[CINC] Fwd: Whale Case Goes to Supreme Court

[Kenneth A. Tatro]

More info on the Whale/ U.S. Navy Sonar issue.

Ken Tatro

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "NRDC - Frances Beinecke" <members at nrdcaction.org>
> Date: July 14, 2008 12:51:26 PM PDT
> To: "Kenneth Tatro" <kensword at cox.net>
> Subject: Whale Case Goes to Supreme Court
> Reply-To: notice-reply-we7n7684o7j6358x at nrdconline.org
>
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> NRDC To Defend Whales Before Supreme Court
>
> The New York Timeshas urged the Court to rule for NRDC and hold the  
> Navy accountable to our nation's environmental laws.
>
> You can read excerpts from the editorial at the end of this message.
>
> Read the full editorial here
>
>
> Dear Kenneth,
>
> I have important news: our courtroom campaign to protect whales from  
> the Navy's deadly sonar systems is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
>
> At the request of the Bush Administration, the Court has agreed to  
> consider whether the Navy can sidestep key environmental laws during  
> its sonar exercises off the Southern California coast. The case will  
> be heard this fall.
>
> As you know, a federal district judge and a federal appeals court  
> have both sided with NRDC, ruling unanimously that the Navy must put  
> environmental safeguards in place. They also affirmed that no  
> government agency is above the law.
>
> The New York Times recently editorialized in support of our  
> position. (You can read excerpts from that editorial below.)
>
> Tens of thousands of dolphins and whales, including endangered blue  
> whales, could be harmed by Navy sonar off the coast of Southern  
> California if the Bush Administration gets its way.
>
> Despite the fact that common-sense sonar precautions will not  
> compromise our country's military readiness, the Bush Administration  
> will not take NO for an answer.
>
> It won't be thwarted by the fact that federal judges have already  
> rejected these security claims as exaggerated and unfounded.
>
> It won't be swayed by the fact that NATO and the Australian Navy  
> require similar precautions.
>
> Nor will it heed the Navy's own estimates that these drills could  
> disturb or injure nearly 170,000 marine animals -- and cause  
> permanent injury to more than 450 whales.
>
> Thanks to your past support, we've won major courtroom victories in  
> our decades-long campaign to reduce damage from the Navy's dangerous  
> sonar systems. And with your help, we intend to do everything  
> possible to win this momentous Supreme Court battle.
>
> I'll be sure to keep you informed as events unfold in this historic  
> case, which has broad implications beyond the sonar issue, because  
> it raises the fundamental question of whether the military and the  
> White House can unilaterally flout our country's environmental laws.
>
> You know where we stand on that issue. We will mount a vigorous  
> defense aimed at safeguarding whales along America's coastlines and  
> making sure that our environmental laws are not undermined by this  
> or any other Administration.
>
> Thank you for standing with us in this long, uphill fight for our  
> planet's whales.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Frances Beinecke
> President
> Natural Resources Defense Council
>
> P.S. Taking on the U.S. Navy and the Pentagon -- the most powerful  
> government agency on the planet -- will require unprecedented  
> financial support. If you would like to help us wage and win this  
> landmark court case, please donate here.
>
>
>
> Key excerpts from The New York Times editorial, "Of Whales and  
> National Security", July 2, 2008:
>
> "Environmentalists have long claimed that the Navy's use of sonar  
> for training exercises unduly threatens whales, dolphins and other  
> acoustically sensitive marine creatures. The Navy has adopted some  
> procedures to mitigate the risk but has resisted stronger  
> protections ordered by two federal courts. The Supreme Court has now  
> agreed to address the issue."
>
> "The case at hand was filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council  
> and other conservation groups to rein in Navy training exercises  
> that use sonar to search for submarines off the coast of Southern  
> California. The Navy says that its exercises pose little threat to  
> marine life and that the training is vital to national security."
>
> "A federal district judge and a federal appeals court in California,  
> after careful reviews of the facts, have found that the Navy's  
> arguments are largely hollow...The Navy itself estimates that the  
> current series of drills, conducted over two years, might  
> permanently injure hundreds of whales and significantly disrupt the  
> behavior of some 170,000 marine mammals."
>
> "The federal courts have played a valuable role in deflating  
> exaggerated claims of national security. Let us hope that the  
> Supreme Court backs them up."		
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>
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