Researching Heavy Metal Contamination in Arctic Whales

For decades, that's been a message on bumper stickers and a cry of environmentalists. In recent months, the number of reports raising serious concerns about the health of the oceans and their inhabitants has only increased. Human dependence on the oceans has been well documented; therefore, the benefits of cleaning up these waters globally and protecting all that dwell therein seem obvious. Courtesy of James Kaysen Although the bowhead whale is an endangered species, it is recovering at a rate

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For decades, that's been a message on bumper stickers and a cry of environmentalists. In recent months, the number of reports raising serious concerns about the health of the oceans and their inhabitants has only increased. Human dependence on the oceans has been well documented; therefore, the benefits of cleaning up these waters globally and protecting all that dwell therein seem obvious.

Courtesy of James Kaysen Although the bowhead whale is an endangered species, it is recovering at a rate of 3.2 percent a year, and the Eskimo are allowed to take a limited number. Surfacing in the wake of new research presented at the International Whaling Commission annual meeting earlier this year, however, is yet another reason to heed the call. It just may be that the whales have much to offer to the future of humans. In a study that began about three years ago, scientists have harvested ...

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