Defend the Marine Mammal Protection Act!
James Chamblee
From Earth Island Institute
Monday, August 09, 2004
http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?objid=D1D1364B000000FE44A4BA00
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Earth Island Institute and a coalition of organizations working to protect
marine mammals are opposing a new set of amendments to the Marine Mammal
Protection Act (MMPA). The MMPA is the most important U.S. law for the
protection of whales, dolphins, seals and other marine mammals in the world,
but it is now threatened as never before.
New amendments proposed for consideration by the full U.S. House of
Representatives would:
- Reaffirm amendments approved last year during budget hearings that exempt
the U.S. Navy from major provisions of the MMPA, which will lead to renewed
use of underwater active sonars, underwater explosions, and ship-strikes
that kill marine mammals without any mitigation;
- Allow major industries such offshore oil companies to also benefit from
some of these same military exemptions; and
- Throw out the overall MMPA goal of zero mortality for marine mammals and
substitute "financial feasibility" for reduced killing of marine mammals.
These amendments would set back thirty years of progressive protection
efforts for marine mammals!
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Please send a letter, or a fax, or call the following members of the House
of Representatives. Tell them you OPPOSE the proposed amendments to the
Marine Mammal Protection Act and that you want the House to drop
consideration of these new, weakening amendments, proposed by the Resources
Committee.
Representative J. Dennis Hastert
Speaker of the House
U.S. House of Representatives
Room 235 CHOB
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-0600 (phone)
(202) 225-0967 (fax)
Representative Wayne Gilchrest, Chairman
House Fisheries, Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans Subcommittee
U.S. House of Representatives
Room 2245 RHOB
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-5311 (phone)
(202) 225-0254 (fax)
YOUR OWN REPRESENTATIVE
Representative ________________
House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 224-3121 (Capitol Switchboard -- Ask to be connected to your
Representative)
For more information, contact:
International Marine Mammal Project
a project of
Earth Island Institute
300 Broadway, suite 28
San Francisco, CA 94133
Web site: