Treehugger alert...whales again!!!

The challenge - on May 27th, join other whale defenders in a global gathering to support the whales - by taking to the streets for the Big Blue March. It's a simple task - make contact with other whale defenders, and get together in your city or town wearing a blue t-shirt to form a Sea of People!

Why May 27th? While the Big Blue March takes place, the International Whaling Commission Meeting (IWC) will be in session in Anchorage, Alaska. At the IWC, diplomats from around the world make crucial decisions on the fate of whales throughout in our oceans.

At last year's meeting, 33 countries - led by pro-whaling Japan - voted in favour of the "St. Kitts Declaration", essentially an attempt to restart commercial whaling, which has been banned since 1986.

Since then, whale defenders - like you - have been busy, helping to motivate countries around the world to protect the whales. Really busy! Recent months have seen several countries joining or rejoining, like Peru, Cyprus, Slovenia, Croatia, Costa Rica and Ecuador - or even swapping sides to vote for the whales, like Nicaragua.

Last week, Ecuador decided to rejoin the IWC - and to vote for the whales. Last year, Nicaragua was one of the countries voting for commercial whaling - now's on the whales' side. The decisions of these governments have been massively influenced by people who signed petitions, sent emails and artwork to the government of Ecuador, or turned up on the doorstep of Nicaraguan embassies with massive cut-out whale flukes to form a symbolic "whale graveyard". In Iceland, where the whaling ban has been ignored, the government is now in a quandry over the future of whaling, following sustained pressure - more than 70,000 people have signed a pledge promising to visit Iceland if the government stops whaling. With every tourist worth about US$1,169 to Iceland's economy, is it any wonder that the government is pausing for thought?