Whatever happened to whale oil?

When people say they’re ‘burning the midnight oil’ they probably don’t realize they’re referencing whale oil. In the first half of the 19^th century large fleets of whaling ships departed North American seaports like Nantucket, New Bedford, Portsmouth and Halifax in search of sperm whales or right whales to harpoon and harvest for their blubber. Bright honey yellow to brown oil was rendered from the mammals’ fatty tissue right on the boats. This precious commodity would be stored in wooden barrels below deck until the cargo hold was full. Then, and only then, would the whaler head back for  its home port. Some voyages lasted over three years. From 1820 to 1855 this combustible animal product was bottled and sold at a good profit; demand increased as the world’s whale population was steadily reduced.

Whale oil was consumed in ornate brass and porcelain lamps for light. It was also used as candle wax, and it was sometimes employed to treat raw wool before the fiber was combed and woven into thread. This substance was the first animal oil to achieve commercial viability. But what happened? As whales became less abundant the cost of this commodity climbed until it was priced out of reach of the average consumer - alternatives had to be found. Does this scenario sound familiar? Could this planet’s crude oil reserves soon become as scarce as its whales?

 
At a meeting of the American Petroleum Institute in 1956 a man named King Hubbert referenced whale oil when he made his now famous prediction that global petroleum production would peak in the early 1970s. He became an industry celebrity when his forecast came true. Crude oil prices did rise sharply in March 1973 when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) ceased shipments to the United States, causing what’s now commonly known as the 1973 energy crisis. Consumers have been searching for alternatives ever since. Solar power, wind turbines and alcohol distilleries wait on the sidelines to replace crude oil as civilization’s prime energy source. But will these substitutes be enough to fill the void?

Lets look at the whales again... Sperm whale oil sold for $200 a barrel in 1823 (equivalent price by 2003 standards*), but by 1855 this animal product was fetching more than seven times that amount. When a whaling ship named Triton arrived back in Portsmouth in 1833 it boasted a cargo of five hundred barrels of high quality oil which sold for almost half a million dollars*. Every sailor on the manifest was a rich man, and captain Charles Cushing was able to buy his own boat Plato. But the golden age of commercial whaling was coming to a close; years later, peak prices crashed the market as consumers sought and developed cheaper substitutes. Kerosene was introduced in the 1860’s and the electric light bulb was born in 1874.

 
With crude oil valued at just under sixty dollars a barrel, are we experiencing King Hubbert’s peak oil right now?  How much longer before gasoline is hunted and quarried to extinction?  If we follow Hubbert’s model, petroleum prices will begin to drop as the market shifts to cheaper alternatives… but why are these replacements so slow coming to market? Critics will tell you that green energy is still years away from commercial viability – don’t listen to them. Green energy is here and ready to be utilized today.

Energy conscious Canadians can find a myriad of options all over the internet: Electric cars can be ordered online here. Solar panels are available here . Windmills are available at Canadian Tire , and Canada’s largest ethyl alcohol producer, GreenField Ethanol buys corn directly from Canadian farmers for the express purpose of making automotive fuel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and negate OPEC’s control over the global energy market.

One hundred and fifty years ago humanity shifted its energy appetite away from whale oil as that commodity's supply and demand curve peaked. In the age of peak oil, our energy inclinations must change again. Mankind must wean itself off mineral fuel and onto vegetable fuel as we mature into a more efficient, environmentally conscious species.

‘You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.’

Buckminster Fuller, Critical Path 1982

 

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Comments

[sharon]

Alternative fuel source for the fossil fuel by

making use of the oil extracted from jatropha curcas

seeds, which is then converted into biodiesel for

industrial and automotive uses.

[Merchant Accounts]

It was also used as candle wax, and it was sometimes employed to treat raw wool before the fiber was combed and woven into thread. This substance was the first animal oil to achieve commercial viability. But what happened?

[Foberry]

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