91 Comments

Your daughter helped you make my day! Give her a free subscription already!

Expand full comment

Well done! I've commented on Twitter about this recent activity by orca. I asked these questions: "Are they fed up and fighting back, or just having fun? Of course, the two are hardly incompatible. Some of the best forms of struggle involve having fun at the expense of your enemy. Whichever, they've got my support. Was the aborted TV series Zoo prescient?" And then, in regard to a video of a HUGE pod of dolphins, I added: "The day these guys - who have saved many, many humans and other animals - join the orca in attacking boats, those messing up the oceans will be in BIG trouble!" https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1660764772130848768

These comments of mine reflect recognition of the degree to which capitalists have been destroying the ecology of our planet's oceans. From the ongoing slaughtering of whales (commercial whalers, not the isolated indigenous hunts) through over fishing (commercial fishing fleets, not indigenous fishers) to massive pollution (of which the islands of floating plastic debris are only one part) and global warming, which is destroying reefs, to boats running roughshod over all kinds of mammals hurting them with propellers.

Once we recognize the intelligence of some of the ocean's creatures, not only orca but whales, dolphins, etc., it not hard to imagine them beginning to fight back and boats would seem prime targets. Despite Greenpeace's anti-whaling efforts on the high seas, those of us opposed to this carnage have produced no Captain Nemo's to sink Japanese or Norwegian whaling vessels, so can we blame orca for doing what they can. As I've also commented elsewhere, so far they have NOT attacked the humans whose boats they have scuttled, so I take it that for the time being their actions amount to protests, not yet open warfare. Will those of us aware of and opposed to all this carnage act effectively to stop it before it comes to that?

Expand full comment

What a wonderful change of pace for June morning.

A rhetorical question

What if we had spent the billions on investigating 2/3 of the earth surface rather than on nasa and ego projects of billionaires?

Just maybe we would have appreciated the planet and it’s oceans, and stopped the poisoning of our own home and learned from brilliant mammals who happen to live in the seas rather than on land.

We will never know, because in a matter of decades earth will be uninhabitable on 2/3 of its surface, because of heat, flooding, poisonous atmosphere.

Kind of ironic 2/3 oceans and 2/3 uninhabitable by humans.

. .

Expand full comment

I am so happy to read about Orcas this morning! I have been keeping up with the Orca attacks off the Iberian coast. Seems to me it's purposeful and these massive animals are patrolling their waters for mankind that might harm them. I am also happy to read an uplifting piece. I know you have immense wisdom and political chops to share and warn us as the name implies. But after 7 going on 8 years of Trump and the decline of our democracy, I have to limit my daily intake of doom. Some of your writings scare me and there's nothing I can do about the daily harm inflicted upon our democracy. I vote, volunteer, help my local Dem chapter and have been doing so for 40 years. I would offer a suggestion that the Warning intersperse warnings with information about the wins, even small ones, happening in our country and a human interest story here and there. Thank your daughter for me!

Expand full comment

Steve, Give your college girl a free subscription. Daughter, find your voice and your stories to tell. I’ll look for you on Substack in the near future. Go orcas!!!

Expand full comment
Jun 2, 2023·edited Jun 2, 2023

(full disclosure, I was at NOAA before I went to my last federal agency on the Hill. Yes, I believe we have impacted the Oceans, and yes, I also believe we can work to correct the impact. There are many NFP's --WHOI, Scripps among them, who are doing very good work in the field. So if your summer travels take you to Cape Cod or the California coast, stop by for a visit).

Yes Orcas and other marine mammals are more intelligent than we care to think about. If they were injured, I am sure they would take revenge on that which injured them.

Your last question is the most intriguing one. To my mind, myths always point to both a core community understanding and also the "why" questions that were asked and answered around a campfire. They set community norms and behavioral principles. They teach in a memorable way. We recount Greek and other myths as they point to core social norms.

Since yesterday you mentioned CS Lewis, I will remind everyone of the discussion between CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien, when both were Oxford dons. They were discussing myths. The question was raised if there was such a thing as a true myth. The rest, shall we say, is history.

Expand full comment

Steve you write how "I" feel in so much of your work. I believe in the myths and also in the mystical. I do not live as such in the mythical way but I think about it, try to learn from it and very much enjoy the words and writings from the mystics.

I believe your article fits perfectly into this timeframe of success and failures as humans in these United States. I believe we are coming back and I love the feeling!

Thank YOU so very much for your many timely words but most of all for this education about "The Blackfish"

Expand full comment

I, for one, welcome our new orca overlords and look forward to preparing my weekly fish offering

Expand full comment

Native American Wisdom: “Listen to the air. You can hear it, feel it, smell it, taste it. Woniya wakan—the holy air—which renews all by its breath. Woniya, woniya wakan—spirit, life, breath, renewal—it means all that. Woniya—we sit together, don’t touch, but something is there; we feel it between us, as a presence. A good way to start thinking about nature, talk about it. Rather talk to it, talk to the rivers, to the lakes, to the winds as to our relatives.” -Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions

Thank you Steve (and your daughter!) Woniya Wakan, Sacred Breath of Life. Best to you! Lisa

Expand full comment

Thank you for the story of the black fish. I have always found creation stories from Native American interesting. There is wisdom in their teachings. They also represent a love of people and consequences when someone is wronged. These stories tell of morals and a way to coexist with nature and other species in a cohesive environment. Humans by nature or nurture are selfish and think of their own survival first without consideration of the environment around them. We are the top predator in our world and when we act without thought we are extremely dangerous and reckless. If we do not heed the proverbs of creation stories, our world will end badly. We can coexist with nature if we treat our environment with respect. We have lost more than half of the species since the beginning of recorded time and more will go the way of the dinosaurs if we are not careful.

Expand full comment

Give your daughter a subscription Steve! If she inspired this writing, which I loved every word, then she's a gift.

Expand full comment
Jun 2, 2023Liked by Steve Schmidt

No wish to debate your daughter, who would no doubt be a skilled foe, but I’m a happy paid subscriber because I never fail to learn something here, and your voice is invaluable in these times. And the third paragraph of your opening remarks is a classic!

Expand full comment
founding

I have hope for our new generation. They are wholesome and well connected to the need of this planet earth more than we imagine. There is still hope for our troubled time.

Expand full comment

Scientific American had an article about the Southern Pod that for some unknown reason in 1987 started wearing dead salmon on their heads. Salmon hats only lasted 1 season . Quirky pod

Expand full comment

Great article, Steve!

I think the orcas are perceiving the boats as a threat and are attacking them preemptively as opposed to it being “revenge”. Maybe they’ve come to see boats as dangerous to their pods and are just taking them down as protection.

Whatever the reason, its amazing and I am in full support of their right to protect themselves. 😉

Expand full comment

My wife and I truly enjoyed your article today. You are deep thinker and have strong ties to the natural world, qualities I respect. I cannot think of any contemporary politician or operative like you, other than Jimmy Carter. And that is a shame. We need more leaders whose concern and experience extends beyond the Beltway, and who understand the natural world, our place in it, and our deep responsibility to the Earth and future generations.

Expand full comment