Climate Changed
One Whale Is Worth Thousands of Trees in Climate Fight
- Ocean mammals play significant role in capturing carbon
- More whales could offer breakthrough in climate-change fight
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Climate activists would be better off trying to save whales rather than planting trees if they had to choose between those options, according to a study published by the International Monetary Fund.
Great whales are the carbon-capture titans of the animal world, absorbing an average of 33 tons of CO2 each throughout their lives before their carcasses sink to the bottom of the ocean and remain there for centuries, according an article in the December issue of the IMF’s Finance & Development magazine. A tree, by contrast, absorbs no more than 48 pounds of the gas a year.