our fragile planet suffers in ways that our politicians continue to ignore.
In a report released on Monday, it has been determined that, "Increasing levels of ocean noise generated by military sonar, shipping, and oil and gas exploration are threatening dolphins and whales that rely on sound for mating, finding food and avoiding predators..."
Have marine biologists not been screaming this for years?
This particular report is the work of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and here is the link to the full article.
In 1999, a study was done on beached whales, suspected of exposure to Navy sonar; this was a follow-up study. The results are shocking:
Scientists who examined more than a dozen whales that beached in the Canary Islands in September 2002 found bleeding around the brain and ears and lesions in the animals' livers and kidneys.
"It is a set of symptoms that have never before been seen in marine mammals," said Michael Jasny, the report's principal author. "That physical evidence has led scientists to understand that the sonar is injuring the whales in addition to causing them to strand."
Think our underwater noise pollution only impacts marine mammals? Read on:
Jasny said noises from oil and gas exploration have also been linked to lower catch rates of halibut, cod and other species of fish.
"It's been shown that some species of fish suffer severe injury to their inner ears, which can seriously compromise their ability to survive," he said.
The information in the article is frightening enough, but here's how it concludes:
The true impact of ocean noise remains unknown because strandings likely represent just a small portion of marine life effected by excessive noise, Jasny said.
Iraq is a horrible quagmire, and in this highly charged political atmosphere it gets much of the spotlight -- then there's the repugs scandals, the mid-term elections, and on and on ...
But step back for a second and look at a bigger picture: the health of our planet. We are killing our oceans -- and as go our oceans, so goes our planet. To paraphrase Jeannette Ranking (don't know who she is? Look her up!), small use it will be to save democracy for the planet, if we cannot save the planet for democracy.