Re: OT:Way to go Al


"Alex W." <ingilt@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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"jeremy" <jeremy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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Miss Elaine Eos wrote:

Huh?

First: excessive whaling (which, now-a-days, is "any"
whaling) = bad --
no arguments. But I'm asking what effect whaling has on
the stability of the climate.

Most of the large whales feed on krill. Krill feeds on
phytoplankton that bloom in cold water if there is the
correct combination of nutrients and sunlight.
Fertilizer is essential to plant growth and the reduction
in both the species and numbers of whales, has limited the
available nutrients; whale *** being an important part of
the food chain.
With reduced plankton populations, the solar energy heats
the seawater at a greater depth than normal.

But isn't that made up by nutrients in the run-off from
intensive Western farming? If memory serves, I saw this
reason cited as one of the major causes of the death of the
Great Barrier Reef.


It's one reason. Corals can only survive within a very narrow range of
salinity and pH all of which has been altered beyond their ability to
endure. The oceans are becoming more acidic and warmer. While it is true
that variations of temperature etc have taken place over the millennia, they
have always occurred within timespans of thousands of years. At no point is
there any evidence that it ever happened within 30 years as we are now
seeing. Doesn't give species a whole lot of time to adapt.

Paul


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