Whales vs. the Navy

Whales have long been one of the iconic images of the environmental movement. Intelligent, beautiful, and huge. We have always liked to dominate bigger-than-us species, and we have continued to treat whales with this type of domination. We just don't do it for their blubber now. In recent year much has been done to help change our views. Research and documentation has come a long way. Unfortunately we just lost a major battle today. Another hallmark environmental action has been taken by the Bush Administration which will have huge impact on our seas. This time it is directly affecting whales. Non discriminatory action against them mind you. All whales, big and small. We know that sonar and other loud noises in the water affect whales ability to "see" underwater. The supreme court doesn't see it that way though.
Anyone who has ever head a loud impact or noise underwater effect. An anti terrorist tactic used in the middle east by the Israeli army detonates explosives randomly in harbors, where enemy divers might be approaching. These explosions produce a impact with sound and cavitation that can kill. Sonar is deadly to whales. In the deep dark areas where they hunt for food, they rely on sound to guide them. Their deep dives are as technical as when a human does a deep decompression dive, requiring decompression stops. They don't just go up and down all day. An article reporting the supreme courts decision can be found here at CNN. My friend Dieter Paulmann's organization is one of the leaders in the fight to help protect whales. The Okeanos Institute has a wealth of information and images.