Great story Luke. War uses fossil fuels intensively like nothing else. The US Military is Big Oil’s biggest client. No holding back. As oil and gas prices rise accordingly, Big Oil pockets $Billions in profits, then as the bombs are dropped, the missiles are fired, the ships sink, the fossil infrastructure ruptured and the oil spreads through the sea… the costs are socialized through the marine ecosystems and the local people, institutions and governments who pay the ultimate price.
This is not a topic that gets any discussion as you so eloquently point out. The best diving I’ve done is in The Red Sea off Egypt. Rich, pristine marine environment accessible only by liveaboard. That was only 10 years ago. I can’t imagine the change there now. Aside from your publication and precious few others there is no reporting of that at all.
I know the Persian Gulf well having sailed it many times in a cargo vessel. I recall, in say 1965, being at anchor off Oman, still then a walled city and fishing in what were very clean waters and catching a shark. I was not fishing for shark, but it happened to get hooked and it was not until landed on the ship that I realised what was caught. From memory it was not wasted but eaten.
Also lots of sea snakes, so not water in which you would want to swim. Also used to travel up the Shatt Al Arab river which is the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates and borders Iran and Iraq. In one such visit, the then Shah of Iran came down the River on a frigate or similar with those on the Iraqi side of the river jeering. We used to load dates for shipment to maybe even Australia, I do not recall. Life along the river bank where we used to anchor, was pretty primitive.
Great story Luke. War uses fossil fuels intensively like nothing else. The US Military is Big Oil’s biggest client. No holding back. As oil and gas prices rise accordingly, Big Oil pockets $Billions in profits, then as the bombs are dropped, the missiles are fired, the ships sink, the fossil infrastructure ruptured and the oil spreads through the sea… the costs are socialized through the marine ecosystems and the local people, institutions and governments who pay the ultimate price.
War is the ultimate racket.
the ocean 🌊 will win, in the end. Thank you for helping us keep her and those as safe and healthy as possible, until then.
This is not a topic that gets any discussion as you so eloquently point out. The best diving I’ve done is in The Red Sea off Egypt. Rich, pristine marine environment accessible only by liveaboard. That was only 10 years ago. I can’t imagine the change there now. Aside from your publication and precious few others there is no reporting of that at all.
Very depressing to say the least.
I know the Persian Gulf well having sailed it many times in a cargo vessel. I recall, in say 1965, being at anchor off Oman, still then a walled city and fishing in what were very clean waters and catching a shark. I was not fishing for shark, but it happened to get hooked and it was not until landed on the ship that I realised what was caught. From memory it was not wasted but eaten.
Also lots of sea snakes, so not water in which you would want to swim. Also used to travel up the Shatt Al Arab river which is the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates and borders Iran and Iraq. In one such visit, the then Shah of Iran came down the River on a frigate or similar with those on the Iraqi side of the river jeering. We used to load dates for shipment to maybe even Australia, I do not recall. Life along the river bank where we used to anchor, was pretty primitive.