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People hunted whales for a long time. The primary reason was to collect whale oil, which was derived from the blubber of the whale. Whale oil was used as a fuel for lighting, for lubrication, and for many other things as well. You have to remember that before electricity and fossil-fuel, the only light was provided by either candles, or oil lamps that used whale oil. The worldwide demand for products made from whale oil was very similar to the current demand for products made from petroleum. Thanks to the development of electricity, and the natural gas/petroleum fuels, the need to hunt and kill whales for fuel has declined. The only whaling going on now is by countries that use parts of the whale for food, or for other purposes. You could say that Thomas Edison and John D. Rockefeller saved more whales than Greenpeace could in a thousand years.

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17y ago

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