I Spent My Life Saving the Whales. Now They Might Save Us

More than fifty years ago, my team and I first discovered that whales sing to each other. Recordings we captured of the beautiful, evocative songs of the humpback whale captivated people all over the world. Whale song became the soundtrack for the “Save the Whales” movement, one of the most successful conservation initiatives in history. It led to the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act, which marked the end of large-scale whaling in the United States and saved several whale populations from extinction. In the decades since, I’ve often pondered what it would take to spark a new conservation movement uniquely suited to the opportunities and challenges we face in this age of dire warnings and unassailable evidence of a rapidly changing planet. A movement that inspires a new generation, gives voice to the marginalized, and uses science to inspire awe instead of fear. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The question has recently led me to an initiative I’m involved with called Project CETI (the Cetacean Translation Initiative). In a quest to better understand our world and its inhabitants, CETI scientists are using advanced machine learning and state-of-the-art robotics to listen to and translate the communication of sperm whales. CETI’s work in Dominica is in its early stages, and though much has already been done to lay the groundwork for this massive effort at interspecies communication, including a scientific roadmap published last year. I...
Source: TIME: Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Uncategorized climate change healthscienceclimate Source Type: news