Chapter 714: Oil Saves Whales
"Everyone, just work harder and we'll be able to saw it open soon!"
the third mate yelled.
"ho!"
The crowd cheered.
The third mate held up an electric saw and cut open the last connection, successfully cutting a huge block of ice of nearly one square meter into pieces, turning them into crushed ice floating in the ice cave.
"puff!"
With a sound of puffing, the huge whale's head pushed away the broken ice and breathed freely above the sea.
The water column turned into frost under the cold air and fell on the faces of several tourists who were unable to dodge it, but it did not cause any discomfort. Instead, they all laughed and regarded this as an intimate interaction. Some people even rushed to be sprayed and were very happy.
Watching the gray whale approaching the coast step by step with the efforts of everyone , this sense of interaction is unparalleled and is the fundamental reason why tourists can persist.
Saving gray whales sounds noble and is fun to do, but it is undeniable that most people are just passionate at the beginning, and when the cold Arctic wind blows, many people who wanted to be great musicians back off or even catch a cold.
But watching the gray whales move along the ice cave dug by the crowd and respond to the interactions, everyone understood that these big guys were extremely intelligent. They were not low-intelligence beasts, but another kind of highly intelligent creatures that could communicate, interact, and share happiness.
The mere sense of self-satisfaction of feeling that their help has been clearly responded to is enough to make many people want to stop, even if they have a runny nose or risk having their urine frozen, they still run over to join in.
"In the past, in the area of 70 degrees north latitude, we saw whales everywhere." The first mate pointed to the surrounding ice fields and said, "But now we can't see anything, gray whales, bowhead whales, nothing. We are lucky to see a few."
In the 19th century, the Inupiat, Yupik and Chukchi peoples dominated the whales in the ocean, and the situation became increasingly severe, causing the number of whales to plummet.
It wasn't until Abraham Gessner showed up that the massacre was mostly stopped.
Although the number of whales has not recovered to this day, they have at least survived.
The reason was not because Abraham Gessner made some great movement to protect whales, but because he discovered a liquid composed of coal, asphalt and oil shale through mineral research. He called it kerosene.
Yes, it was kerosene, or more profoundly, the discovery of oil, that saved the lives of whales.
Whales, the largest creatures in the sea, are not simply regarded as food. If they were regarded as food alone, humans would not be so eager to eat them.
Before oil became widely available, whales were one of the world's primary sources of energy.
The special thing about these big guys is that they have a kind of whale oil growing inside their heads, which can be used as fuel. At that time, people mainly used it for lighting.
In the 1850s, most American and European households relied on whale oil for lighting at night, providing lighting for half the world.
Whale oil is a fat obtained by boiling the subcutaneous tissue and internal organs of whales , especially the spermaceti oil from sperm whales, which burns with the brightest and most stable flame.
It can be said that at that time, lighting in Europe and the United States, apart from the sun and the moon, was almost entirely dependent on the whaling industry.
By the beginning of the 19th century, the outbreak of the First Industrial Revolution led to the popularization and application of steam engines. At the same time, the explosive growth of scientific and industrial knowledge set off a nationwide craze for learning new knowledge. The demand for indoor lighting increased sharply, so the price of whale oil also soared, and whaling became a lucrative business.
Profits make people crazy.
At that time, the income from catching a whale was equivalent to half a year's salary for land workers. The huge economic benefits drove whalers to use all cruel methods to hunt whales.
In 1760, American whalers invented the technology of refining whale oil in pots on ships. From then on, whaling became an industry.
Later, people gradually turned their attention to whale meat, bones and even feces, making full use of every part of the whale. Whales can be seen in industry, military, handicrafts, and even cosmetics.
A blue whale weighing 120 tons has more than 40 tons of fat, and up to 400 barrels of whale oil can be obtained.
However, the daily output of an oil well reaches 3,000 barrels.
Gassner's new invention not only illuminated the world, but also cut off the whaling industry's most important source of income.
The emergence of different types of kerosene caused the whaling industry to decline rapidly, and its "golden age" eventually came to an abrupt end. The era of whale oil lighting also finally came to an end.
So in every sense, it was not animal protection but the disappearance of profits and the emergence of the oil industry that truly saved the world's whales.
"Thank God we can still see such beautiful creatures, and hopefully our children and grandchildren will be able to see them too."
Several tourists nearby made the sign of the cross on their chests.
After a short prayer, everyone started working again.
…
“Hey!”
Bifang grabbed the reindeer's horns and dragged the huge creature to the sled, and struggled to pull the nearly 200-kilogram creature onto the sled.
Bifang unzipped his jacket and took it off, breathing heavily, letting the heat dissipate quickly.
The hunting activity went very smoothly, and the reindeer did run away, which was spectacular, but Bifang did not have any method for a head-on confrontation. After the initial sneak attack failed, he quickly retreated and waited for the whirlwind formation to end.
It was not until the reindeer had consumed a lot of energy that Bifang jumped out again and hit two strong reindeer with his spear.
That’s right, both ends.
The opportunity was rare, and with three more gluttons, Bifang had already expanded his target.
Having already consumed a lot of physical strength, coupled with the blood loss, the two big deer could not hold on soon and fell to the ground one after another. The reindeer around them initially fought back, but finally they all scattered and started to flee.
"After all, he is a coward. He doesn't have the courage of a musk ox."
Bifang lassoed two large reindeers with ropes, drove the sled, found a large rock, dragged the reindeer onto the rock, and processed the spoils.
After skinning the dog skillfully and cleaning out most of the internal organs, they rewarded the sled dog, made the intestines into a water bag, and Bifang cooked some hot soup to make dinner.
"After removing the bones, some inedible internal organs, and the deer skin, there is probably more than 200 kilograms of meat left. It's a great harvest. By the way, this is for you."
Bifang handed the cleaned white deer head to Goudan.
Goudan bit the deer's antler, put it on the ground, and stuck his head in it. It was exactly the right size.
Compared to the huge musk ox head, the reindeer head is obviously more suitable.
"Well, there's one more." Bifang picked up the second deer head.
Unfortunately, except for Goudan, the other sled dogs are not interested in it and concentrate on dealing with the food in front of them .
[Actually, I want (a dog head) more]
【Plus one! I want it! 】
[Good fellow, you guys are capable of snatching things from a dog? ? ]
The live broadcast room was bustling with activity, but Bifang, far away in the North Pole, tightened his clothes.
He found that the temperature seemed to be a little lower tonight. He didn't know whether it was due to a brief cooling after a short period of heat dissipation, or if it was really like that.
"An illusion?"
