{"id":31035,"date":"2020-04-25T08:00:30","date_gmt":"2020-04-25T06:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/?p=31035"},"modified":"2020-05-22T14:34:23","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T12:34:23","slug":"whales-global-warming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/2020\/04\/whales-global-warming\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Whales the Solution Against Global Warming?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whales capture as much carbon as 4 Amazon forests would. Research shows that these animals can be the key weapon against global warming.<\/h2>\n

Marine biologists found a way to lead us to a climate change<\/a> improvement, thanks to a low-tech<\/strong> solution\u2026 Well, completely no-tech<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

According to the latest study of the International Monetary Fund<\/a>, whales capturing potential is at least 40% of CO2<\/strong>. This means that experts look at whales as a means for a breakthrough<\/strong> in the fight against global warming.
\nThere are two challenges which should be overcome to find a way to mitigate environmental damages. Firstly, to find a working solution<\/strong>. Secondly, to have the necessary funds<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"whale
Photo by Michael Blum on Unsplash<\/div><\/div>\n

The Whale Pump<\/em>: a move to save the world<\/h2>\n

But how have whales come to be this useful? As simple as it seems, thanks to their movement<\/strong>. When it comes to find nourishment, whales go down in the deep sea; yet, to breathe, they must surface. This natural vertical motion<\/strong> works as a \u201cpump<\/em>\u201d, which leads extremely functional elements towards the sea surface. Such elements are nitrogen and iron, the perfect environment for phytoplankton<\/strong> to grow.<\/p>\n

\"how
Photo by International Monetary Fund<\/div><\/div>\n

The biggest change from the smallest creatures<\/h2>\n

Phytoplankton is one of the organisms with the highest carbon capturing potential<\/strong>. Their presence in our seas is directly proportional to the abundance of whales, due to the whale pump<\/em>. Their ability to store CO2 comes from the way they live \u2013 they release oxygen<\/strong> and absorb carbon<\/strong> dioxide<\/strong>. We can say this works similarly to plants\u2019 photosynthesis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Startlingly, it is estimated that if phytoplankton would increase by only 1%<\/strong>, then it could absorb hundreds of millions of tons of carbon per year<\/strong>. We require 2billions of trees to match these results. At last, whales\u2019 average lifespan is more than 60 years. The profit for the entire world would be priceless<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"whale
Photo by NOAA on Unsplash<\/div><\/div>\n

What can we do to help?<\/h2>\n

With the purpose of appeasing<\/strong> the global warming damages, we simply shall let whales live<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Sadly, as the study states, the overall whale population had to go through hard times<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The killing of whales and commercial whaling have dramatically reduced their presence in our seas. We went from the presence of 5 million to 1.3 million nowadays<\/strong>. The positive news is that some species of whales are likely to recover and quickly grow in number.<\/p>\n

New threats against whales<\/h2>\n
\"plastic
Photo by Mary-Ann Zinzius on Flickr<\/div><\/div>\n

Threats to whale life did not end by banning whale hunting. Still, nowadays life-threatening hazards<\/strong> are significant. It is in our abilities to lower these dangers. Examples can be:<\/p>\n