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July 5, 2006
Federal Judge Sacrifices National Security to Environmentalism
In the summer of 2004, some melon-headed whales, possibly demonstrating how they came by their name, got lost and ended up in the shallow water of Hawaii's Hanalei Bay. Environmentalists blamed the U.S. Navy, which was using sonar in war games nearby.
It was not proven that the sonar caused the whales to lose their way. The Navy had been using sonar in the Hawaiian islands for half a century without anyone accusing it of making whales get lost. Nonetheless, they agreed to conduct aerial surveys before using sonar and to restrict the use of sonar to certain areas.
This wasn't good enough for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which has now won a restraining order to keep the Navy from using high-intensity sonar during the Rim of the Pacific 2006 exercise. U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper declared that the Navy had committed an "arbitrary and capricious" violation of the National Environmental Policy Act by putting military concerns ahead of solicitude for whales.
It probably didn't cross judge Cooper's mind to wonder how likely it is that Iranians, North Koreans, or communist Chinese — whose submarines the Navy is attempting to protect us against — give a rat's rear end whether sonar confuses whales.
Posted by Van Helsing at July 5, 2006 6:22 AM
Comments
Err, or they could just hold the excercise somewhere else - no security threatened, no whales annoyed and lost. You see, you can rant away at people, but the solutions are hardly rocket science..
Posted by: High Priest Pingu at July 5, 2006 12:00 PM
Why don't they just go ahead and bang away with the sonar, then drop a few cases of Tylenol in the water for the whales' headaches?
I know, it's a gift.
Posted by: Berkeley Bob at July 5, 2006 12:53 PM
Pingu, maybe you'd better stay away from rocket science yourself. These maneuvers take place off Hawaii because that's where we are likely to be attacked. Does "Pearl Harbor" ring any bells?
Posted by: Van Helsing at July 5, 2006 1:33 PM
You're afraid of Chinese subs, in the 21st century? Dude, you need to grow up.
Posted by: Todd at July 5, 2006 5:05 PM
And you obviously don't know much about submarine warfare.
Posted by: Archonix at July 5, 2006 7:20 PM
I'm not sure who's comments are directed at who, but I have to pipe up after sifting through this site today. American subs don't need active sonar to find enemy subs. Passive sonar is what attack class subs use to track more sophisticated enemy subs, since using active gives your own position away. While no one has proved beyond a doubt that sonar causes whales to run themselves aground, there are events that correlate with the use of high intensity sonar.
Posted by: Batman at July 6, 2006 5:25 PM
We're at the mercy of lunatics and half-wits. God help us all.
Posted by: Nixon's Ninja at July 6, 2006 6:55 PM
Don't despair Nixon's Ninja, we have a constitutional amendment that prevents the halfwit from being elected a third time.
Posted by: Batman at July 7, 2006 11:06 AM
