Whales and dolphins live in a world of noise. They use sound to communicate, navigate and find food. Loud noise, noise pollution in other words, not only completely disorients them, it can cause serious physical damage.
Noise pollution has been linked to the mass strandings of whales and dolphins in many parts of the world. It can also directly kill and injure aquatic life. Now the US Navy wants to contaminate three quarters of the world’s oceans with lethal noise.
It plans to lower loudspeakers hundreds of feet into the ocean to blast high intensity, low frequency sound waves throughout whale habitat. This could have devastating implications for the great whales and other aquatic life.
Waging war on whales, which is basically what this plan would do, is highly irresponsible and hardly qualifies as a “peacetime” activity.
Tell the federal government to put a stop to this destructive and completely unnecessary plan immediately.
We the undersigned ask that you put an immediate stop to the navy’s 5 year plan to use high intensity sound waves throughout 75% of the world’s oceans through 18 loudspeakers lowered several hundred feet down, a plan apparently approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
It is already known that this causes damage to whales and other cetaceans. It may also have serious implications for much smaller organisms, including the plankton on which the entire ocean food web depends.
This plan is utterly irresponsible and could result in an ecological catastrophe. It is also a gross violation of the Endangered Species Act.
Peacetime naval activities should be just that, not risking widespread destruction. It is imperative that this reckless and ill-thought-out plan does not go ahead and we ask that you make sure that it does not.
Thank you for your attention.
