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Michael Dunne: I’m Michael Dunne. We live in the Beaver State, and many people think of salmon first when they think of Oregon. But the gray whale can certainly be considered our state’s most iconic animal. After all, hundreds of thousands of Oregonians have them on their license plates. Yet such adoration isn’t helping the species survive the new reality of climate change. Today on the show, you’ll hear from an OSU scientist who has been studying our gray whales for years and has grave concerns about the population off our coast, because the whales can’t find enough to eat due to climatic changes in their environment. It’s strange but true: Some of the largest animals on the planet are literally starving to death. Then, at the end of the show, we’ll talk with our reporter about a sticky tax issue happening in Corvallis. Leigh Torres is a professor at Oregon State University, working at the Marine Mammal Institute. Leigh, thank you so much for coming on and talking with us.
Leigh Torres: Yeah, I’m so happy to be here to talk with you…