a bit of googling around and
it may help for context to understand that Ridd, your supposed Gallileo of the Great Barrier Reef, has no expertise in corral biology, works for fossil fuel interests and is active in supporting a climate change denial book.
Now I won't damn him for that.
but I do think that your rhetorical question, "Any one else notice how this exactly parallels Galileo and the catholic church. ??? "
might equally be replaced by
"Anyone else notice that this exactly parallels fossil fuel vested interest non-scientific denial. ???"