War Games Are Fun For
Sailors But Not Whales
No sooner had the Bush administration surprised us with the creation of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument than the U.S. Navy decided to kill a bunch of whales using high-intensity sonar. The U.S. and seven other nations are running some fun "war games" nearby, and the high intensity sonar used in these games kills whales, dolphins and other marine life. (War games is kind of an interesting oxymoron isn't it) However, not to worry to much, as the exemption granted the Navy by the National Marine Fisheries Service allows them to kill only 25,000 individual ocean mammals.
Dead whales lined up on the beach
Whales exposed to high-intensity mid-frequency sonar have repeatedly stranded and died on beaches around the world, some bleeding around the brain and in the ears, with severe lesions in their organ tissue.
BY THE WAY, WHO COUNTS THE DEAD WHALES TO MAKE SURE THEY STAY UNDER 25,000?
At lower intensities, sonar can interfere with the ability of marine mammals to navigate, avoid predators, find food, care for their young, and, ultimately, to survive. There is no scientific dispute that intense sonar blasts can disturb, injure, and even kill marine mammals.
