In grade school, we all learned a valuable lesson: everybody poops.

And "everybody" includes whales.

However, the key difference between whale excrement and... well, everyone else's, is that researchers at the University of Vermont have reason to believe that whale poop could be beneficial in reducing the effects of global warming on our oceans.

Though this concept may sound too simplistic to be true, there is quite a bit of evidence to back it up.

According to new research compiled by conservation biologist Joe Roman, the phytoplankton which feed on whale dung are extremely adept at absorbing carbon from the atmosphere, and are also at the base of the oceanic food chain. Therefore, there is significant reason to believe that an increase in whale populations (and therefore, whale droppings) would lead to an increase in phytoplankton, and more absorption of the carbon dioxide that has been contributing to global warming.

Credit: Tony Wu