Whale Shit: Eco-Gold.

When the International Whaling Commission meets in Morocco next week to discuss lifting the moratorium on commercial whaling, delegates might pause to consider an unexpected fact: the faeces of sperm whales is helping to save the planet. Australian researchers have found that the iron-rich faeces of sperm whales living in the Southern Ocean boosts the growth of phytoplankton, marine plants which suck in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

They estimate that the whales are responsible for removing 400,000 tonnes of carbon each year, twice as much as they contribute through respiration. According to the scientists, based at Adelaide's Flinders University, they would be disposing of 10 times as much carbon were it not for commercial whaling. "If we hadn't decreased sperm whale populations from their historical levels, we'd have an extra about two million tonnes of carbon being pulled out of our atmosphere every year."

Green Man: Whale SHIT!! I find it fascinating and remarkable that nature is so balanced that it has even factored in how whale shit can best benefit the overall eco-system. Everything was in harmony until man decided to go into a parasitic binge with the start of the industrial revolution. Nature has all these built in filters for carbon dioxide and built in oxygen tanks yet man thought we could mess with the environment all we wanted and it wouldn't affect us in the least. Nature was something that we arrogantly assumed either got in the way or was independent from us. We were so arrogant in fact that we figured since plant matter wasn't "intelligent" that it must be expendable.

Well, the destruction of nature might not have shown much danger for centuries but now we're learning a very painful lesson on just how much delicate and important nature is for our survival. We have no one to blame but ourselves and seeing how we are being humbled into the reality that we are just another cog in the wheel of nature, just like anything thing else, and that if nature goes down in flames--so will we. How we could observe the co-operation within the natural world and not assume we were apart of it, and interdependent upon it for survival is pretty amazing.

It's that damn monotheism that claims we are special creations from some old bearded white man in the sky who are meant to dominate the Earth and given the go-ahead to do whatever we wanted upon it. That was a big bet that the monotheists made for us but I don't take any joy in saying, "I told you so" regarding how that attitude led to the toxic environment we inherited today because I'm not sure how or whether if we can fix it. I do find it deliciously fitting, however, that whale shit is doing its part, so in that regard I hope whales shit all over the place!!

ADDENDUM: Obama wants whaling to go ahead again. So much for his claim to being a friend to environmentalism with his announcement of offshore drilling right before the BP explosion. As well as this whaling decision. And here I thought the guy was supposed to be a Liberal!! I keep being disappointed with him but where else am I going to turn? Conservative? That'll be the day when you know to haul me off to the mental hospital--for good!! I don't think it's in my DNA to be right-wing.

~The Green Man has Spoken~