a first from the island. hawaii becoming the first state to ban plastic bags in the check out aisle, and businesses that violate the ban face fines as high as $1,000 a day next - who pays for industrial pollution. the less glamorous communities of

southern california's golden shores, and concerns about their neighbours, and a comeback community wednesday on "america tonight". correspondent adam may on atlantic city's new gamble. >> over here is a wonderful atmosphere holding 2,000 people. what you won't find in >> [crowd chanting] hell no gmo. >> they're slamming a technology that could be used to solve problems for people who desperately need it. >> they get exited about technology whether it's in their phone or in their car, so why is it so weird on their plate? >> something's going into food that shouldn't really be there. >> techknow investigates. >> you could not pay me to fake data.

back on the coast another reason for worry, and it comes as a result of a supreme court

decision which ruled against the e.p.a.'s efforts to limit hazardous emissions from power plants. the rules on emissions from mercury and other pollutions failed to consider the cost. that is a big concession, but who pays the cost. michael oku found residents who say they have had enough. >> this is a beautiful area. the beach and then you come after the coast line, and you look at that. that mon have tosity. >> reporter: walter fuller has been watching over the wetlands for nearly 20 years. >> you can see just about all the wetlands you want to see. >> reporter: an avid bird-watcher, he found this in the "90, and found refuge when he world crumbled. >> reporter: you were laid off

in 1996 and lost your mother. >> yes. >> reporter: homeless and alone this became his home and the birds his family. what was it about losing your mum and losing your job that drew you to the beach. >> i closed myself off and wanted to take care of the birds. his coastal refuge as not exactly a picture postcard. >> it was a dumping ground. tires, bottles, we even had some sites out here. >> reporter: people were murdered out here. here. >> reporter: ormond beach was a dumping ground for toxic rate. an engineering company operated a metal recycling plant, sending toxic run-off into the ponds at its basse at a matter of 1 million per month. he filed for bankruptcy and shut down in 2004.

leaving behind an unsightly and dangerous slag pile that is a designated e.p.a. site. as if that weren't enough, the town's coast as blighted by three power plants. >> we have the largest remaining coastal wetlands in california, and an ecole onlyicly scientifically - it doesn't exist elsewhere. >> carmen says her community and the wildlife sanctuary suffered long enough. >> they have born the burden for 50 years. we don't have the nicest coast in every way that other cities enjoy. it's time to get our coast back so we can have the same opportunities other beautiful coastal cities have. >> reporter: unlike affluent neighbours, malibu and santa

barba, this is a migrant town with business. >> that's where they could live and afford. they were stuck with it. most super fund sites i guaranteed are in poor communities in our country. this is no exception. >> were the people here taken advantage of? >> i think so. >> a former draw brie picker lives in the neighbourhood closest to the dux site. there. >> you think that was the case with most of the people? >> i have no idea. >> he became a community organiser and strong voice against the toxic hazard. >> they are toxic, and are going into the water, that we drink in this area. >> some of them they can create bad diseases in our family. our families don't know about it. how - the risk

that there is. >> did you know it posed a individuals. >> unfortunately it was never measured, but people felt irritation. they tasted metallic in their mouth when the plant was running. so the people lived out there knew about it, but couldn't seem to get the attention of the authorities for a while. >> once the e.p.a. was involved, there were language barriers. the crop workers couldn't understand warning signs and flyers, leaving them at rick. >> there's a lot of people fishing. they doesn't know that the fish they are eating - probably there is a potential that they were infected by the chemicals. >> according to the e.p.a., there's no health risks to nearby residents, but there may be hazards from long-term contact with the waste materials on the site. and in a statement to "america tonight", the agency says:

already saddled with toxic waste and what residents consider a towering eyesore, now the coast line is under threat. there's a proposal to add another power planned to the beach north of the wetlands, a move that the city is fighting. >> there is a need for power - not as much as before - and it can be substituted by another power plant in another location. does not have to be on the beach. for that particular company, it's a better deal for them, they own the land. as they told me, it's already wrecked. what's the big deal. >> reporter: that company, nrg

energy did not respond to "america tonight"s request for an entry. >> it's okay, people don't care about the beech, they don't have hotels, people don't go to the beach, it's not a tourist center, it's okay. i think that's why we are where we are now. >> i don't like it. i think the city has better people. they deserve more than what they are getting out here. >> why do you think companies build on this shore line as opposed to any place else? >> i think that it - any - any other place, like a person from malibu or santa barba will not allow them to be there. people are informed, people know and can have games to fit. they'll not allow them to do it. it appears to be a tart for the multi-million corporation. >> do you feel put upon? >> yes. i feel the strength of the community, and a changing tide. if you are not going to put up with the same stuff, they'll question the decision of the

government, and they'll lead, and the leaders will follow. that's what is happening here. >> the decision about the new power plant is expected by early 2016. while carmen fights for ormond beach, he continues to be a voice for his community and walter fuller patrols his beloved beach. the city recognized his u.n. official guardian role, by providing him with an ocean-front office and an r.v. to call home. >> you have called him a legend. wetlands. >> he is the steward of it. he guards the beach from harm and the creatures that lives there and educates people about why they should care. personal. >> yes, it is. no one cares... ..understands how - how much it means to me to see the area protected.

to see the power plant, gone from here. i want to see - i don't want it protected. i want to see it restored so people can come in. >> one of my hero is nelson mandela, and what he said is it always seems impossible till it's done. that's what i believe. we are going to do it. >> how long do you intend to be fighting for this beach? >> the arrest of our life. >> for the least of your life. >> yes that's "america tonight". please tell us what you think at aljazeera.com/americatonight. talk to us on twitter and facebook, come back, we'll have more of "america tonight" tomorrow.

greeks don't queue for cash as euro gives athens a final deadline to make a deal with its creditors. ♪ ♪ the world news from al jazerra. coming up in the next half hour. financial fears in china as share prices plunge on the country's stock market. a year after a brutal conflict the children in gaza are still struggling to cope with the trauma of war. and from beekeepers to doctor how immigrants in australia are taking up jobs that can't be filled by locals. ♪