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Why Trump Will Be More Culpable for the Extinction of Right Whales than is Climate Change
Alone on deck, they thought I was having an epileptic attack as I gesticulated and babbled at the sea’s surface with an enormous slick circular patch where the right whale’s back like a sandbar had once been. The whale had grabbed my attention with a big exhalation right beside the ship, blown my mind with the humongous immensity of a life form, and then moved on never to be seen again.
Finally, 46 summers later, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has designated the North Atlantic Right Whale as “critically endangered” on its Red List of Threatened Species.
This is necessary because we have not recognized how the plight of whales is one with the health of oceans. Instead, we shirk taking responsibility for our actions by blaming others.
Ship strikes kill whales. So, the ship channel to Boston across Stellwagen Bank was changed to be shorter. “Listening” buoys moored out to tell large ships when there are right whales in the vicinity to slow down. And still the whales are endangered.
Lobster trap lines entangle and kill. So, lobstermen changed their lines and stopped setting traps in April and May. And still the whales are endangered.
