Circa the mid-1960s, worldwide whaling was a lucrative industry - on the decline, sure, but still lucrative. During the 17th and 18th century, whaling helped to give the United States its economic superiority. Nearly every part of a whale could be used for something. Whale oil could be used to light lamps, make soap and lubricate factory machinery. A particularly waxy substance known as ambergris, found in the Sperm whale’s head, could be used in certain perfumes, as well as to make candles that didn’t smoke or give off a foul odour. Their bones or baleen were used in corsets, children’s toys and other household products.(2,3) At its peak in the early 1900s, some 50,000 whales were being killed worldwide annually.(4) More than three quarters of the whaling ships during the early 19th century were American.(5) Of course at this point in history, the technology wasn’t available to make whaling as efficient as it would become and too many ships were hunting too few whales. Many species were hunted to near extinction; some of which - the Blue whales specifically - have still to recover.(6)
Enter Edwin Drake, former railroad conductor, and Samuel Martin Kier, inventor and businessman. The two are credited with being the first Americans to drill for oil and refine it, respectively. The process of drilling and refining crude oil proved to be much more cost-effective than whaling, never mind that there were more ships in the waters than whales. Crude oil proved to be just as versatile as harvested whales; being used to light lamps, fuel trains and automobiles, lubricate machinery, make plastics and so on. It would appear that just as the whaling industry was reaching a point of exhaustion, human ingenuity stepped in to save the day.
And here we are again, a century and a half later, apparently having learned nothing from the whalers. The United States is now (unsurprisingly) the largest consumer of oil on the planet (19.5 million barrels per day), with the European Union following at a close second (14.4 m bbl/day) and China trailing in third, with a little less than half the US‘ daily consumption (7.8 m bbl/day.)(7) Whether you believe that peak oil timing(8) is an exact science or a government conspiracy invented to control market prices, one thing we must agree on is that the current rate of consumption is unsustainable. The main concern isn’t about running out of oil; in the very near future - perhaps even presently - the key question is whether or not supply will outpace demand.
This question was answered in 1946, with the formation of the International Whaling Commission and the signing of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.(9)
“The Governments whose duly authorised representatives have subscribed hereto ... recognizing the interest of the nations of the world in safeguarding for future generations the great natural resources represented by the whale stocks; Considering that the history of whaling has seen over-fishing of one area after another and of one species of whale after another to such a degree that it is essential to protect all species of whales from further over-fishing ...”(10)
More than 70 countries have since signed the convention. It seems most of the world has recognized that our over-consumption is irresponsible and detrimental (to say nothing of ethics) to the long-term survival of many species of whale, as well as the ecosystems they help to maintain. So why can’t we transfer this mindset into other areas of life?
While its true that the establishment of the IWC was due in part to political, economic and public pressure (therefore not entirely altruistic,) it doesn’t change the fact that the cessation of most whale harvesting for commercial consumption is a good thing. Moreover, the near-exhaustion and potentially irreversible damage that could have been done should hopefully serve to inspire the next breed of young economists, civil engineers and politicians to reform a system which seems so bent on repeating past mistakes.
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References:
1. http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_crd_crpdn_adc_mbblpd_a.htm
2. http://www.ehow.com/about_4588623_whaling-s.html
3. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/641450/whaling/65552/Whale-products
4. http://luna.pos.to/whale/sta.html
5. Superfreakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner, pg. 142-143
6. http://www.iwcoffice.org/conservation/estimate.htm
7. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2174rank.html
8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil
9. http://www.iwcoffice.org/commission/convention.htm#convsigs
10. http://www.iwcoffice.org/_documents/commission/convention.pdf
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