2015 Expressions on a Sustainable UMD: The Power to Change May 2015 | Page 22

Amanda Daly
Environmental Science and
Technology
Class of 2016
Not many people in this world have had the privilege
to see a whale in its natural habitat. That is because
many marine mammal species are some of the most
mysterious and magnificent creatures on this planet.
Unfortunately, due to anthropogenic influences like
climate change, many whale species are threatened
or endangered and will not survive for future generations to come. I am lucky enough to have had
the opportunity to observe both Humpback Whales and Orca Whales in the wild, which is why I
am fighting climate change - for the future of marine mammals. The endangered Southern
Resident Killer Whale population, famous for Seaworld’s Shamu, is facing detrimental declines
due to a loss of food supply in the Pacific Northwest waters. The wild salmon, which comprise the
majority of the Southern Residents’ diets, are under increasing environmental stress from the
effects of climate change.
As a result of burning fossil fuels, the earth’s atmosphere traps greenhouse gasses, which is
directly causing a change in climate conditions across the globe. Increases in Earth’s
temperature are altering the patterns of precipitation, stream flows, and ocean temperature and
acidification, thus having an effect on the salmon and Southern Resident population’s survival.
These changing conditions are making it more difficult for the spawning salmon to survive into
adulthood to become food for the whales. With less than 80 individual left in the Southern
Resident population, it is time for the people of this world to stand up