Pacific gray whales facing 'catastrophic' die-off as climate crisis hits food supply

[OKIsItJustMe]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/10/pacific-gray-whales-population-climate-change

Trump administration urged to relist a species in ‘very, very serious trouble’ under Endangered Species Act

Tom Perkins
Fri 10 Jul 2026 09.00 EDT

Climate change is driving a gray whale “catastrophic mortality event” in the Pacific Ocean as melting sea ice depletes food sources and the animals starve, environmental groups warn.

Meanwhile, a range of other issues, like ship strikes, oil spills, microplastic pollution, algal blooms and Russian harvesting are also probably contributing to the die-off that has nearly halved the whales’ estimated population. It fell from 20,000 in 2019 to fewer than 13,000 this year, and the deaths appear to be accelerating.

Environmental groups have petitioned the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) to relist the gray whale under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which would alleviate some problems, but its approval is a long shot as the Trump administration moves to gut wildlife protections.

The whales are in “very, very serious trouble”, said Rick Steiner, an Alaska marine ecologist and chair of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility’s (Peer’s) board of directors.

…

[Faux pas]

1. ...

[Stargleamer]

2. Those who have power fuck everything up

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. To be fair, we help them

Who doesn’t know that burning fossil fuels are killing the planet?

Are people flying less? No. They’re flying more.
2025 Was The Busiest Year For US Air Travel In More Than 15 Years, FAA Says

Are people taking fewer cruises? No, they’re taking more.
Cruise Industry Hits Fourth Consecutive Record Year With 4.5% Growth in 2026

Are people driving more efficient vehicles? (Not really.) The best selling automobiles are Pickup trucks and SUV’s.
The 25 Best-Selling Cars in 2025


(I can go on.)

[Hey Joe]

4. I guess keeping these species alive would be

placing too much burden on the profit margins of these corporations.
What a sad, sorry time we are living through.😩

[Bayard]

5. trump does seem to hate all animals

That is a very serious fault in my book.

[OKIsItJustMe]

6. As much as I would like to blame the Orange Man in the White House, I can't blame him for everything

The whales are not dying because of him. They’re dying because of us.

The ice cap did not melt overnight. It’s been happening for decades.

https://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/



What does it matter if the ice melts? As it turns out, it affects the plankton which support the whole arctic food web (oh, and the fish that feed millions of people.)

https://arctic.noaa.gov/Report-Card/

[hatrack]

7. Oh, goody! We're now marginally higher than the all-time record low in 2012 . . .

Freedumb!!

[OKIsItJustMe]

8. Of course, we started the year significantly lower than in 2012 (no surprise)

So, I suspect, as the year progresses, on the whole (what with the super-duper El Niño and all) 2026 will be worse than 2012.

Of course, I could be wrong, if so, we can all take comfort… like someone having been run over by a bus taking comfort that it wasn’t a train.