The world's great whales are battling for their lives as commercial whaling continues despite the ban in 1986.  Recent prospects of harpooning humpbacks in Japan have galvanized anti-whaling forces, and provoked a more vigorous than usual protest from the US government.http://www.newser.com/2008 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorWed, 19 Nov 2008 12:03:02 CSThttp://www.newser.com/story/40285/palin-cant-keep-beluga-off-endangered-list.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe beluga whales living in Alaska’s Cook Inlet were declared an endangered species yesterday over Sarah Palin’s vehement objections, the New York Times reports. The beluga population was cut almost in half during the late '90s, and hasn’t recovered despite a wave of new protections. But Palin campaigned hard against declaring them endangered, because it might restrict coastal oil and gas development.http://www.newser.com/story/40285/palin-cant-keep-beluga-off-endangered-list.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSat, 18 Oct 2008 12:56:53 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/36412/whale-meat-makes-comeback-in-iceland.html?refid=rss_all_defaultIllegal for two decades, whale meat is back on menus in Iceland, and entrepreneurs are hoping to turn young people on to its charms, the Wall Street Journal reports. The food is reminiscent of beef, but costs only half as much—perhaps a mark in its favor for the young. Still, encouraging them to try the stuff is difficult. “It's not going to happen,” says one 20-year-old.http://www.newser.com/story/36412/whale-meat-makes-comeback-in-iceland.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 02 Sep 2008 8:33:29 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/34694/humpbacks-no-longer-in-danger.html?refid=rss_all_defaultHumpback whales, once feared to be on the verge of extinction, have made such a dramatic comeback that the International Union for Conservation of Nature has removed them from its list of vulnerable species. A ban on humpback whaling in the 1960s has allowed their numbers to grow to 55,000 worldwide, reports the Guardian .http://www.newser.com/story/34694/humpbacks-no-longer-in-danger.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 12 Aug 2008 0:39:08 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/30895/world-body-postpones-decision-on-whale-hunts.html?refid=rss_all_defaultA moratorium on commercial whaling looks set to continue for another year after an international body put off a decision yesterday, the Economist notes, but its fate beyond that appears tenuous. The 81-nation International Whaling Commission, often paralyzed by conflicting views, also decided to revamp its decision-making process by forming a core panel of 20 nations to hash out resolutions.http://www.newser.com/story/30895/world-body-postpones-decision-on-whale-hunts.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWed, 25 Jun 2008 16:19:08 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/30719/supreme-court-will-hear-navy-sonar-appeal.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe Supreme Court today agreed to hear the US Navy's objection to a court order that ships may not use sonar within 12 miles of the California coast because high-frequency signals are harming whales and other marine life, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Bush administration argues that the judge exceeded her authority in putting environmental concerns before national security.http://www.newser.com/story/30719/supreme-court-will-hear-navy-sonar-appeal.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 23 Jun 2008 11:58:02 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/25901/whales-return-to-moby-dicks-old-haunts.html?refid=rss_all_defaultHosts of whale sightings are being reported off southern Chile, raising conservationists' hopes for a resurgence of the populations—including the real-life inspiration for Moby Dick —that flourished in the area before they were hunted nearly to extinction. Experts warn the apparent boom could be the result of more pairs of eyes looking for the animals, the Los Angeles Times reports.http://www.newser.com/story/25901/whales-return-to-moby-dicks-old-haunts.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 28 Apr 2008 14:00:34 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/21775/aussies-face-protests-over-kangaroo-cull.html?refid=rss_all_defaultAustralia is planning to cull 400 kangaroos on a military base, and Japan—oft-criticized by Australia for its whaling practices—is jumping at the opportunity to hail its neighbor as hypocritical, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Not so, says Australia’s PM. The whaling issue is subject to "an agreement between many states, and it goes to whether what is occurring is scientific whaling or not," said Kevin Rudd.http://www.newser.com/story/21775/aussies-face-protests-over-kangaroo-cull.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 17 Mar 2008 5:03:28 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/21126/nations-mull-secret-whaling-compromise.html?refid=rss_all_defaultRepresentatives from more than 70 governments gathered last week at a secret meeting in London to hash out a compromise that would allow Japan to resume commercial whaling for the first time in more than 20 years. Pro- and anti-whaling nations discussed plans to lift the worldwide ban on whaling, but not without raising the ire of environmentalists, the Independent says.http://www.newser.com/story/21126/nations-mull-secret-whaling-compromise.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSun, 09 Mar 2008 10:40:51 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/21056/japanese-frankenwhale-experiments-slammed.html?refid=rss_all_defaultScientists have reviewed the research Japan uses to justify hunting whales, and they've concluded that it is mostly useless—and very weird, Sydney's Daily Telegraph reports. Researchers tried to fertilize cow and pig eggs with whale sperm, and to create test-tube whales from frozen sperm. "It's totally esoteric, very strange research," an Australian scientist said.http://www.newser.com/story/21056/japanese-frankenwhale-experiments-slammed.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSat, 08 Mar 2008 0:34:35 CST