HANAUMA BAY NATURE PRESERVE, Hawaii -- The federal government is considering whether to list 82 coral species as endangered or threatened, including nine species found in Hawaii.

The primary reason is because growing amounts of carbon in the air and ocean are putting them at risk.

The deliberations are fueling a debate about the best way to help coral, given there is not yet a global plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Environmentalists say listing the coral as an endangered species would then require federal agencies to limit actions that would result in greenhouse gases that would harm the coral habitat. They pushed the same argument when polar bears were as a threatened species in 2008.

The Obama administration says the Endangered Species Act is not the right vehicle to address greenhouse gas emissions.

They a comprehensive strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is the better approach.