Dear MoveOn member,
The ocean is hotter than ever.1
And it's catastrophic for the thousands of animals that inhabit our oceans—especially for whales. Orcas, belugas, and blue whales are impacted by a number of threats, from ship strikes to oil and gas development, but nothing threatens their existence more than climate change.2
That's why we need to address the effects of a warming planet NOW before it's too late. Yet Congress has been slow to pass critical legislation to stop climate change in its tracks. Will you sign the petition demanding that Congress urgently push climate change policies that protect whales?
Burning fossil fuels for energy, industrial processes, and transportation is trapping greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere and causing Earth's temperature to rise—and we're suffering the consequences.3 From more intense natural disasters to food shortages and the melting of polar ice caps, climate change will and is impacting everything on the planet.
For whales, the effects have been devastating. Every degree hotter the ocean gets, whale food sources, habitat, and health are threatened. When temperatures rise, populations of salmon decline, leaving orcas without the food source critical for their survival.4 A study looking at humpback whale populations in the Pacific Northwest estimates that the impacts of marine heat waves in the area have resulted in the death of 7,000 of this already endangered species.5
We've known that ocean temperatures have been steadily rising for over a decade now, but scientists are ringing the alarm that the rate of warming is rapidly accelerating.6 Time is running out for us to stop climate change in its tracks and save the whales.
Sign the petition now to save whales from climate change destruction.
Of all the sea creatures, whales—orcas, humpbacks, belugas, blue whales and more—are some of the most beautiful and intelligent creatures on our planet. As the largest mammals in the sea, they support marine biodiversity, population control, and more. Protecting whales and their habitats isn't just crucial for the conservation of these majestic creatures but also for the overall health of marine ecosystems.
And saving the whales will actually reinforce climate change efforts. The ocean is responsible for capturing more than 30% of all carbon dioxide emissions, and whales are an important part of that.7 Whales store massive amounts of carbon dioxide in their bodies, and when they naturally die, they sink to the ocean floor and sequester that carbon for centuries.8 So while we need to combat climate change to save the whales, saving the whales will also help us mitigate climate change—a win-win for everyone.
If we don’t take action NOW to slow the effects of climate change and save the whales, we risk destroying our oceans entirely. Add your name to demand that Congress move fast on climate change to protect whales and the integrity of our oceans.
Thanks for all you do.
–Kendra, Aliya, Jensine, Oscar, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "2024 Begins With More Record Heat Worldwide," The New York Times, February 7, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/188132?t=7&akid=377559%2E40999114%2EszNRmG
2. "Whales and Climate Change: Big Risks to the Ocean's Biggest Species," NOAA Fisheries, accessed March 6, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/188133?t=9&akid=377559%2E40999114%2EszNRmG
3. "The Causes of Climate Change," NASA Global Climate Change, accessed March 6, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/179545?t=11&akid=377559%2E40999114%2EszNRmG
4. "2024 Begins With More Record Heat Worldwide," The New York Times, February 7, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/188132?t=13&akid=377559%2E40999114%2EszNRmG
5. "A.I. Sorts Public Photos to Show Recovering Pacific Humpback Whales Hit Climate Ceiling," NOAA Fisheries, February 27, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/188134?t=15&akid=377559%2E40999114%2EszNRmG
6. "Earth Was Due for Another Year of Record Warmth. But This Warm?" The New York Times, December 26, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/188135?t=17&akid=377559%2E40999114%2EszNRmG
7. "Whales and Carbon Sequestration: Can Whales Store Carbon?," NOAA Fisheries, February 13, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/188136?t=19&akid=377559%2E40999114%2EszNRmG
8. "To fight climate change, save the whales, some scientists say," Mongabay, March 1, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/188137?t=21&akid=377559%2E40999114%2EszNRmG
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