By John Q. Hosedrinker 
In 2025, the annual upwelling event in the Gulf of Panama failed to occur for the first time, a phenomenon linked to weakened trade winds. Scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) observed that the process, which normally cools coastal waters and supports fisheries, was disrupted, leading to significantly reduced temperature drops and productivity increases. This disruption highlights the vulnerability of tropical upwelling systems and the potential impact of climate change on coastal populations. Further research is necessary to understand the long-term ecological and socioeconomic implications of this unprecedented event.
Read the original article here
For the First Time in 40 Years, Panama’s Ocean Lifeline Has Vanished, and frankly, it’s hard to know where to begin. The very title itself, “For the First Time in 40 Years,” has sparked some confusion, and that’s understandable. It’s crucial to clarify that this “first time” refers to the duration of systematic tracking, a period of about four decades. While that’s the only time we’ve *officially* recorded it, it doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened before. The ocean has existed for much longer, and there are likely traces of past events in historical records, like ship logs, if you dig deep enough. However, the point remains: We’re seeing something unprecedented in our *modern* era of close observation.
This is a bad sign. And that’s putting it mildly. The vanishing ocean lifeline is a dire symptom of a larger crisis. Consider that a substantial portion of Earth’s oxygen, somewhere between 50% and 80%, comes from the ocean. So, when something disrupts the ocean’s health, it directly impacts the air we breathe. It also affects the entire ecosystem. I was scuba diving in Bocas Del Toro, on Panama’s Atlantic side, and it was depressing to see how little there was to see. We’re seeing evidence that the ocean isn’t what it was.
The core of the issue is what is happening. The vanishing ocean lifeline refers to the disruption of vital processes. The oceans are no longer behaving as they should. Cold ocean water contains more nutrients and fish, which provides for fisheries and coral reefs. This disruption puts a strain on the aquatic ecosystem. In the past there have been times it didn’t exist and nature bounced back, but this is a modern issue and we’re still around.
The root of this crisis, unsurprisingly, is human activity. From the relentless pursuit of profit to the political inaction, it is a complex issue. The reality is that these factors are exacerbating existing issues, and the consequences are becoming increasingly visible. The steps taken by some governments to curb environmental destruction have been reversed. There’s a focus on wealth, a foolish focus on wealth, at the expense of the world around us.
There’s a feeling that we’re not the keepers of the land. We aren’t. Earth will recover in a relatively short time after we make it inhospitable for ourselves and become extinct. We are just ruining our experience on Earth. We are no more harmful to Earth than a common cold is to us. That’s a horrible, horrible sign. This is literally our timeline. But perhaps that is just the way things are, a cycle repeating throughout time.
This has become a source of fear and a growing sense of inevitability. It’s a common fear that the future we grew up watching in the 80s may come in our lifetime. We are living in a time of looming environmental disaster, and it’s understandable to feel overwhelmed, or perhaps even a bit cynical. The focus on terraforming Mars as a solution is a sign of this, as if fixing another planet will be easier than fixing the one we have.
This crisis has also produced a need for solutions. But the solutions, as they stand, are not good enough. It’s easy to say that we can fix this, but if we continue to be told that the solutions are pending, we will never change things. It’s like a breath of fresh air to see such an honest article, one that understands that we’re not having a good time. Perhaps the way forward is to change the way we think about ourselves in the world. Educated people could create more children, so that the future generations are adequately represented by humans who are willing to walk the talk and save this planet.
So, where does this leave us? The answer is: in a critical moment. We’re confronted with a harsh reality. The planet is showing us it’s dying, and we are all taking the journey with it. It’s essential to face this reality and to act.