I started losing a sense of my self 5 or 6 years ago... but now that I've slashed my paycheck into a 20th and gone back to school, I know the spending power of a good 30 bucks!! Dear NRDC BioGems Defender, A federal court has just handed down its decision in our case against the U.S. Navy and I wanted you to be the first to hear the great news. In a resounding victory for whales and other marine mammals, the court ruled that it will bar the Navy from deploying its high-intensity LFA sonar system across most of the world's oceans. The LFA (Low Frequency Active) sonar system would have blasted hundreds of thousands of square miles of ocean habitat with noise so intense it can maim, deafen and even kill whales. In her historic ruling, Judge LaPorte agreed with NRDC that the sonar's booming noise could "irreparably harm" the marine environment and threaten the very survival of endangered populations of whales, sea turtles and other marine species. Judge LaPorte has ordered the Navy to begin negotiations with NRDC on a plan for safely testing the sonar system in a limited area. This is truly a banner day for the Earth's environment. The court has granted a life-saving reprieve to dozens of species of magnificent marine mammals. But its ruling also sends a message loud and clear to the White House that it is not above our nation's environmental laws. The Bush administration trampled all over those laws when it gave the Navy a blank check to operate the deadly LFA sonar system virtually anywhere in the world. It's also a banner day for hundreds of thousands of NRDC members and activists like you. When we began this fight eight years ago, we were told that our chances of stopping the military's classified LFA program were slim to none. But that conventional wisdom seriously underestimated the collective power of a determined citizenry. Your financial contributions and online activism fueled an NRDC legal strategy that prevailed, in the end, over the world's most powerful military establishment. There is no finer example of democracy in action. The fight to protect our oceans against high-intensity sonar is not over. The Navy could appeal the court's ruling. And right now the Bush administration is trying to get exemptions for the Navy from some of the very environmental laws NRDC used to block deployment of the LFA system. With your help, NRDC will do everything it can to ensure that these efforts do not succeed. But all that lies ahead. For today, at least, we've won a significant victory, one worth savoring and celebrating. On behalf of our entire legal team, I want to thank you for coming to the defense of marine mammals around the world. Sincerely, John H. Adams President Natural Resources Defense Council To understand my excitement, imagine Admiral Ackbar's face when the Imperial Star Destroyer goes down.
Federal judge limits Navy use of sonar amid concerns for marine life Wednesday, August 27, 2003 Posted: 1:36 AM EDT (0536 GMT) Environmentalists say navy sonar is dangerous to sea mammals. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Story Tools -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Citing concerns for marine mammals, a federal judge on Tuesday limited the Navy's use of a new sonar system designed to detect enemy submarines. The decision scuttles the Navy's plans to experiment with the low-frequency sonar throughout the majority of the world's oceans, confining it instead to areas with few marine mammals and endangered species. The case stems from a lawsuit by the Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmental organizations that claimed the powerful sonar system harasses and can even kill marine mammals. The judge ordered NRDC and the Navy to determine where testing the sonar would have a minimal impact on marine life and set a hearing for October 7 to review the matter. The order does not preclude the Navy from using the submarine-detection system during wartime, and acknowledges that the Navy must be allowed to train with it beforehand in various oceanic conditions. Environmentalists, who say sonar is dangerous, point to a different system the Navy used in March 2000. Hours after it was deployed, at least 16 whales and two dolphins beached themselves on islands in the Bahamas. Eight whales died and scientists found hemorrhaging around their brains and ear bones -- injuries consistent with exposure to loud noise. Navy spokesman Whit DeLoach offered no comment, saying the decision was still being reviewed. The Navy can appeal the decision. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
hey dadakota, from my understanding, the sonar isn't too discrete. The first sign that something was amiss was when 20-30 pilot(?) whales beached themselves in the tropics. When scientists began taking underwater recordings, they heard the powerful low frequency sonar being used.
I've read quite alot about this sonar and am very happy to see it banned, though i'm sure it would be used again during a period of naval warfare. To give an example of how far a natural sound can travel underwater, the Blue Whale which has the loudest "vocalization" of any creature ever to exist (though to deep in tone for humans to hear). Has been discovered to have the ability to communicate with pods of Blue Whales on the far side of the Pacific--in another word they can talk across the entire Pacific Ocean. Most marine mammals have extremely sensitive tympanic membranes, which would continually be destroy by this sonar system, chalk one up for the environment on this one (a rare victory).
