Whales | Blue Living Ideas

Report: Toxins Found in Whales Bad News for Humans

Posted on Jul 21, 2010 by Zachary Shahan.

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Bad news and bad news for whales these days — endangered baby whales are dying from the BP oil spill and the toxic dispersants used to “clean it up” and the International Whaling Committee has been discussing whether or not to legalize whaling of endangered whale species.

Now, a new study finds that sperm whales in even the most remote areas of the Earth’s oceans contain extremely high levels of toxins and heavy metals.

Of course, this is not only bad news for the whales, but also for humans
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Japanese Whalers Making Big Money on Illegal Whale Meat

Posted on Jul 06, 2010 by Zachary Shahan.

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The BP oil spill may have killed a baby whale, but there are much bigger problems for endangered whales around the world.

Japanese, Norwegian and Icelandic whalers have been whaling unsustainably and illegally for years despite an international moratorium on whaling. Rather than address this problem with stronger laws and enforcement, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) is discussing lifting the moratorium and replacing it with a whaling quota this week.
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Gray Whale Found on Wrong Side of World

Posted on Jun 14, 2010 by Zachary Shahan.

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This is one of those crazy stories that you can hardly believe when you read it. However, it is one that might become more and more common as climate change steams ahead. The title is no joke and no exaggeration. Apparently, a gray whale was spotted off the coast of Israel last month, despite there being “no gray whales” in the Mediterranean Sea or even in the Atlantic Ocean since the 18th century.

Phillip Clapham of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration writes: “There are really only two explanations: that there has been a relict population in the North Atlantic that no one has noticed (virtually impossible), or (more likely) that this whale came down through the ice-free Northwest Passage and is now hopelessly lost.”

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Endangered Whale Massacre on the Horizon?

Posted on Apr 27, 2010 by Zachary Shahan.

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Here is some very surprising and disappointing news. The Chair of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) announced a proposal this week that would endorse the killing of whales, including some endangered species. The proposal would also allow the killing of whales in their number one feeding ground — the Southern Ocean.

This would reverse a decision made 25 years ago to put a moratorium on whaling.
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Whales and Climate Change: How Are They Linked?

Posted on Mar 08, 2010 by Zachary Shahan.

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Two issues close to the hearts of many environmentalists (or even the average person now) — addressing climate change and protecting endangered whales — are now being seen as linked issues.

Whales are huge! Blue whales are the largest creatures on Earth. An elephant, the largest animal that lives on land, could stand on a blue whale’s tongue. Its heart is the size of a small car. A sperm whale has a brain the size of a car and you could swim in its veins.
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