HELP SAVE ALL MARINE LIFE FROM AN ACOUSTIC HOLOCAUST
lys
ACOUSTIC HOLOCAUST
Subject: Ocean Sanctity Alert: Protect Whales & Dolphins: Action Letter on
LFAS needed now!
Date: Thu, 24 May 2001
From: Larry Morningstar <ma...@aloha.net>
Ocean Sanctity Alert
Greetings,
Your help is needed NOW to prevent the deployment of the US Navy's
dangerous and deadly Low Frequency Active Sonar in 80% of the world's
oceans. The Navy is in the last stage of their permitting process, and if
the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) grants this one more
permit, then the Navy can begin blasting this high intensity active sonar
worldwide at sound levels billions of times louder than those known to
disturb whales.
Does this disturb you? If so, join thousands of concerned global citizens
in writing to the NMFS, asking them to deny a permit to the Navy for LFAS.
We are currently moving towards the end of a public comment period on
SURTASS LFA (aka LFA Sonar, Low Frequency Active Sonar, or LFAS), which
ends on May 31st. Since this is in regard to the Navy's planned global
deployment of LFAS, citizens of nations around the world need to send
comments, and also to send copies of their letters to US Embassies and
Consulates in their home country, to important government officials in
their country, and to the media. Spread the word to your friends and
family, co-workers and email lists.
The US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is accepting letters and
faxes (but not emails) from the public, commenting on the US Navy's request
for a Letter of Authorization (permit) for a limited take (harassment and
killing) of marine mammals (including endangered species) incidental to the
US Navy's deployment of SURTASS LFA *WORLDWIDE* for a period of 5 years.
Comments must be postmarked no later than May 31, 2001, or faxed no later
than May 30th, so as to be received by May 31st.
Comments should be addressed to:
Donna Wieting, Chief
Marine Mammal Conservation Division
Office of Protected Resources
National Marine Fisheries Service
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226
Her fax number is (301) 713-0376
---
Following are easy options for sending letters of comment:
1) A sample letter follows, copy & paste it into a word processing
document, then print it, and fax or mail it.
2) A website to go to to fax a letter of comments in 3 minutes
3) Additional Points to Make, to customize your letters
4) Websites for more information
---
(date)
Donna Wieting, Chief
Marine Mammal Conservation Division
Office of Protected Resources
National Marine Fisheries Service
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226
Fax number: (301) 713-0376
Dear Ms. Wieting,
SUBJECT: SURVEILLANCE TOWED ARRAY SENSOR SYSTEM (SURTASS) LOW FREQUENCY
ACTIVE (LFA) SONAR PROGRAM (PAF 01-197)
I am deeply concerned about the Navy's plan to flood hundreds of thousands
of square miles of our oceans with extremely loud, low frequency noise, and
about the National Marine Fisheries Service's proposal to permit it. This
plan poses a potentially devastating threat to marine mammals - including
endangered species - and other ocean life, such as fish and endangered sea
turtles, around the world.
The Navy's high intensity Low Frequency Active (LFA) sonar system would
operate at noise levels billions of times more intense than those known to
disturb the migration and communication behavior of large whales. Yet the
Navy has not adequately addressed the long-term effects of the LFA system
on whales, dolphins, porpoises, sea turtles, seals, and a host of other
marine animals. Nor has it adequately examined the connection between
active sonar and mass strandings of whales and other marine life. Amazing
at it may seem, the Navy wants to operate this system at sound levels 1000
or more times greater than the levels at which its own tests were
performed. This is absolutely unacceptable.
I ask you to withdraw your proposed rule and to deny the Navy's application
to deploy LFA sonar.
Sincerely,
(signature)
(print name)
(address)
(city, state, zip, country)
(email)
2) A website to go to to fax a letter of comments in 3 minutes Quick,
Painless, and Simple... Easy to Pass on to Your Friends:
Go to NRDC's website:
http://www.nrdc.org/wildlife/marine/nlfa.asp
There you will find an article about LFAS. To the right of the photo of a
dolphin, you will find a link called "ACT NOW to protect whales and other
marine life." Click on this link and you will go to a page with an action
letter:
http://www.nrdcaction.org/index.asp?step=2&item=377
You can modify or personalized the existing letter, if you like, using
points from the "Additional Points to Make" list at the end of this
message. Then add your name and personal information, click on the "Send
This Message" button, and it will be faxed to NMFS.
3) Additional Points to Make, to customize your letters
Feel free to use your own words. Here are some good points to add. There is
no need to use all of them, pick and chose the ones you like.
* The Navy should not be issue a small take permit for deployment of LFA
sonar, as it cannot say with any degree of reliability what the size of the
take from use of LFAS is likely to be, nor determine a specified area in
which a potential take would occur.
* The Navy's data on potential take of sea turtles and fish by LFAS
transmissions is virtually nonexistent. The data the Navy has amassed on
potential effects of LFAS on cetaceans is severely deficient.
* LFAS was tested at low levels on only four species of whales for about
one month each. Consequently, we know virtually nothing about what impact
the higher deployment level sonar will have on marine life and humans over
the long term.
* The Navy's research has focused on LFAS damaging hearing in cetaceans.
This is not the main problem. Evidence now indicates that the damage from
high intensity sonar is due to resonance phenomena in the whales' cranial
airspaces that tear apart delicate tissues around their brains and ears
causing hemorrhaging and death. Necropsies show that this is what caused
the death of the whales in the Bahamas stranding in March 2000. The Navy
has known about the resonance phenomena issue since 1998.
* A recent Smithsonian analysis determined that, of the seven known
mixed-species mass strandings involving beaked whales, all seven occurred
over the last 30 years while naval maneuvers were conducted nearby.
CLIP - Unfortunately there is not enough room here to include the rest
which you may obtain directly from Larry Morningstar <ma...@aloha.net> or
by going at
http://www.cybernaute.com/earthconcert2000/MiscelSubjects86.htm where his
letter is posted in its entirety.
4) Websites and an Email list for more information
Ocean Mammal Institute
http://www.oceanmammalinst.org
http://www.oceanmammalinst.org/lfa-navy.html
http://www.oceanmammalinst.org/kenbalcombletter.htm
http://www.oceanmammalinst.org/navyconclusionsflawed.htm
National Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
http://www.nrdc.org
http://www.nrdc.org/wildlife/marine/nlfa.asp
http://www.nrdcaction.org/index.asp?step=2&item=377
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
http://www.seashepherd.org
http://www.seashepherd.org/issues/habitat/cnnnoise.html
http://www.seashepherd.org/issues/habitat/sscslognoise.html
Stop LFAS Worldwide Network
http://listen.to/lfas
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stoplfas
http://go.to/stoplfas
Quiet Sea Coalition http://www.maui.net/~mailbot/quietsea.html
New York Times Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/10/science/10WHAL.html
Cetacean Nation
http://www.cetacean-nation.com
http://www.cetacean-nation.com/LFAS.html
CNN Report:
http://www.cnn.com/NATURE/9906/30/sea.noise.part1
http://www.cnn.com/NATURE/9907/01/sea.noise.part2
http://www.cnn.com/NATURE/9907/02/sea.noise.part3
~ PLEASE PASS THIS ON ~
