Whales help reduce carbon dioxide

Research by Trish Lavery at Flinders University has shown that by feeding in deep waters and defecating in surface waters, whales cycle iron and other nutrients to where they can be used for photosynthesis, helping absorb carbon dioxide. The research has been published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society and re-published in the popular magazine Scientific American and been the subject of radio and television news reports. Even the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society quickly publicized the news with an editorial praising whale excrement.

In other whale news, the German magazine Spiegel Online has an article on whaling, with an accompanying photo gallery, and TIME magazine has had some commentary on the issue as it is recently in the news. Australia is taking Japan to the World Court and Japan is starting its northern hemisphere whaling season.