Theos-Talk Archives (July 2001 Message tt00292)

The letter below was sent to me by a friend.It is a cause that resonates with 
the treatment of all the kingdoms by MAN in general , in this case the animal 
kingdom , it has been asked to go to their site and register and send a 
letter (pre-typed) to your congress person. It is , after all , something 
positive that can be done to help , in our opinion.
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

Dear Friend,

The three of us have never teamed up like this before. But we all share
something in common: a deep love of the ocean and marine mammals. That's
why we're very disturbed by a U.S. military program that, if approved, will
soon be bombarding millions of whales and dolphins around the world with
intense noise.

You may have read about the U.S. Navy's "Low-Frequency Active" (LFA)
sonar program. The military has been testing this new, high-powered system in
secret for years. Now, the Navy wants to deploy it across 80 percent of
our planet's oceans. LFA sonar is designed to detect enemy submarines by
flooding vast expanses of the oceans with sound. Leaving aside the
military wisdom of this sonar -- which is still in dispute -- the 
environmental
dangers are becoming increasingly clear.

Here's the problem: LFA noise is billions of times more intense than
that known to disturb whale migration and communication. Whales and dolphins
depend on their sensitive hearing for survival. To put it simply, a deaf
whale is a dead whale. Deafening noise from the LFA system will
interfere with the vital biological activities of marine mammals. Scientists 
fear
that long-term exposure to LFA could push entire populations over the brink
into extinction.

Inevitably, there will also be marine mammals unlucky enough to swim too
close to LFA loudspeakers. Imagine an acoustic wave so powerful that,
even at substantial distances, it can destroy your hearing, cause your lungs
or ears to hemorrhage, or even kill you.

We've already seen a glimpse of the resulting carnage. Last year, whales
from four different species stranded themselves and died on beaches
across the northern Bahamas during a Navy military exercise. All but one of 
the
dead animals examined by researchers had suffered hemorrhaging around
the inner ear -- the telltale sign of acoustic trauma. The U.S. Navy's own
report concluded that it is "highly likely" that the stranding was
caused by the use of mid-frequency active sonar. But despite this tragic 
event,
the Navy now wants to deploy LFA, the most extensive active sonar system
ever devised.

We know that different frequencies will affect different marine mammals
and that the lower the frequency, the farther it penetrates the ocean. We
believe it is unconscionable to expose marine mammals around the world
to more high intensity sonar. If you agree, then please join us in taking
immediate action; it will take you only a few seconds.

Just go to http://www.nrdcaction.org/index.asp?step=2&item=518. The
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Ocean Futures Society (OFS) have
set up this web page to make it easy for you to send electronic messages of
protest to your U.S. senators and representative. Congress is now deciding 
the
Navy's funding for next year -- tell them to "Turn Off LFA Sonar" by
cutting off its funding.

And please forward this message to your family, friends and colleagues.
NRDC used web activism to help generate a million messages of protest to
Mitsubishi and, just last year, stopped the company from destroying the
last unspoiled birthing ground of the Pacific gray whale.

Congress cannot ignore millions of us. Together, we can keep whales and
dolphins safe from high-powered sonar.

Thank you for your time and your concern.

Sincerely yours,

James Taylor-- Pierce Brosnan-- Jean-Michel Cousteau

>>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]