Greenpeace

Because the environmental and economic conditions that brought whales to the brink of extinction in the twentieth century have not changed, argues Greenpeace in the following viewpoint, replacing the ban on commercial whaling with a scheme to manage whale hunting will seriously threaten whale populations. According to Greenpeace, an international environmental organization, commercial whaling is motivated by the desire for profit, not preservation. Even with the ban, Greenpeace claims, some whaling nations have falsified records and manipulated quotas to increase the number of whales they are allowed to kill, practices that are likely to increase if the ban is lifted. The International Whaling Commission rejected revised management schemes proposed at its May 2002 meeting.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Greenpeace, what biological characteristics do whales have that make...