Lebanon’s woes were compounded ecologically last month when an Israeli fighter jet bombed a storage fuel tank in Beirut, releasing 10,000 tons of oil into the Mediterranean Sea. The fuel tank burned for weeks, sending a black cloud of fumes up that reached as far as Europe. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s meager means for oil spill cleanup are woefully inadequate. The spill traveled 70-80 km up the coast of Lebanon, and would cost an estimated $40-50 million for a full cleanup. But here’s the good news:

"July is hatching season for turtle eggs and baby turtles have to reach deep water as fast as possible to avoid predators. With the oil in their way, they will not survive," Wael Hmaidan, a local environmental activist said.

So it appears that Israel has finally stamped out Hezbollah’s merciless band of endangered sea turtles. The turtle militia long ago infiltrated Lebanon’s coastlines in order to breed and combat Israeli occupation with their gentle but deadly demeanor, joining forces with radical pockets of mollusks and crustaceans. Sadly, oil slicks are indiscriminate, and the toll on innocent civilian bluefin tuna may be equally high. But at least the fundamentalist turtle revolution has come to an oily end.

And You Were Thinking It Couldn't Get Worse (Grist)

Oil Spill Adds Ecological Crisis to Lebanon's Agony (Planet Ark / Reuters)

Fuel oil and fumes spill from power plant bombed by Israelis (Boston Globe)