The strategy that will be totally effective in reversing global warming is to find a way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. And a natural option to do so is to increase the amount of whales in the oceans.
Now in a new report made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) entitled “The solution of nature to climate change”, a team of researchers have calculated that only a whale absorbs an average of 33 tons of CO2 throughout its life. Upon death, the whale sinks and that carbon is trapped at the bottom of the ocean and quite far from Earth’s atmosphere.
We have to stop killing the whales
The authors wrote in their report:
Nature has had millions of years to perfect its whale-based carbon sink technology. All we have to do is let the whales live. ”
It sounds very easy, but let’s say that to the whale hunters, to the industries that send huge whaling ships to kill them. It no longer looks so easy, unfortunately.
And the trees?
Other researchers have suggested that trees are the best solution against climate change. One of them, the ecologist Thomas Crowther, a few months ago has declared:
Trees are our most powerful weapon in the fight against climate change. ”
This is how massive campaigns have been developed around the world, including sponsored by celebrities and philanthropists.
However, the authors of the IMF report have reported that the absorption potential of whales far exceeds to the trees. The numbers say: a tree can absorb up to 2.4 tons of carbon throughout its life, while a whale absorbs 33 tons. Keep in mind here, that there will always be a greater number of trees than whales and it is easier (as far as you can see) to conserve trees.
More than just absorbing carbon
Whales have an advantage and an important factor in favor: they do more than just trap carbon in their immense bodies, they also produce waste that the phytoplankton reuse, and researchers have estimated that these microscopic creatures capture an astonishing 40 percent of all the planet’s carbon dioxide.
This is the reason why researchers in charge of the new study suggest that whales are nature’s best solution to fight against climate change.
For this reason, whales should be protected and conserved much more optimally and should be the first purpose on the global climate agenda.
The authors added in their report:
When it comes to saving the planet, a whale is worth thousands of trees. ”
You can read the report on the website of the International Monetary Fund.
