The Strait of Hormuz carries around one quarter of global seaborne oil trade ... Military escalation in the region has disrupted shipping flows, raising concerns about ripple effects across global markets ... Around one third of global seaborne fertilizer trade (about 16 million tonnes) passes through the Strait, raising concerns about fertilizer access for some of the poorest countries. United Nations Trade and Development, 10 March 2026

Of all the kinds of creature since the universe’s dawn
who struggled into life, and thrived, and perished in their turn,
we only, so we say, have reason. And decline to learn.

The oil we pump and set ablaze coughs filth into the skies.
This near-term incidental damage is unfortunate.
The war will pass, somehow. The ships will navigate the Strait.
Then ‘global markets’ will require that we should pump some more
so that intoxication of the global atmosphere
may once again proceed unhindered, at a healthy rate.

Concerned lest millions should starve, we dope the earth each year
with more and stronger poison. As the planet’s guests, we are
too many and too stupid for our patient host to bear.
Was gloomy Malthus right? His catastrophic vision wise?
Are we — my kind, that is — the first to will our own demise?