Climate grief
A humpback whale in waters off southern Oman. Photo: Tobias Friedrich
I can’t stop thinking about the Straight of Hormuz. Did you know it’s a biological hotspot?
It’s a place where dugongs live in the waters grazing on local seagrass beds and green and hawksbill sea turtles nest and breed on the beaches and offshore islands. Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins live year-round in the area, as do the endemic Arabian Humpback whales, a non-migratory, and critically endangered population that have been living in those waters for the last 70,000 years. Migratory whale sharks and over 700 fish species roam the waters too.
The surrounding wetlands host expansive Mangrove forests housing over 100 bird species… It should be a paradise.
I just can’t bear to think of what’s happening to the animals, in the waters and forests that are their home. The oil pollution and bombs…
Underwater explosions and shock waves from naval combat kill fish instantly and literally rupture organs in marine life. High-intensity military sonar and heavy ship traffic disorient whales and dolphins, causing temporary or permanent hearing loss and interfere with vital communication and feeding.
And those rare non-migratory populations? The Arabian humpback whales and dugongs? They can’t leave the region's hot, high-salinity waters to escape the danger. They are trapped.
Crude spills that poison sea turtles, coat seabirds and destroy their thermal insulation, and smother coral reefs… Oil slicks and tar residues coating the mangroves, suffocating the breathing roots of the trees and blocking the sunlight. It’s all a GD nightmare.
Dugong
I think about the Straight of Hormuz while I sit in my blasting hot house, windows shut tight from the poisonous air caused by raging wildfires. I sit in my house and look out at the eerie sky and read about data centers and the news that Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk now want to put those things in space.
WTF is happening? The Revenge of the Nerds has gone far enough. We don’t need what they are selling. We need a planet to live on. We need air to breathe. Food to eat. Water to drink.
A balm to my grief is the garden. Hosting life. I garden every bit as much for the animals as I do for myself. I enjoy the harvests and fresh food, but my soul is fed by the buzzing bees and lumbering beetles.
It’s something I can do. A physical manifestation of hope. And the truth is, all species everywhere, big and small need our help. Did ya know that over 50 million acres of US land is lawn? That’s a lot of land. Imagine if those lawns were filled with native plants supporting our struggling pollinators and bird and soil species? It would make a huge impact. And it already is making a tangible difference as the movement spreads.
We have all kinds of choices and agency. I’m a broken record with this - but it’s when those choices come in undeniable numbers that our collective powers can be realized.
These times are a lot. To say the very least. And my heart goes out to all of you that are feeling the heaviness. The grief and loss.
Sending you a BIG hug through the ether.
XO