Science is a process of refining our understanding of nature by continual questioning and active investigation of questions.  Students should approach science in this manner, rather than as a collection of facts to be memorized.  

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE  

   Should minke whales be hunted?  Toward the end of June 1992, Norway announced that it planned to resume hunting minke whales, which are found throughout the oceans of the world, after a 6-year moratorium established by the International Whaling Commission.  According to the report in the New York Times on June 30, 1992, Iceland was considering a similar move and Japan had already requested permission from the commission to hunt these whales. 

   The issue was whether or not the hunting of minke whales should be allowed.  One relevant fact would be the size of the population of minke whales, estimated by the International Whaling Commission at 86,700 in the northeastern Atlantic alone and by other sources at 750,000 in the southern oceans.  These figures were not accepted by everyone.  Even if they could be agreed on, what would they mean with respect to establishing an acceptable level of hunting? 
 
   The various interest groups on both sides of the issue took their positions, with those in favor of hunting arguing that the whales provided food and a means of livelihood, and those against the hunting arguing that the population figures given for whales were overestimates.  Some people condemned all whaling as ethically and morally objectionable.  The issue was further complicated by emotional statements by some groups that contained loaded words.  For example, Greenpeace described Norway's decision as "pirate whaling."