Back in 1846, whaling was one of the most booming industries in the whole world. It was the fifth-largest sector in the United States economy, raking in a cool $10 million.
But somewhere along the way, the whale supply started to run low, and some people began to realize that the entire thing might be a bad idea; not just for the whales, but for our planet as a whole.
How did the whale hunt accelerate climate change? What did it do to ocean ecosystems? And why were scientists worried about whale poo shortages?
Transcript and sources: [ Ссылка ]
Made possible with the support of Ontario Creates [ Ссылка ]
"Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it, we go nowhere." — Carl Sagan
Follow what-if on Instagram for bonus material: [ Ссылка ]
Feedback, inquiries and suggestions: [ Ссылка ]
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BABLs7NN_d8/maxresdefault.jpg)