Water and Whales

Today, I was thinking about water. As much as I’m trying to save the environment, I have a question, too. How come if you run your water you are wasting it? Wouldn’t it be cleaning the water in the ocean? Because after all, all drains lead to the ocean, don’t they?

Then, I started not only thinking about water, but what lives in it! For example, whales. I was just reading that the American Government voted against a bill today that would try to protect beluga whales in Cook Inlet in Alaska. When I was two years old, I went to see the whales. I don’t remember much, but I like looking at the photos. I know what beluga whales look like, but to give you an idea, they look like big, white dolphins with short noses. There are also bottle-nosed dolphins, which are real dolphins. Belugas are white, they have a regular form like any other dolphin, but they have something special. They have some sort of lump on their heads. Now I know what you environmental-saving kiddos are probably thinking about the lump on the head thing: they bumped their heads from birth. Well, not exactly. But you're close. The reason why they have that funny lump on their noggin is just normal. Technically, they get it from birth. It’s to help with their echolocation.

I went to a really cool site, Highlights for Kids. I looked up whales and found a lot of fun stuff, like:

1. Stories about real whales: Living Near Whales, My Three Days With Gray Whales, A Whale of a Patient
2. Interactive hidden pictures about whales: Watching Whales
3. And crafts about whales: Wavy Whale

That’s fun, but here’s something more serious. Whales are still being hunted and for no good reason.

On top of that, pollution threatens them, hardly any baby whales are bring born, ships run into and kill them and they die, caught in fishing gear. Whales are now endangered. If you care, take a look at these sites. They tell you what you can do for whales:

• Save the Whales
• Greenpeace - Whales

Finally, you might want to visit a fun website for kids to learn about whales that I found on the Australian government's website, Kids Interactive - Whales.

Remember, be good to our planet today!