Lesson 3 Act for Our Planet
Whales, the Earth’s Guardians
Over the past two centuries, human activities have generated a significant amount of carbon dioxide, commonly ____ to as CO₂.
This gas itself is not dangerous when we encounter it in everyday ____.
However, excessive amounts of this gas in the atmosphere have contributed to the greenhouse effect, resulting in a gradual increase in the Earth’s ____ temperature.
To make matters worse, this increase has sped up in recent years and is seriously ____ life on our planet.
We must act immediately to stop any further ____ change.
While ____ high-tech solutions such as carbon capture have been proposed, they are often too expensive to be used widely.
Fortunately, there are ____ low-tech, economical, and even long-lasting solutions available.
In this report, we will focus on one of the most powerful nature-based solutions to climate ____: whales, the giant helpers living under the sea.
____ are amazing creatures.
They are enormous and live incredibly ____ lives.
The largest blue whales can grow as long as 30 meters and ____ over 200 tons, and some whales have been known to live for more than 100 years.
These giants do extremely beneficial things for the environment ____ their long lives and even after death.
According to scientists, a ____ whale can absorb about 550 kilograms of CO₂ per year, while a tree can absorb only 22.
Moreover, after they die,
____, after they die, whales sink to the ocean floor with all the CO₂ they absorbed during their lives.
Their bodies then become ____ and habitats for deep-sea creatures.
This process is called a whale ____.
Whale falls permanently bury ____ 145,000 tons of CO₂ under the sea every year.
This achievement is basically what expensive carbon ____ technologies aim to do—capture carbon and then store it underground.
In addition to their direct absorption and burial of CO₂ ____ whale falls, whales also make a significant indirect contribution to reducing CO₂ through an act called a whale pump.
This refers to the ____ movements of whales that help circulate nutrients across different depths of the ocean.
Whales ____ deep into the ocean to feed on prey such as krill and small fish, and they occasionally swim up to the surface to breathe.
____ they near the surface, they release an enormous amount of waste.
This waste is rich in nutrients that are essential for creatures ____ in that area.
Specifically, it creates the ____ growing conditions for some microscopic creatures floating at the surface of the ocean.
These creatures, called ____, may look tiny and insignificant, but when taken together, they play a significant role in reducing CO₂.
They absorb about 40% of the carbon in the atmosphere and produce about 50% of the atmosphere’s ____.
They do this through ____, a process that creates energy using carbon, water, and light.
It is estimated that increasing the ____ phytoplankton by 1% is equivalent to planting 2 billion new trees.
Whale pumps deliver
Whale pumps ____ nutrients not only to the ocean surface but also to deeper areas of the ocean.
As whales ____ back down to feed at the ocean’s bottom, their movements stir up the water and bring nutrients down to the creatures living below.
Whale pumps promote the growth of ____ life at various depths throughout the ocean.
Whales spread nutrients in the ocean not only vertically but ____ horizontally through a process called the great whale conveyor belt.
These ____ mammals migrate over long distances at certain times of the year.
For example, in the summer, humpback whales tend to stay near Alaska, where the water is cold but rich in nutrients and prey for them to ____ on.
As winter approaches, they travel up to 4,800 ____ to breed in the warm waters near Hawaii.
Nutrients are relatively scarce in warm waters, ____ makes it difficult for phytoplankton to survive.
Fortunately, when the whales arrive in Hawaii ____ eating their fill in Alaska, they release a large amount of nutrient-rich waste.
This process can be thought of as a conveyor belt that moves nutrients from ____ waters to warm waters.
These nutrients support the life of many marine animals and, importantly, encourage the growth of phytoplankton even in warm ____.
The spread of phytoplankton leads to increased carbon absorption ____ the entire ocean.
Whales circulate water and ____ to every corner of the ocean, helping to combat climate change.
Despite the important roles of whales in our environment, their lives are at ____ risk.
The number of whales had dramatically dropped until killing them for ____ purposes was officially banned in 1986.
It is estimated that the ____ whale population fell from 4 to 5 million to just over 1 million during the decades before the ban.
Today, ____ are still threatened by various man-made dangers, such as fishing nets, ship strikes, and microplastic pollution in the ocean.
It is important to recognize that whales are valuable partners in our fight against the climate crisis and that protecting them is an effective and ____ way to address this global challenge.
Let’s take ____ to help more whales live longer and healthier lives.