Karen Sullivan

It’s an extraordinary presence, a creature with a 50-million-year history, far longer than ours. In death a whale is still a leviathan asking us to approach with respect. When I saw it up close, my mind went toward humility, not comedy. Its emaciated body was an indictment.

Hotter now than they’ve ever been, the oceans have absorbed around 90 percent of the excess heat that humans have caused, but they can also give it back. One effect of a heated ocean surface is that it will stratify and not mix as much with colder layers below.

The bottom line is, if a ship is blowing its whistle at you, get out of the way. Make a clear course change; go astern of it.

If this new legal opinion and its proposed rule are adopted, you can expect to see fewer birds.