Container Ship Competitions for Whale Safety and Eagle Care

Off the coast of California, tankers, car carriers, and container ships are participating in a unique race by reducing their speed in ocean waters to protect marine life. Awards are given to companies whose fleets voluntarily reduce their speed in ocean areas where endangered whales migrate and feed. In the 2023 season, thirty-three companies took part in the race. 81% of their ships’ total distance through the reduction zones was traveled at the recommended speed of 10 knots or less, reducing the risk of fatal ship-whale collisions by 58% over the year.

Slower-moving ships also produce less ocean noise, greenhouse gases, and other pollutants. It’s estimated that about 80 endangered blue, humpback, and humpback whales die in ship collisions along the West Coast of the United States each year.

Bald eagles were an endangered species as recently as the 1960s. Now, there are so many of them that they collide with cars as they feed on roadkill, and they also poison themselves with lead when they feed on carcasses left by hunters. For example, a record number of bald eagles have been admitted to a rehabilitation hospital in Virginia in recent years – 66 in 2023 alone. Meanwhile, at the San Giovanni Battista Hospital in Rome, animals are helping people. Horses and ponies participate in activities that help neurological patients regain mobility and self-confidence. These patients have suffered injuries, strokes, degenerative diseases, and long COVID.