What You Can Do To Stop Whaling
What You Can do to Stop Whaling
Every year, hundreds of whales are killed due to illegal or questionable whaling practices. What can you do to stop whaling? There are many options for action.
Write a Letter to Help Stop Whaling
Begin in your own home. Write letters to pro-whaling countries and companies in countries that conduct whaling activity, like Iceland and Japan. Talk about your connections to that country, including any trips that you have taken there. Respectfully ask that they stop whaling. While this is a gradual approach, thousands of letters from people around the world do make a difference.
Meet With Politicians And Encourage Them to Press for an End to Whaling
Encourage your local politicians to lobby at the national level for an end to whaling. Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd and other anti-whaling organizations need your help at a practical level to encourage governments around the world to stop supporting the whalers! Ask politicians to promote marine protected areas and keep these areas safe.
Support Those Who Try to Save the Whales
Support the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Greenpeace, or a local whale rescue organization. Consider volunteering for such an organization if you can! These organizations need both local volunteers and volunteers for their direct action campaigns to save the whales.
Question Seafood Choices and Choose Ethical Seafood
Choose to reduce the amount of seafood you eat and reach for the vegetables instead! When you do eat seafood, make sure that the food that you eat was caught in an ethical manner. The Australian Marine Conservation Society has ethical seafood guidelines to help you make good seafood choices. Choose seafood choices that do not target endangered fish and that have a low rate of accidental bycatch of species that are not the target species. Also choose seafood choices that do not produce a lot of additional waste in the oceans.
Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
One of the largest threats to our oceans and the wildlife that inhabit them is the changing climate. Arctic and Antarctic waters in particular are changing at a rapid pace. Reduce your carbon footprint - choose a job closer to home, move closer to work, and choose alternative transportation options that do not regularly involve a car. Insulate your home well to prevent it from getting too warm or too cold.
Reduce Your Use of Products That Damage the Ocean
Keep the oceans clean. Don't use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Dispose of medications responsibly instead of throwing them down the toilet. Keep the water cycle as uncontaminated as possible! Try to minimize your use of plastics. Plastics can end up in the oceans by mistake or when garbage is dumped there, and they turn into tiny pellets that endanger the lives of birds of mammals.
Tell Others About Your Choices
Don't be shy - let others know what you are doing and why! Sometimes, people don't act simply because they aren't aware enough of a situation to become passionate about it. Let friends and family members know about opportunities for action.