A wildlife disaster unfolds alongside the human tragedy in the Strait of Hormuz
@greenpeace.org reports Iranian vessel Shahid Bagheri, stuck by a US warplane in early March, is still leaking oil near the Strait, with nearby wetlands at risk:
www.cnn.com/2026/04/17/s...
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'A turtle makes tracks on a beach after burying its eggs in the sand in June 2021 in the Ras Al Hadd Turtle Reserve in Oman. About 10,000 green turtles make the trip on this beach every year' (Haitham Al Farsi/Solent News/Shutterstock)
The Strait of Hormuz + surrounding seas are critical ecologically as well as politically.
Coral reefs, whale sharks, dolphins, endangered Arabian humpback whales, seagrass meadows supporting dugons, islands harbouring green turtles - just some of the creatures + ecosystems in + near the Strait.
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Image of oil
Prof Martin Grossell describes the impact oil slicks can have on sea creatures:
“Many of the compounds found in crude oil will target heart function and respiration". Animals' immunity can be lowered, their nervous systems disrupted so navigating, hunting or escaping predators is more difficult.
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'A view of the vibrant coral reef at one of Musandam Peninsula's popular diving sites in Khasab, Oman, in August 2025. The reeds provide shelter and food for a wide range of marine species.' (Mahmut Serdar Alakus/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
“Crude oil, or even refined oil, is a very complex mixture of thousands of chemicals." These chemicals can be absorbed by fish through their gills or directly into the tissues of corals.
www.cnn.com/2026/04/17/s...
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Many people in coastal communities in + near the Strait rely on the fish + shellfish the mangroves, reefs, seagrass meadows in the region to survive.
Oil + war, + wars for oil: devastating to people, devastating to wildlife.
www.cnn.com/2026/04/17/s...
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Seabirds also at risk. I’ve dived there and while bobbing about at the surface after a drift dive waiting for the boat to pick us up an osprey swooped down and caught a fish right beside us which was rather a special moment.
That sounds incredible
Sadly, yes, birds suffer horribly during oil spills:
inhaling vapours from the oil can harm their lungs, chemicals in the oil can damage the thyroid, liver + kidneys, oil swallowed during preening can harm the digestive tract
Horrible stuff
uk.oceana.org/reports/sea-...
500,000 new electric vehicles (EVs) were registered in first quarter of 2026 – a 33.5% increase on a year earlier
Last week the German automotive trade body said restructuring & new investment was paying off - every 2nd EV sold in Europe was now made in Germany
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
As WindWaterSolar continues to displace fossils on CA's main grid, what is clear is that fossils are a temporary convenience, not a necessity.
Fossil gas down 60% in 2026 v 2023.
19 straight and 85 out of 109 (78%) days in 2026 with WWS meeting >100% of demand for part of the day.
If trickle-down economics worked at all, the world gaining 400 billionaires last year would have set off an economic boom, given everyone raises, and lowered our prices.
But it didn't. Because trickle-down economics is a scam designed to make the rich richer off the rest of us.
I know this is true. I've known it for a while. I still have trouble believing it each time I see it because it is so mind boggling.
This is the fourth largest economy in the world.
"Fossil gas down 60% in 2026 v 2023."
A Cactus in Court
@romangoergen.bsky.social reports on the wild world of cactus trafficking -- today on @therevelator.org therevelator.org/a-cactus-in-...
As a 15-yr-old we moved out of Sheffield to Wharncliffe Side, up the Don valley. There was a paper mill there on the river that made Dixel toilet rolls. We always knew what colour they were making ('twas the '60s!) because the Don ran either blue, pink or green. My environmentalism started there.
Species like turtles who need to surface to breathe are particularly vulnerable when an oil spill occurs:
- they inhale oil vapours, harming their lungs, oil gets into their food + onto the skin, + chemicals from oil enter their blood.
uk.oceana.org/reports/sea-...
@oceanauk.bsky.social
On a different oil disaster, Prof Grossell describes the impact oil can have on wildlife:
“Many of the compounds found in crude oil will target heart function + respiration".
Harm to nervous systems may make it hard to navigate, hunt or escape predators:
edition.cnn.com/2026/04/17/s...
Experts say Texas rules allow oil companies to defer plugging wells for far too long. Jackie Chesnutt, who lives outside of San Angelo, is tired of the pollution from wells she says should have been plugged years ago.
That sounds incredible
Sadly, yes, birds suffer horribly during oil spills:
inhaling vapours from the oil can harm their lungs, chemicals in the oil can damage the thyroid, liver + kidneys, oil swallowed during preening can harm the digestive tract
Horrible stuff
uk.oceana.org/reports/sea-...
Kill baby kill 🤬
I also think we have a business culture so focused on being 'cutting edge', more emphasis is put on this than careful risk assessment, it can be easier to come by funding for novel, untested approaches
And yet, a huge percentage of emissions comes from building
I think a lot of governments may be reluctant to push for change in an industry that's underpinning what little growth there is in world economies currently.
bsky.app/profile/glob...
One of the reasons that upfront emissions of construction are ignored in most countries are the fragmented data sets. Most countries are cooking their own soup, with missing ingredients.
A global whole life carbon emission standard sounds great. Good to see @martinroeck.com working on it.
But don't wait for a global standard, that's what countries use as an excuse to do nothing about the problem that current construction is completely unsustainable. Aim for the best practice.
Do you want to see the "big picture" on climate change?
Here it is.
Emissions are on the left, and include CO2, CH4, N2O, and f-gases. Natural CO2 sinks (from healthy forests & oceans) are on the right. And carbon removal, what little there is, is on the right, too. All expressed as GWP100.
All the data is for 2024 -- the latest available.
We will soon publish a summary of this, along with the methods, data sources, and freely available data & charts.
Keep your eyes peeled at Drawdown.org
Here are some additional breakdowns of greenhouse gas emissions and sinks.
When we talk about climate change, a lot of weird looking numbers can get tossed around. Metric tons, millions of tons, and so on.
How do we make sense of this, and put it all in context?
Welcome to “Carbon in Context” by Project Drawdown. It helps you see the bigger picture.
Check it out!
Did you know that it’s not just the wrong cars and wrong heating systems that consume oil? Cement plants also downplay their high emissions by using 'alternative fuels'. These fuels are mostly made from waste that is itself derived from oil.
So many synthetic materials, foams + plastics used in building also made from oil
