Outrage: Obama Backs Lifting Ban on Whaling
Outrage: Obama Backs Lifting Ban on Whaling
While U.S. residents watch and worry about
the oil spill, a different kind of oceanic nightmare
is brewing, one that will cause immense suffering
and death for countless whales for many years to come.
the oil spill, a different kind of oceanic nightmare
is brewing, one that will cause immense suffering
and death for countless whales for many years to come.
On June 20, the International Whaling Commission
will meet in Morocco to vote on a proposal to lift
a 24-year international ban on commercial whaling
for Japan, Norway, and Iceland—the three countries
that have pretty much thumbed their noses at the ban.
The Obama administration backs the lifting of the ban.
Anyone who knows anything about the history of
the ban—which has slashed the killing from somewhere
between 40,000 and 60,000 whales a year to between
1,200 and 1,700—is outraged that the president is going
back on his election pledge to strengthen a ban and
instead throwing the country's might behind lifting it.
will meet in Morocco to vote on a proposal to lift
a 24-year international ban on commercial whaling
for Japan, Norway, and Iceland—the three countries
that have pretty much thumbed their noses at the ban.
The Obama administration backs the lifting of the ban.
Anyone who knows anything about the history of
the ban—which has slashed the killing from somewhere
between 40,000 and 60,000 whales a year to between
1,200 and 1,700—is outraged that the president is going
back on his election pledge to strengthen a ban and
instead throwing the country's might behind lifting it.
We know some fascinating things about whales: Humpbacks create "bubble-netting"
by blowing a stream of bubbles to surround their prey, and females form long-lasting
friendships with each other. Many people know that sperm whales have the biggest
brains of any living being, but did you know that they're able to dive more than a mile?
Or that they communicate by clicking? Or that some scientists believe that sperm
whales "are so self-aware that they might have begun to evolve a concept of religion."
by blowing a stream of bubbles to surround their prey, and females form long-lasting
friendships with each other. Many people know that sperm whales have the biggest
brains of any living being, but did you know that they're able to dive more than a mile?
Or that they communicate by clicking? Or that some scientists believe that sperm
whales "are so self-aware that they might have begun to evolve a concept of religion."
We also know that if the whaling ban is lifted, whale families will be torn apart as more
are slaughtered.
are slaughtered.
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