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CHART 1 • Whale killing decline offers hope for clean energy
This chart speaks for itself. There has been a dramatic decline in the number of whales killed globally since the peak in the 1960s. It took over two decades for the fall to have its full effect, but it is a remarkable change in a relatively short time.
We have to remember that, at one time, the global economy required whale products such as whale oil as an important input of production. It was used in all manner of economic activities, and yet, in just a short period of time, the world and the global economy are no longer reliant on killing whales en masse to support economic activity.
Obviously, whales are still killed, as you can see from the bars here, and there are a number of countries where whaling is still legal. However, there is something more significant about this chart.
Source: Our World in Data
It is true that the world runs on oil, but that does not mean that it has to forever. As this chart demonstrates, the world can change and restructure its economic activity to reduce its use of fossil fuels, in the same way it once did to reduce the culling of whales. I think that is the key takeaway from this chart.
Paid subscribers get access to the other four charts: China’s skyscraper lead, betting’s retreat from football shirts, national potato dependence and political favourability. Together, they show why visible change still needs its mechanism and measurement checked.
