Oil Exploration, Seismic Testing And Mass Whale Beachings -Recent Incident

[evolvenow]

Oil Exploration, Seismic Testing And Mass Whale Beachings - Recent Incidents 2004 to January 7, 2005, there have been recorded incidents of around 200 whale beachings on the coasts of the island of Tasmania, 240 km off the south-eastern coast of the Australian continent. This is an unprecedented number and has caused widespread concern.


On November 30, 2004, Australian Senator and Green Party Leader, Bob Brown, made a statement saying that ocean seismic tests to search for gas and oil should be stopped until the whale migration season had ended. His call followed the deaths of 19 long-finned pilot whales which beached at Tasmania's Maria Island the previous day. Just 24 hours earlier, 73 long-finned pilot whales and 25 bottlenose dolphins had been beached and had died.



Senator Brown said in both cases seismic tests, involving so-called sound bombing of ocean floors to test for oil and gas, were carried out in the days before the whales were stranded.

http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2005/01/25/underwater_seismic_testing_linked_to.htm

[evolvenow]

1. these latest strandings are a red flag,Unfortunately the Navy in Denial

Navy officials said that the USS Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group, based in Norfolk, was conducting an anti-submarine exercise about 240 nautical miles from the Oregon Inlet on Jan. 14 and 15.
(snip)



Sonar acts as the underwater eyes and ears of the Navy, and intermittent bursts are often used in transit to detect potential enemies and other dangers. In addition, Navy officials increasingly believe that inexpensive quiet submarines from hostile nations pose a potential threat and want to upgrade sonar tracking systems to protect against intrusions into U.S. coastal waters. The Navy now uses mid-frequency sonar for its tracking but wants to deploy a new generation of low-frequency sonar that travels much farther underwater and is more powerful.




The Navy has sometimes been slow to acknowledge that its ships were in an area where strandings occurred and has accepted responsibility only in the Bahamas event. Environmental activists said that track record makes them skeptical of the Navy's statements about the North Carolina strandings.




"The circumstances are troubling," said Michael Jasny, a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which has sued the Navy on other sonar-related issues. "After so many whale deaths caused by sonar, these latest strandings are a red flag. . . . Unfortunately, the Navy has a long history of denial."

snip

Most of the stranded whales were dead when they were found, and NOAA scientists are conducting necropsies of many of the animals to try to determine a cause of death. Although pilot whales travel in herds and are prone to strandings, the other two whale species are not, officials said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42788-2005Jan27.html

[leftchick]

2. there were both dolphin and whale strandings in the last month

he is the east coast US. The navy did admit to using sonar both times. But they don't stop.

:(

NRDC is one of the best environmental groups. They get things done! Join if you can...

http://www.nrdc.org/wildlife/marine/nlfa.asp

<snip>

In response, NRDC and its partners have redoubled our campaign, both at home and abroad, to control the spread of this harmful technology. Internationally, NRDC has begun to raise awareness of the problem of ocean noise. NRDC and several other international conservation groups -- together representing millions of members -- are pressuring international institutions to reduce sonar's harm to whales and other marine life, and getting results:

In October 2004, in response to urging by this new coalition, the European Parliament called on its 25 member states to stop deploying high-intensity active sonar until more is known about the harm it inflicts on whales and other marine life.
In November 2004, the World Conservation Congress of the IUCN approved a resolution calling for international action to address the problem of ocean noise, including military sonar.
In February 2005, the coalition petitioned NATO to use simple safety measures to protect marine life from needless harm during sonar exercises.
Some nations, like Spain, have already begun to change their sonar practices, prohibiting exercises in certain sensitive areas.

Here at home, NRDC has continued to support the agreement limiting deployment of the Navy's LFA system, and has also sent the Navy a demand that it stop testing mid-frequency sonar in ways that needlessly endanger populations of marine mammals and fish.

[evolvenow]

3. Thanks Left Chick, I will check into NRDC. Having spent time with wild

dolphins and whales, it is absolutely horrific, these technologies, and IMHO some new ones that no one knows they are using in the ocean, under the ocean and in space. Whales and dolphins do not beach unless there is something exceptionally wrong. The species, the numbers, the facts that some were whole families including babies, points to a very disturbing technology. They know DAMN well the damage this does, but only care about continuing.

Did you notice that these events were in the same time frame as B*sh and war criminal hench team installed their absurd Ocean Treaty, essentially saying that, they own the ocean and can do what ever the @#$% they want to it.

Whales and dolphins are such fine, intelligent, beautiful beings that have saved the lives of people throughout history, in spite of the terror that man continues to unleash.

This must end.

:cry: :mad:

[evolvenow]

4. kick for Elizabeth!

[evolvenow]

5. kick - Ban Haarp and all sonar

[MsMagnificent]

6. kick in agreement: Ban Haarp and sonar

The true measure of a people (or a wo/man) lays in how they treat the beings who can do neither anything to them, or for them.

[evolvenow]

7. Exactyl Ms. Magnificent! Time to act as Guardians not Murderers!! kick

[MsMagnificent]

9. The Matrix was wrong

They said that humans were just like a virus,
I think we're more like a parasite. We feed off the earth and in repayment of our gratitude, destroy it. Sum total.

Not all of us, but what real voice do we who care about the earth have over those who just desire money and power? Politicians whom we have elected are supposed to be our representatives... that is one sad joke.

Natural disasters have increased exponentially since 1990, the insurance companies are taking a real beating. I'm wondering if it's the earth simply trying to rid herself of those parasites...
but looks like we may take care of ridding our own selves so Mother Earth won't have to, it's only a matter of time before it will be the U.S. against the entire rest of the world. We're no superpower comparatively. Not even against 'Old Europe'.

And, if we keep on going like we have these past 4 years, we deserve it. As a whole, we do. I know that you and you I other caring people will have to also pay... thats our price for our inaction or our inability to ensure change and justice I guess.

Do I feel helpless? You bet I do.
We're only 3 months in and have 45 more months to go. The US media won't report any "news", they're too afraid to, or if not afraid I have NO idea what their problem is but they have served us POORLY. Bush is in and he's not going anywheres. They called Clinton 'Teflon' -- if he was Teflon then WTF is Bush? Clinton got a blow job, Bush has sacrificed tens to hundreds of thousands of lives, lied just as many times, and raped our Constitution.
And thats OK I guess, much better than getting a blow job, comparatively.

God.


Above all my opinion, of course.

[htuttle]

10. More like cancer

The difference is, humans evolved on the Earth. We are just as much a part of the biosphere as any other species. We do belong here.

The problem is, we've decided to grow and multiply without bounds, poisoning the Earth's bloodstream with toxic waste products, and consuming the host in the process.

We're a natural part of the Earth's body gone rogue -- Just like cancer.

The precise nature of our cancer? Sometimes I think it ultimately stems from mind/body dualism -- that which makes us arrogantly believe we have a 'soul' that is more important than our bodies and the Earth itself. If we didn't separate our 'minds' (which we consider to be truly 'us') from our bodies (that which generates this 'mind'), it would be easier for people to see the real situation, and our true place in the biosphere.

[MsMagnificent]

11. Very good points. I may change my mind :)

[gbwarming]

8. New Scientist: Whale and dolphin strandings fit predictions

(I'm not suggesting by posting this that human activity has no part in the recent strandings. It is also important to look for historical data whenever possible to help understand cause and effect.)

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6744
# 13:37 01 December 2004
# NewScientist.com news service
# Emma Young, Sydney

Three whale and dolphin strandings have left more than 170 animals dead on the beaches of Australia and New Zealand in the past few days. The precise causes are unclear, but the beachings tally with predictions made by Tasmanian scientists in New Scientist in July 2004.

“We identified that 2004 would be a year for lots of strandings - and this is exactly what we are seeing,” says Mark Hindell of the Antarctic Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.
...
Hindell and his colleagues’ analysis of more than 80 years of stranding data in south-east Australia suggested that every 10 to 12 years, shifts in a climate phenomenon - called the zonal westerly winds - cause colder, nutrient-rich waters to move closer to the shore. Whales and dolphins follow this cold water towards the coast, and so their risk of beaching increases. During the last peak, in 1992, there were 29 stranding events.
....

Earlier article - http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6155

More info about this ongoing research project
http://www.nht.gov.au/nht1/programs/mspp/strandings.html
...
Between 1992, when this program was initiated, and April 2001, a total of 11 mass stranding events and 57 single-cetacean strandings (with a total of 645 deceased individuals from 18 species) on the Tasmanian coastline have been investigated.
...

[Up2Late]

12. Anyone else here think the recent major Indian Ocean...

...Earthquake/Sunami had some sort of connection to this Deep Water Sonic Oil Exploration?:hippie: