|
Date: 10 June, 2003
LFA Sonar Alert!
We need your immediate support as we go to trial in a case that is critical to
the future of marine mammals on this planet. Three weeks from now, NRDC
litigators will face off against the Bush administration in federal court with
the safety of entire populations of whales and dolphins at risk.
This long-awaited courtroom battle is the culmination of our eight-year
campaign to stop the U.S. Navy from illegally deploying its Low Frequency
Active (LFA) sonar system -- a new technology that blasts ocean habitats with
noise so intense it can maim, deafen and even kill marine mammals.
I hope you'll go to
https://www.nrdc.org/joinGive/join/lfa.asp right now to make an online
emergency contribution in support of this historic case.
What's at stake? Consider: last year, the Bush administration issued the Navy a
permit to deploy LFA sonar over 75 percent of the world's oceans and to harass
or injure up to 12 percent of every single marine mammal species found anywhere
in this vast expanse of ocean!
But before that disaster could unfold, your support enabled NRDC to race to
court last fall and win a dramatic eleventh-our reprieve for thousands of
whales and dolphins. A federal judge blocked global deployment of the sonar
system until a full trial could be held and all the evidence heard.
That all-important proceeding will begin on June 30th. It will determine
whether this dangerous technology is finally unleashed upon our planet's
oceans -- or whether it should be permanently blocked until the Navy obeys the
law and demonstrates that LFA would not cause serious harm to ocean life.
Scientists are warning that LFA sonar may threaten the very survival of entire
populations of whales, some already teetering on the brink of extinction. At
close range, the system's shock waves are so intense they can destroy a whale's
eardrums, cause its lungs to hemorrhage, and even kill.
Further away, LFA noise can cause permanent hearing loss in marine mammals
after a single transmission. At 40 miles away, LFA noise is still so intense it
can disrupt the mating, feeding, nursing and other essential activities of
marine mammals.
Two years ago, the mere testing of high-intensity Navy sonar in mid-frequency
range caused a mass stranding of whales in the Bahamas. Whales from at least
three different species died, their inner ears bleeding from the explosive
power of the sonar signal.
Just last month, a group of biologists off the coast of Washington state
witnessed a "stampede" of distressed marine mammals as a U.S. destroyer,
operating a powerful mid-frequency sonar system, passed through. Over the next
several days, ten porpoises were discovered stranded on nearby beaches.
And the dangers go beyond marine mammals. In preparing for the upcoming trial,
NRDC has uncovered the shocking results of the Navy's own LFA research on human
scuba divers. One Navy test subject was exposed to 14 minutes of LFA noise at
160 decibels -- far below the level of 235 decibels at which the actual LFA
system will be operating. The diver experienced uncontrollable shaking in his
limbs and lapsed into a seizure-like state that recurred periodically for days.
The Navy's report described him as a "casualty."
The Bush administration wants us to believe that the impacts of LFA will be
negligible! Launching a massive acoustic assault on the world's oceans is not
negligible. Threatening communities of whales, dolphins and humans with injury
and death is not negligible.
The Bush administration's position on LFA is arrogant, inhumane and, almost
certainly, illegal. But we cannot stop the deployment of this technological
menace unless we have the financial resources to fight this courtroom battle to
the very end and win a permanent ban.
Again, I urge you to help by going to
https://www.nrdc.org/joinGive/join/lfa.asp right now and making an online
emergency contribution.
With your help, we can make sure that no more whales have to suffer and die
from high-power sonar. Let me know you'll stand with us at this critical moment
in the fight to protect all ocean life. Thank you.
Sincerely,
John H. Adams
. . .
BioGems: Saving Endangered Wild Places
A project of the Natural Resources Defense Council
http://www.savebiogems.org
>In Today's Ocean Sanctity Newsletter [8-8-2002]
>1) NRDC Files New LFA Lawsuit (AP)
"Despite the public and scientific outcry,
-- Jean-Michel Cousteau
"The difference between genius and stupidity -- Albert Einstein Quote courtesy of Kay Snow-Davis
>1) NRDC Files New LFA Lawsuit (AP)
From: Mark Palmer, mpalmer@mother.com
STOP THE NAVY NOISE!
Activist E-Mail Alert for Navy LFA Sonar Campaign
International Marine Mammal Project, Earth Island Institute
**************************************
Environmentalists sue in San Francisco to
block Navy sonar,
saying it kills whales
Wed Aug 7, 9:51 PM ET
By COLLEEN VALLES, Associated Press Writer
The coalition, led by the Natural Resources Defense Council,
sued the Navy and the National Marine Fisheries Service on
Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco to block
the Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency
Active sonar.
In July, the fisheries service gave the Navy a five-year exemption
from the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which protects whales
and dolphins.
"Despite the public and scientific outcry, the National Marine
Fisheries Service, under whatever pressure, has licensed the
U.S. Navy to basically break the law. It is a license to kill,"
said Jean-Michel Cousteau, founder and president of Ocean
Futures Society, a member of the coalition.
But the Navy says it has invested more than dollars 10 million to
develop the appropriate guidelines to use the sonar system.
"We are disappointed that some groups refuse to accept
scientific peer-reviewed findings and instead rely on
misinformation and unrelated facts to try to prevent the use
of this system," Navy Lt. Cmdr. Pauline Storum said in a
statement Wednesday.
Gordon Helm, spokesman for the fisheries service, said the
agency has required the Navy to comply with some
restrictions, such as not using the sonar within 13.8 miles
(22 kilometers) of the coast.
He said the changes would minimize the system's effect on
animals. "We consider that to be negligible. If we find out
differently we can halt the authorization," Helm said.
The Navy said in July that the dollars 300 million system is
important to national security because nations such as Russia,
Germany and China are developing super-quiet submarines to
avoid traditional detection methods.
The lawsuit said the Navy's own studies show the new sonar
system generates sounds up to 140 decibels that can be
detected more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) away.
Opponents of the sonar say they fear sound that loud can
disrupt marine mammals' feeding, breeding, nursing,
communication and other behavior.
"The organisms we're talking about have in their heads a
system for seeing with sound that's just as good as our system
for seeing with light," George Woodwell, director of Woods Hole
Research Center in Massachusetts, said of whales and dolphins.
"If we flood the oceans with sound that has enormous energy,
we're killing them."
Environmentalists note that within hours after the Navy
deployed a powerful mid-range sonar during a submarine
detection exercise near the Bahamas in 2000, at least 16
whales and two dolphins beached themselves. Scientists found
hemorrhaging around the brain and ear bones -- injuries
consistent with exposure to extremely loud sounds.
Eight whales died.
The Humane Society, the League for Coastal Protection, ___
On the Net:
Natural Resources Defense Council:
Navy SURTASS LFA:
National Marine Fisheries Service:
Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press.
"I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one:
Mark J. Palmer / Earth Island Institute
>>{(((*> {*}))>< >{(((*> {*}))>< >{(((*> {*}))><
>2) NRDC Files New LFA Lawsuit (NRDC Press Release)
From: Mark Palmer, mpalmer@mother.com
NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press contact: Tammy Boyer, Los Angeles (323) 934-6900;
If you are not a member of the press, please write to us at
>Environmental Groups Sue to Stop Global Deployment of Navy Low
>Frequency Sonar System
Groups Say New Long-Range Sonar System Threatens Whales and Other
Marine Mammals
SAN FRANCISCO (Wednesday, August 7, 2002) -- A coalition of
environmental groups today sued the U.S. Navy and the National
Marine Fisheries Service to block deployment of a new sonar system
that poses a threat to entire populations of whales, dolphins, seals
and other marine mammals. The coalition, led by NRDC (Natural
Resources Defense Council), filed the lawsuit in federal district
court in San Francisco.
The sonar system, known as Surveillance Towed Array Sensor
System Low Frequency Active sonar (or "SURTASS LFA") relies
on extremely loud, low frequency sound to detect submarines at
great distances. According to the Navy's own studies, the LFA
system generates sounds capable of reaching 140 decibels more
than 300 miles away. Scientists claim that, during testing off
the California coast, noise from a single LFA system was detected
across the breadth of the North Pacific Ocean.
"One of the truly disturbing aspects of this system," said Joel
Reynolds, senior attorney and director of NRDC's Marine Mammals
Protection Project, "is its unprecedented power and geographic
scope. If the Navy deploys LFA, tens of thousands of square miles
of ocean habitat would be saturated with extremely loud and
dangerous sound. The Navy has illegally been given a blank check
to deploy LFA in 75 percent of the world's oceans."
Over the last few years, scientists have been increasingly alarmed
about undersea noise pollution from high-intensity sonar systems.
There are two types of sonar: passive and active. Passive sonar
listens for ambient noises in the water. Active sonar sends out
a signal and waits for a response. Scientists are particularly
concerned about active sonar, which has the potential to harm
and even kill whales and other marine mammals.
The mass stranding of multiple whale species in the Bahamas
in March 2000 intensified these concerns. Many of the beached
whales died. A federal investigation determined that the
strandings were caused by a U.S. Navy mid-frequency active
sonar system. Meanwhile, a number of whales that lived in the
waters off the Bahama coast disappeared. Scientists believe
that they either abandoned their habitat or died at sea.
"From a scientific point of view, there is very little question
that, given the right set of circumstances, active sonar can
kill marine life," said Naomi Rose, a marine mammal scientist
with the Humane Society of the United States, one of the
coplaintiffs. "The frightening thing about LFA is that we're
flying blind, because the Navy has never seriously applied
the lessons from previous strandings to its LFA system."
Today's lawsuit is a response to a decision last month by the
National Marine Fisheries Service, the federal agency charged
with protecting ocean resources, to issue the Navy a permit
allowing the global deployment of LFA. Attorneys for the
environmentalists said today they would challenge LFA
deployment under several federal statutes, including the
Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act
and the National Environmental Policy Act. The plaintiffs
in the case -- NRDC, the Humane Society, the League for
Coastal Protection, the Cetacean Society International,
and the Ocean Futures Society and its president, Jean-Michel
Cousteau -- will seek a court decision before the Navy
deploys the LFA system.
"The decision to authorize and deploy the LFA system cannot
be justified under federal law," said Andrew Sabey, a partner
with the international firm of Morrison & Foerster, which is
representing the plaintiffs. "The National Marine Fisheries
Service has issued the Navy a so-called 'small take' permit,
which in reality authorizes the Navy to injure, harass and
disturb marine mammals on a stunningly large scale
throughout the world's oceans."
"The ocean is a precious resource shared by all the world's
peoples," said Cousteau. "The LFA system poses an
unacceptable risk to our oceans and our children's heritage."
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, non-profit
organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental
specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the
environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has more than 500,000
members nationwide, served from offices in New York,
Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Mark J. Palmer / Earth Island Institute
>>{(((*> {*}))>< >{(((*> {*}))>< >{(((*> {*}))><
From: Joanne
Dear friends,
I am writing you about the LFAS (Low Frequency Active Sonar)
that the Navy has just gotten approval (in late June) to use.
The decision allows the Navy to be exempt from Environmental
laws to deploy the LFAS Sonar to track submarines in up to 80%
of the planet's oceans. This is devastating to ocean life and
to all of us who value that life.
At close range, the noise that LFA generates is millions of times
more intense than the Navy considers safe for human divers and
billions of times more intense than levels known to disturb large
whales. And because that noise spreads so far, its environmental
impact could be enormous. It is expected to cause hearing loss
and disruptions in communication and breeding in animals whose
lives are governed by sound. And, in the worst case, it could
result in strandings, serious injury, or death, as in the Bahamas,
where many whales stranded themselves and died after a Navy
sonar exercise [in March of 2000 -LM]. There have been
numerous reports of dead and dying whales and dolphins being
beached within a huge radius of beaches from the blasts -- it
basically blows their brains out [or ruptures their ear cavities
or other air chambers -LM]. You may have heard of the huge
whale pod that stranded itself and died last week in Cape Cod.
My deep concern and anger about this has compelled me to action
-- I have gone through all e-mails received regarding this and am
forwarding to you links to petitions, suggested actions and
congressional contacts, etc. I have just returned from Kauai
over the weekend, where I have a friend that swims with dolphins
regularly... they are highly intelligent and extremely beneficent,
loving and kind creatures. In fact, their brains are larger and
some neurological functions are more complex than in humans.
Did you know this? These creatures need our help.
If you are moved to do so, PLEASE take a moment and sign the
petitions and take the actions prescribed below, then forward
this note or one like it to as many people as you can. Better yet,
(as I have done), copy the letters out of the petitions and send
by regular mail as well.
THANK YOU for your time and concern on this.
Blessings,
Joanne
1. Save Whales from Navy Sonar deployment
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/129527570
2. Send a letter to the Secretary of the Navy to request that they
don't use this sonar in the oceans:
http://www.nrdcaction.org/index.asp?step=2&item=1291
3. PLEASE Read the Excellent Action Guidelines below [from Seaflow]
and take whatever action you are called to do.
http://www.seaflow.org/pages/takeaction.html
Dear Friends,
The phone has been ringing, the emails accumulating... with one
burning question, "What can I do"? Since the National Marine Fisheries
Service announcement last Monday, we have all been sitting with deep
feelings and that burning question. This email offers suggestions of
ways to become immediately involved in the growing campaign to
>stop Low Frequency Active Sonar.
Don't despair. The National Marine Fisheries Service decision,
though distressing, was expected. It provides fodder for broadening
public awareness and activism, and only increases our resolve to
work with passion until LFAS is permanently stopped worldwide.
***********************************************************
* Letters-to-the-editor
* Write letters-to-the-editor of local and national publications. If you
want help, let us know. If you don't want to write a letter, call
newspapers, and t.v. and radio stations, and ask them to cover
the issue of LFAS closely. You can find telephone numbers for
the media in the yellow pages of your phone book, listed under
radio stations, television stations, newspapers, etc.
* Write a letter, or better yet fax, your representatives to House
Resources Committee to voice your concerns about the
devastating effects that LFAS poses to ocean health and balance.
Encourage Congress members to show leadership in stopping
LFAS's deployment. Demand that NO EXEMPTIONS be given from
environmental laws, and that a supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement be required of the Navy, because of substantial flaws
in their existing EIS.
***You might also send a letter or fax to James Hansen, Chairman
http://www.house.gov/resources/107cong/quicklist.htm#top
Representative______;
Members of the House Resources Committee
Republicans (28)
1.JAMES V. HANSEN, Utah 1st District, Chairman
Democrats (24)
1.NICK J. RAHALL II, West Virginia 3rd District,
http://capwiz.com/washtimes/home/
Note: Dianne Feinstein, who sits on the Military Appropriations
Committee, is a key player in cutting funding for LFA Sonar and has
yet to take a position. Focus your lobbying in her direction.
Note: Emails are considered less effective than visits, letters,
phones calls or faxes. Combining communication methods will ensure
that your opinion is heard. [Some Senators and Congresspersons
will only reply to their constituents -- people in their state or district
-- so, if you are their constituent, be sure to include your full address,
as well as your email address.]
Sen. Dianne Feinstein
Sen. Barbara Boxer
Rep. Lynn Woolsey
Contact other decison makers:
Note: Mail to Washington D.C., is being delayed for as much
Dear [ ___________ ],
I am deeply concerned about the U.S. Navy's plan to deploy Low
Frequency Active sonar, a dangerous new system, in as much as
80 percent of the planet's oceans. LFA poses an unacceptable risk
to marine mammals and other ocean life around the world.
At close range, the noise that LFA generates is millions of times
more intense than the Navy considers safe for human divers and
billions of times more intense than levels known to disturb large
whales. And because that noise spreads so far, its environmental
impact could be enormous. It is expected to cause hearing loss and
disruptions in communication and breeding in animals whose lives are
governed by sound. And, in the worst case, it could result in
strandings, serious injury, or death, as in the Bahamas, where many
whales stranded themselves and died after a Navy sonar exercise.
Yet the Navy is seeking to deploy LFA without addressing some of the
system's worst potential impacts, such as the internal injury that is
believed to have occurred in the Bahamas whales; without adequately
examining the connection between active sonar and mass strandings;
and without evaluating the system's long-term, cumulative effects on
populations of whales, dolphins, porpoises, sea turtles, and other
marine animals.
To deploy LFA under these conditions would be unconscionable. In
light of the substantial risks it presents to marine species and
habitat around the world, I strongly urge you to halt deployment of
the system until the long-term safety of ocean wildlife can be
assured.
Sincerely,
[Your name and address]
> Sample letter #2
Dear [ ___________ ],
First and foremost, our national security depends on a clean, healthy
environment. I am writing to express my concern regarding the US
Navy's impending deployment of SURTASS LFAS when there are
alternatives to LFA Sonar that do not harm the environment. LFAS
poses one of the greatest threats to marine mammals and other
marine life. This threat is unacceptable considering that the US Navy
can fulfill its mission for national security by using advanced passive
detection systems. The US Navy has a duty of environmental
stewardship of the sea which will be abrogated upon deployment of
LFAS.
The threat from LFAS was defined by the United States Marine Mammal
Commission as follows:
If the LFA sonar is made available for worldwide deployment as proposed,
all species and populations of marine mammals could possibly be affected.
The possible effects could include: death from lung hemorrhage and other
tissue trauma; temporary or permanent hearing loss or impairment;
disruption of feeding, breeding, nursing, acoustic communication and
sensing, or other vital behavior; annoyance and subsequent abandonment
or avoidance of traditional feeding, breeding or other biologically
important habitats; psychological and physiological stress, disease,
parasites and predation; and changes in the distribution, abundance,
or productivity of marine mammal prey species and subsequent decreases
in both individual marine mammal survival and productivity in population
size and productivity.
In view of the unacceptable risk to whales and other marine life posed
by LFAS, a comprehensive independent scientific assessment must be
conducted regarding its potentially catastrophic impact on the global
marine environment. Our national security depends on it.
Sincerely,
Then send them by mail, fax, email, or personally deliver them,
or call their office.
Personal visits to your Senators and Congressperson are best, or
to their staffers.
Do what you can do, but please do something!
* Educate friends and foes, and spread the word in all directions. Above
all, this is a public education campaign, and the people you inform hold
the possibility for exponential outreach. Visit Seaflow's website:
www.seaflow.org
to read articles and to connect with links and recommended
resources. For a minimum donation of $10, we will send a 10 minute
video that provides an excellent background on the issue. Circulate it to
neighbors, friends and colleagues.
* If you live in the S.F. Bay Area,, contact Seaflow to host a house party
for 15-60 individuals, or if you are a member of a group that would like
to
be educated, we will show a video, give a presentation, answer questions,
and get people in gear. To schedule a party or informational event, email
* Support Seaflow with your volunteer time and financial help. We are
planning an extensive media campaign, schools outreach project and many
educational events, while developing infrastructure for our growing
organization. Only with your help can we broaden our campaign. Please
consider an additional donation if you are able, or plan a fund raiser for
the cause. We would like to hear contact information for potential new
donors, no matter how large or small.
* If you are local, please attend Seaflow's monthly meeting at Tamalpais
Bank in central San Rafael. We meet at 7 p.m. the first Monday of each
month (except Sept., 2002's meeting which will be held Sept. 9th instead
of Sept. 2nd, Labor Day). Directions are available on our website.
* Work the inner realms of positive thought, prayer and intention. Root
action in intelligence and compassion.
* Use your unique talents to help protect marine life...all life. Create
a dance, poem, story, video, play, visual arts piece, event, tape,
curriculum, theater or multimedia piece to raise appreciation for the
diversity and richness of marine life and the threats to its survival.
Move
your anger, outrage and sadness through creative expression that will
inspire and educate others. Please share the fruits of your endeavors at
our monthly meeting!
* Be a "half-hearted environmental fanatic". Take time to appreciate that
which you are committed to protecting.
"I awake in the morning,
torn between a desire to save the world,
and a desire to savor the world.
That makes it hard to plan the day."
-- E.B. White
Working together to change the tide,
Mary Jo Rice
Seaflow Director
415-454-4443
www.seaflow.org
*****
Courtesy of Kay Snow-Davis
http://www.soulpurposeacademy.com
>>{(((*> {*}))>< >{(((*> {*}))>< >{(((*> {*}))><
From: Teresa
Hello dear friends who share a love of the whales,
Below is a prayer which a group of animal communicators will be
offering every Sunday morning at 9:30 am pacific standard time.
As you may know, President Bush's administration approved
the use of the low frequency active sonar in the oceans. This
sound has the capability to debilitate and kill whales and other
ocean beings. A ship prepared to deploy this harmful sonar is now
near Japan. Other concerns for whales and ocean beings are also
included in the prayer. I would be so grateful if you joined us in
sending our magnificent friends the whales all your Love and
Healing. I've told some of them we are doing this and they said
they need the help.
May you all be filled with great love and peace,
Namaste'
Teresa
>Prayer for the Whales and All Beings of the Sea
1. May all the whales, and all beings of the sea be safe and at
peace. May the molecular structure of all the whales and all
beings of the sea now be strengthened, so strengthened that
it is like an armor of such impenetrable love, that no sound,
no nets, no chemicals or pollutants, nor any weapons can cross
it or cause harm. May all the whales and other beings of the sea
be safe and at peace. May they all feel the deep love sent from
humans on the land.
I give you now, beloved whales and all beings of the sea, my
deepest love and send all the healing energy of the universe.
And so it is.
And I send each of you humans now my unconditional love.
I surround you with Love and peace. I wish for you many
blessings in all things in your life and surround you with Love and
peace. You are so filled with and surrounded with brilliant Love
and Light that when your thoughts, your boats, and your
equipment meet the whales and other beings of the sea the only
thing possible between you is Love.
And so it is.
I love you.
4. May the whales, the humans and equipment involved in LFAS,
whaling and fishing all be filled and surrounded by such profound
Love and Light, that when they meet, all that is possible is Love.
5. May the oceans be filled with Love and radiant energy. May they
be full of life, sparkling clean, and sustain and nourish all creatures
that live and play there. The water is in a perfect state of health
and shall remain so.
I ask the Overlighting Deva of the Oceans and all the angels and
spirit guides of all involved to carry the energy of this prayer
for the good.
Thank you.
>AND SO IT IS!
*****
Courtesy of Fawn, via John Christianson, by way of Margot Eiser
Providing:
Volume - low, usually 1 or 2 newsletters per month,
To subscribe to this list:
And remember...
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful
committed citizens can change the world;
Indeed it is the only thing
that ever has!"
Margaret Meade
*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*
Fair Use Notice
|
|