Ol' Walter is really walking on quicksand with his hypothesis.
In the end, he may be right despite his awkwardly incompetent example!
He could be right if he is looking out for his own enlightened self-interest, although as a person with tenure at a major university he has already taken care of his own act. Like most, he doesn't care about whales, he just likes the idea that there are whales somewhere, creatures who don't pay taxes and don't vote Democrat, and seem to be happy enough anyway.