Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Navy to deafen 15,900 whales and dolphins? And kill 1,800 more?

Below is an email from Lyndia Storey, a MoveOn member who created a petition on SignOn.org that's growing rapidly. If you have concerns or feedback about this petition, click here.

Dear MoveOn member,

According to the U.S. Navy's own estimates, the use of high-frequency underwater sound for testing in Hawaii, off the California and Atlantic Coasts, and in the Gulf of Mexico will deafen 15,900 whales and dolphins and kill 1,800 more over the next five years.

Whales and dolphins depend on sound to navigate and live. The Navy is required to include comments from the public on their Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), so your signature and comment on my SignOn.org petition could help stop this naval program and save the lives of these ocean creatures.

My petition says:

Stop the killing of 1,800 whales and dolphins and the deafening of 15,900 more by ceasing the operation of the Navy's underwater sound system in the Hawaiian Islands, the California and Atlantic Coasts, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Will you sign the petition? Click here to add your name, and then pass it along to your friends:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=276609&id=45292-10220574-6JHvYjx&t=2

Thanks for your help.

–Lyndia Storey

PS: The comments must be in by July 10, 2012, so please sign my petition today.

This petition was created on SignOn.org, the progressive, nonprofit petition site that will never sell your email address and will never promote a petition because someone paid us to. SignOn.org is sponsored by MoveOn Civic Action, which is not responsible for the contents of this or other petitions posted on the site.

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This email was sent to eddie alfaro on July 3, 2012. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.
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15 comments:

  1. one1speedJuly 3, 2012 at 11:02 AM

    Is there any information to back this? Seems a good cause, but we need documentation to support it. Links to information?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. joyusnesJuly 9, 2012 at 8:11 AM

      scroll down on this page, or go here: http://hstteis.com/Home.aspx

      Delete
  2. MarlipernJuly 3, 2012 at 11:12 AM

    Likewise. Where is the documentation supporting this claim? I will back your petition 150%, but I need evidence that these are not exaggerated or fabricated estimates.

    ReplyDelete
  3. confetti247July 3, 2012 at 11:32 AM

    I didn't check the numbers because they've scattered them throughout the document but they definitely state that actions will adversely affect endangered species.

    http://hstteis.com/DocumentsandReferences/HSTTDocuments/DraftEISOEISMay2012.aspx

    See section 3.4 and look for the tables of injury and mortality (jump to 3.4-230 if you want quick confirmation).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. joyusnesJuly 9, 2012 at 8:09 AM

      Very cool - There's information, and a comment section, open until July 10, 2012.

      Delete
  4. IrishwoodsJuly 3, 2012 at 2:37 PM

    I also wanted to find some good information to back this up. My concern is that the Navy does admit there will be an impact, but they used the word minimal (or something similar). That makes me wonder if it's more than minimal. I've attached an interesting article that has to do with more than the Navy issue...our oceans are becoming polluted with noise and that's definitely impacting the whales and other mammals who rely on sound for communication, navigation, etc.

    http://www.terranature.org/oceanNoise_Weilgart.htm

    ReplyDelete
  5. ArtgalJuly 3, 2012 at 4:16 PM

    I tried to find supporting evidence and all I can find is other Blogs and sites that link back to SignOn, which makes it obligatory to join MoveOn as part of the process. I can't find one single news item to support this emotive subject. Sorry, but I won't be signing up to MoveOn especially after what appears to be a cynical way to get members before the election here in the USA. Seriously, can anyone else find it as a news item here? I'll happily sign elsewhere if it's true. http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=navy+deafen+whales&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownJuly 3, 2012 at 7:33 PM

    http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2012/05/ap-navy-sonar-blasts-may-be-hurting-more-sea-life-051112/

    includes per year numbers

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thad CurtzJuly 3, 2012 at 8:39 PM

      This article is about the EIS number for all marine mammals, including seals, sea lions, and dolphins - not just whales. And even then, it says that the Navy's estimate for all potential deaths is 200 animals...

      As I said below, it looks to me as if two of those *might* be whales according to the Navy's numbers. (This article says that the Navy's EIS estimate for hearing loss and all other injuries in all species is 1,600; the EIS includes estimates for temporary and permanent hearing loss. I haven't gone back to try to figure out whether this number in the article includes both or not...)

      Delete
  7. Thad CurtzJuly 3, 2012 at 8:27 PM

    I've spent an hour or so searching through the several hundred pages of the Navy Environmental Impact Statement that one of the comments on the petition links to. As far as I can see, there's nothing in the EIS that supports the claim in this petition. In fact, the only mortality figures I can find so far for whale deaths from acoustic causes of any and all kinds says that there might be two (2) beaked whale deaths in total from five years of Navy activity (but that there probably won't be any.) (This number is on page 3.4.169.) Maybe I've missed something, but if so, I'd like to have some page references to the places in the EIS that support the dramatically different numbers in the petition.)

    I really don't think MoveOn should be sending out petitions as endorsed by the organization unless the facts in them have been carefully vetted by MoveOn... I certainly don't want to have to have to do my own research from scratch every time a message comes in from MoveOn asking me to sign a MoveOn endorsed petition.

    ReplyDelete
  8. AndrewJuly 4, 2012 at 6:01 AM

    I spent years researching the US Navy's LFAS program, Low Frequency Active Sonar, which NATO and the US Navy were testing in the mid-nineties. I found out about LFAS US Navy testing in Hawaiian waters when visiting the Big Island in 1998. My research turned into novel-length fiction--I published the novel this March: JACOB'S RETURN.

    Over the years, the Navy has continued to test other ranges of sonar, mid-frequency, and also high-frequency. The subject matter can be overwhelming.

    Please read the book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1938133005/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=timofisr-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1938133005&adid=0DN54M71NY8C9VY78C71&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.timesofisrael.com%2Fjacobs-return-by-andrew-tertes%2F.

    ReplyDelete
  9. krystoJuly 6, 2012 at 12:10 PM

    We need better backup!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Concerned CitizenJuly 7, 2012 at 11:57 AM

    I agree this is quite a statement to make without giving a link or more to credible sources to back it up. I would sign the petition in a heartbeat if I was sure it was true. Please post links to the source to help us make a decision.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousAugust 23, 2012 at 2:05 AM

    http://www.bohemian.com/northbay/ocean-of-noise/Content?oid=2301145

    ReplyDelete

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