In Goa, the Water Runs Black

Dust, Heat, and Home

Since a record-breaking heatwave roasted much of the West Coast of North America two weeks ago, extreme weather—and its devastating impacts on people, wildlife, and our environments—has never been far from my mind. A glance at headlines from around the world hints at the destruction wrought by deadly floods and heat-fueled wildfires. And climate research is yielding new alarming predictions, including more soaring temperatures.

One of the most unnerving effects of the extreme heat that we experienced in Victoria, British Columbia, was a balmy breeze blowing off the ocean. The hot gusts felt like opening an oven door, a sensation that had me yearning for the brisk winds that typically cool our summer days. Michael Allen’s story explains that coastal dwellers might expect warmer and more humid sea breezes; hotter ocean water releases heat and moisture that can blow onto land nearby.

Warmer waters are one of the factors that are challenging ocean inhabitants, and in last week’s feature story, our 2020 journalism fellow Brandon Wei explored how tolerance to high temperatures could turn different species of Pacific salmon into climate change winners, or losers. Take a peek if you missed his story—especially if you’re one of the 152 generous donors who supported our fundraiser for Brandon’s fellowship in 2019.

According to experts, the extreme temperatures and natural disasters we’re experiencing are exacerbated by climate change. The knowledge that our own activity is impacting life in such dramatic ways makes this week’s feature story, “In Goa, the Water Runs Black,” even more poignant. Writer Disha Shetty transports us to Vāsco Da Gāma, a community suffering from the effects of coal dust pollution, and considers how increasing coal imports may directly undermine the health of locals and the surrounding environment.

Now, if you’re turning to our newsletter for a respite from concerning news, I recommend Carolyn Cowan’s story about scientists attracting an imperiled seabird to safer nesting habitat with recorded calls.

As always, thanks for reading.

Vanessa Minke-Martin
Audience engagement editor

This Week’s Stories

In Goa, the Water Runs Black

Locals near one of India’s coal-importing ports feel the effects of coal dust and are bracing for an even unhealthier future.

by Disha Shetty • 2,200 words / 11 mins

More Intense Marine Heatwaves Are Affecting Life on Land

In coastal cities, marine heatwaves in the adjacent ocean can cause the heat index, a measure of how hot it feels, to rise by several degrees.

by Michael Allen • 550 words / 2 mins

Why Nauru Is Pushing the World Toward Deep-Sea Mining

A small South Pacific nation gave the International Seabed Authority a two-year deadline to finalize the rules for mining the deep sea, but the jury is still out on when, exactly, deep-sea mining will begin.

by Elham Shabahat • 950 words / 4 mins

Scientists Are Tricking Birds into Finding New Homes

New research has added marbled murrelets to the list of seabirds that can be manipulated with misinformation.

by Carolyn Cowan • 1,000 words / 5 mins

One Great Shot: Peregrine Falcon Mealtime

A fearless photographer braves a rocky precipice to capture this image of avian carnage.

by Joshua Asel • a quick read with one great photo

What We’re Reading

The heat dome in late June resulted in perhaps the most devastating climate change clambake in history (with mussels and other shellfish impacted, too), but the environmental destruction didn’t end there. Californian officials are warning that young chinook salmon in the Sacramento River could be dying en masse due to drought and abnormally warm water temperatures. (CNN)

While the salmon struggle with warm water, how sea otters stay heated in frigid waters has long baffled scientists. Sea otters don’t have vast stores of blubber to stay warm, and their dense fur isn’t quite thick enough to do the trick either. Now, a new study has detailed how sea otters can run hot through unusual activity in the mitochondria of their cells. (New York Times)

In Los Angeles, California, 64 million liters of sewage was discharged in Santa Monica Bay resulting in beach closures. The Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant had flooding issues and discharged untreated sewage to avoid shutting down the facility entirely. Health officials are facing criticism over the time it took to notify the public. (The Guardian)

Over in the Czech Republic, a new study has found that fish are becoming addicted to methamphetamines. When humans use drugs, trace amounts seep into the wastewater, and treatment facilities are unequipped to filter them out. As a result, human drugs are ending up in the water, and brown trout are getting hooked. (New Scientist)

Scientists have uncovered the mystery of the world’s oldest-known shark attack. At a site in Japan, archaeologists unearthed a man’s skeleton that was covered in lacerations and gouges. Scientists weren’t sure what caused them at first, but now an international team theorizes that 3,000 years ago, the man was attacked by a great white and hauled out of the water for burial. (Atlas Obscura)

Speaking of sharks, Cape Cod in Massachusetts is testing out a new tool that uses satellite and tracking technology to predict the presence of sharks in the water. (Undark)

Squat lobsters are unicorns in crustaceans’ clothing. This particular squat lobster species—Munida quadrispina—begins life swimming in the plankton before settling to the ocean bottom in adulthood. Pictured is a baby no larger than a black bean. It was caught in a plankton tow off Quadra Island, British Columbia, as part of efforts by the Hakai Institute and its partners to catalog DNA from marine creatures for the Barcode of Life Data System. What you can’t see in this close-up portrait are the squat lobster’s characteristic elongated claws that extend from its body like reacher tools that short people use to grab something off a high shelf.

Photo by Tyrel Froese

This week, the Mexican government did away with a fishing-free zone in the Gulf of California that was intended to protect the last vaquita marina porpoises (the world’s smallest and rarest cetacean), and will attempt to limit boat traffic in the area instead. Tension there between fishers, conservationists, and authorities sometimes led to altercations. For more about the vaquita and the long, contentious, and multifaceted struggle to save the species, see Sarah Gilman’s 2017 feature story “Avoiding Extinction.”

Behind the Story

Disha Shetty shares the inspiration for this week’s feature story, “In Goa, the Water Runs Black.”

It was during a workshop in Goa two years back that I first learned about the issue of coal dust pollution. Something about the impact that coal importation had on disadvantaged locals living near Goa’s Mormugao Port Trust reminded me of the movie Erin Brockovich.

During my visit, I was stunned to see huge piles of coal in full public view at the port. It was an issue largely ignored by India’s mainstream media, or was told as an environmental story. I wondered, What about the people’s health? I knew I would return at some point to do more research. I wanted the story to be an investigation focused on local voices, with the themes of public health, environment, politics, and climate change.

In 2020, when an environmental protest linked to the coal imports broke out, I wrote a grant proposal to the Pulitzer Center and then spent months trying to find the perfect home for the investigation.

In February this year, I finally traveled to Goa to report for Hakai Magazine. The mountains of coal were right in front of my eyes, just as they were two years back. I’m grateful to have finally told the story of the communities paying the cost for Goa’s coal imports.

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