Who Saved the Whales?

Gipper

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The Role of Technology in Saving the Whales

Yet, the American whaling industry peaked in the 1850s. The reason for its decline was not because of public awareness of the evils of whaling, it was not because of consciousness-raising efforts by pioneer environmentalists, and it definitely was not because of legislation. The whales were saved because of the march of technology.

The first step that led to saving the whales was made by Dr. Abraham Gesner, a Canadian geologist. In 1849, he devised a method whereby kerosene could be distilled from petroleum. Petroleum had previously been considered either a nuisance, or a miracle cure (an idea originating with Native Americans).

Earlier coal-gas methods had been used for lighting since the 1820s, but they were prohibitively expensive. Gesner's kerosene was cheap, easy to produce, could be burned in existing lamps, and did not produce an offensive odor as did most whale oil. It could be stored indefinitely, unlike whale oil, which would eventually spoil. The American petroleum boom began in the 1850s. By the end of the decade there were thirty kerosene plants operating in the United States. The cheaper, more efficient fuel began to drive whale oil out of the market.

The man most responsible for the commercial success of kerosene was John D. Rockefeller. In 1865, at the age of 25, he went into partnership with Samuel Andrews, the part-owner of a Cleveland refinery. Rockefeller had sensed that too much capital was being invested in finding and extracting oil, and not enough was being invested in its processing. Backed by investors, he set up a network of kerosene distilleries which would later develop into Standard Oil.

As kerosene became generally available throughout the country, the demand for whale oil dropped precipitously. The 735-ship fleet of 1846 had shrunk to 39 by 1876. The price of sperm oil reached its high of $1.77 per gallon [47 cents per litre] in 1856; by 1896 it sold for 40 cents per gallon [11 cents per litre]. Yet it could not keep pace with the price of refined petroleum, which dropped from 59 cents per gallon [16 cents per litre] in 1865 to a fraction over seven cents per gallon [two cents per litre] in 1895.
http://newscotland1398.ca/99/gesner-whales.html

So, what saved the whales was capitalism and capitalists working to invent technological advances for profit in a nation where individual liberty was paramount. Yet many on the left, including most if not all the environmental movement today, condemns capitalism and capitalists as disgusting opportunists and robber barons out to destroy the planet and poison the children. They also despise individual liberty and commend collectivism. How can they be so ignorant?

When one learns history, one quickly realizes that many tenants of Liberalism are completely foolish and idiotic.
 
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