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How Whales Help Fight Climate Change

Provided by: NowThis Earth |Published on: April 27, 2021

Videos

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Synopsis

This video from NowThis Earth discusses whales, their role in sequestering carbon in the world's oceans, and the threats they face, such as entanglement in fishing gear.
The video also suggests individual and collective action steps we can all take to protect whales.

Subjects: Biology

Authors: NowThis Earth

Region: Global

Languages: English

Positives

Many students will be unaware of whales' relationship to climate change.
Learning about the relationship between whale poop, phytoplankton, and carbon sequestration is amazing!

Prerequisites

The term "blue carbon" may be new for many students. Blue carbon is carbon that is sequestered in the oceans and ocean ecosystems.
There is an error in the text in the video at 2 minutes, 52 seconds. The speaker in the video, Carissa Cabrera, says "support the initiative called 30 by 30," but the text says "support the innovative called 30 by 30."

Differentiation & Implementation

This video can be shown in a history class when studying the whaling industry. Students can make the connection between historical and modern whaling and whales' importance to addressing the climate crisis.
In a biology class, students can study populations of specific whale species and efforts to conserve these species.
Another great resource we have on oceans and phytoplankton is this interactive lab from TERC.

Scientist Notes

Teaching Tips

Standards

Resource Type and Format

All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.