Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Whale Wailing
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Whale Wailing
Whale-Wailing.mp3
Whale-Wailing.mp4
Whale-Wailing-Unplugged-Underground-XXIX.mp3
Whale-Wailing-Unplugged-Underground-XXIX.mp4
Whale-Wailing-intro.mp3
[Intro]
Can you hear the whale (wailing)
Trophic energy short-circuit
(Predator-prey synchronization)
Mass starvation
(Tightly synchronized seasonal timing)
Lost our reasoning. (Lost our rhyming.)
[Bridge]
Can you hear the whale (wailing)
Due to man’s (failing)
[Refrain]
Trophic energy short-circuit
(Predator-prey synchronization)
Mass starvation
(Tightly synchronized seasonal timing)
Lost our reasoning. (Lost our rhyming.)
Realization…
[Bridge]
Can you hear the whale (wailing)
Feel for real man’s (failing)
[Refrain]
Trophic energy short-circuit
(Predator-prey synchronization)
Mass starvation
(Tightly synchronized seasonal timing)
Lost our reasoning. (Lost our rhyming.)
Realization…
[Outro]
Imposed our freewill
(Upon the krill)
Kill! Kill! Kill!
(Hear the whales wail)
Can you hear the whale (wailing)
Feel for real man’s (failing)
As our hopes and dreams (are sinking)
What are we (thinking)
ABOUT THE SONG AND THE SCIENCE
Whales Wailing
Can Whales Adapt to Climate Change? (Adaptation III)
by Daniel Brouse
December 21, 2025
Whales Wailing: Can Whales Adapt to Climate Change? (Adaptation III)
Sea Ice Loss Breaks the Arctic’s Biological Clock
Sea ice is not merely habitat–it is the timing mechanism of the Arctic.
What Ice Once Controlled
Light penetration
Bloom initiation
Predator-prey synchronization
What Happens Without It
Blooms occur earlier and chaotically
Energy moves inefficiently through the food web
Primary productivity sinks unused to the seafloor
Result
Less energy reaches whales at the top of the food chain.
This is a classic trophic energy short-circuit.
Compounding Stressors: Competition, Noise, and Risk
As Arctic waters open:
Shipping traffic increases
Industrial fishing expands northward
Underwater noise rises dramatically
Whales now face:
Competition with commercial fisheries
Vessel strikes
Acoustic masking that disrupts feeding
Longer migrations with lower food payoff
Hunger forces risk-taking. Risk increases mortality.
Observable Collapse Signals Already Underway
These impacts are no longer theoretical. We are already observing:
Mass gray whale die-offs
Emaciated whales washing ashore
Reduced calf survival
Altered migration timing
Increased entanglements as whales forage desperately
Whales and Cascading Collapse
Whale decline illustrates the mechanics of compound climate collapse:
Physical forcing
Warming, ice loss, acidification
Biological disruption
Plankton shifts and timing failure
Ecological breakdown
Energy starvation at higher trophic levels
Megafaunal stress and decline
Whales as sentinels of system failure
This is the same collapse architecture seen in penguins and polar bears–now playing out in the oceans.
Conclusion
Climate change is not simply warming the Arctic.
It is rewiring the Arctic food web, dismantling the timing, energy flow, and stability upon which whales evolved.
Whales depend on:
Cold-adapted plankton
Ice-timed productivity
High-fat prey
As those disappear, the outcome is unavoidable:
Less food. Lower energy intake. Higher mortality. Population decline.
Whales may not fail because they cannot adapt–but because the system they evolved within is collapsing faster than biology allows.
Like penguins on land and polar bears on ice, whales may soon become another voice in the growing wail of a planet crossing irreversible thresholds.
The Plight of the Penguin: Will Humans Follow? (Adaptation Part I)
Polar Bear Plunge: Will Humans Follow? (Adaptation Part II)
* Our probabilistic, ensemble-based climate model — which incorporates complex socio-economic and ecological feedback loops within a dynamic, nonlinear system — projects that global temperatures are becoming unsustainable this century. This far exceeds earlier estimates of a 4°C rise over the next thousand years, highlighting a dramatic acceleration in global warming. We are now entering a phase of compound, cascading collapse, where climate, ecological, and societal systems destabilize through interlinked, self-reinforcing feedback loops.
We examine how human activities — such as deforestation, fossil fuel combustion, mass consumption, industrial agriculture, and land development — interact with ecological processes like thermal energy redistribution, carbon cycling, hydrological flow, biodiversity loss, and the spread of disease vectors. These interactions do not follow linear cause-and-effect patterns. Instead, they form complex, self-reinforcing feedback loops that can trigger rapid, system-wide transformations — often abruptly and without warning. Grasping these dynamics is crucial for accurately assessing global risks and developing effective strategies for long-term survival.
What Can I Do?
The single most important action you can take to help address the climate crisis is simple: stop burning fossil fuels. There are numerous actions you can take to contribute to saving the planet. Each person bears the responsibility to minimize pollution, discontinue the use of fossil fuels, reduce consumption, and foster a culture of love and care. The Butterfly Effect illustrates that a small change in one area can lead to significant alterations in conditions anywhere on the globe. Hence, the frequently heard statement that a fluttering butterfly in China can cause a hurricane in the Atlantic. Be a butterfly and affect the world.
Tipping points and feedback loops drive the acceleration of climate change. When one tipping point is breached and triggers others, the cascading collapse is known as the Domino Effect.
The Climate Crisis: Violent Rain | Deadly Humid Heat | Extreme Weather Events | Insurance | Trees Deforestation | Air Pollution | Rising Sea Level | Food and Water | Updates
The Human Induced Climate Change Experiment
From the album “Arctic“
View all episodes
By Whale-Wailing.mp3
Whale-Wailing.mp4
Whale-Wailing-Unplugged-Underground-XXIX.mp3
Whale-Wailing-Unplugged-Underground-XXIX.mp4
Whale-Wailing-intro.mp3
[Intro]
Can you hear the whale (wailing)
Trophic energy short-circuit
(Predator-prey synchronization)
Mass starvation
(Tightly synchronized seasonal timing)
Lost our reasoning. (Lost our rhyming.)
[Bridge]
Can you hear the whale (wailing)
Due to man’s (failing)
[Refrain]
Trophic energy short-circuit
(Predator-prey synchronization)
Mass starvation
(Tightly synchronized seasonal timing)
Lost our reasoning. (Lost our rhyming.)
Realization…
[Bridge]
Can you hear the whale (wailing)
Feel for real man’s (failing)
[Refrain]
Trophic energy short-circuit
(Predator-prey synchronization)
Mass starvation
(Tightly synchronized seasonal timing)
Lost our reasoning. (Lost our rhyming.)
Realization…
[Outro]
Imposed our freewill
(Upon the krill)
Kill! Kill! Kill!
(Hear the whales wail)
Can you hear the whale (wailing)
Feel for real man’s (failing)
As our hopes and dreams (are sinking)
What are we (thinking)
ABOUT THE SONG AND THE SCIENCE
Whales Wailing
Can Whales Adapt to Climate Change? (Adaptation III)
by Daniel Brouse
December 21, 2025
Whales Wailing: Can Whales Adapt to Climate Change? (Adaptation III)
Sea Ice Loss Breaks the Arctic’s Biological Clock
Sea ice is not merely habitat–it is the timing mechanism of the Arctic.
What Ice Once Controlled
Light penetration
Bloom initiation
Predator-prey synchronization
What Happens Without It
Blooms occur earlier and chaotically
Energy moves inefficiently through the food web
Primary productivity sinks unused to the seafloor
Result
Less energy reaches whales at the top of the food chain.
This is a classic trophic energy short-circuit.
Compounding Stressors: Competition, Noise, and Risk
As Arctic waters open:
Shipping traffic increases
Industrial fishing expands northward
Underwater noise rises dramatically
Whales now face:
Competition with commercial fisheries
Vessel strikes
Acoustic masking that disrupts feeding
Longer migrations with lower food payoff
Hunger forces risk-taking. Risk increases mortality.
Observable Collapse Signals Already Underway
These impacts are no longer theoretical. We are already observing:
Mass gray whale die-offs
Emaciated whales washing ashore
Reduced calf survival
Altered migration timing
Increased entanglements as whales forage desperately
Whales and Cascading Collapse
Whale decline illustrates the mechanics of compound climate collapse:
Physical forcing
Warming, ice loss, acidification
Biological disruption
Plankton shifts and timing failure
Ecological breakdown
Energy starvation at higher trophic levels
Megafaunal stress and decline
Whales as sentinels of system failure
This is the same collapse architecture seen in penguins and polar bears–now playing out in the oceans.
Conclusion
Climate change is not simply warming the Arctic.
It is rewiring the Arctic food web, dismantling the timing, energy flow, and stability upon which whales evolved.
Whales depend on:
Cold-adapted plankton
Ice-timed productivity
High-fat prey
As those disappear, the outcome is unavoidable:
Less food. Lower energy intake. Higher mortality. Population decline.
Whales may not fail because they cannot adapt–but because the system they evolved within is collapsing faster than biology allows.
Like penguins on land and polar bears on ice, whales may soon become another voice in the growing wail of a planet crossing irreversible thresholds.
The Plight of the Penguin: Will Humans Follow? (Adaptation Part I)
Polar Bear Plunge: Will Humans Follow? (Adaptation Part II)
* Our probabilistic, ensemble-based climate model — which incorporates complex socio-economic and ecological feedback loops within a dynamic, nonlinear system — projects that global temperatures are becoming unsustainable this century. This far exceeds earlier estimates of a 4°C rise over the next thousand years, highlighting a dramatic acceleration in global warming. We are now entering a phase of compound, cascading collapse, where climate, ecological, and societal systems destabilize through interlinked, self-reinforcing feedback loops.
We examine how human activities — such as deforestation, fossil fuel combustion, mass consumption, industrial agriculture, and land development — interact with ecological processes like thermal energy redistribution, carbon cycling, hydrological flow, biodiversity loss, and the spread of disease vectors. These interactions do not follow linear cause-and-effect patterns. Instead, they form complex, self-reinforcing feedback loops that can trigger rapid, system-wide transformations — often abruptly and without warning. Grasping these dynamics is crucial for accurately assessing global risks and developing effective strategies for long-term survival.
What Can I Do?
The single most important action you can take to help address the climate crisis is simple: stop burning fossil fuels. There are numerous actions you can take to contribute to saving the planet. Each person bears the responsibility to minimize pollution, discontinue the use of fossil fuels, reduce consumption, and foster a culture of love and care. The Butterfly Effect illustrates that a small change in one area can lead to significant alterations in conditions anywhere on the globe. Hence, the frequently heard statement that a fluttering butterfly in China can cause a hurricane in the Atlantic. Be a butterfly and affect the world.
Tipping points and feedback loops drive the acceleration of climate change. When one tipping point is breached and triggers others, the cascading collapse is known as the Domino Effect.
The Climate Crisis: Violent Rain | Deadly Humid Heat | Extreme Weather Events | Insurance | Trees Deforestation | Air Pollution | Rising Sea Level | Food and Water | Updates
The Human Induced Climate Change Experiment
From the album “Arctic“