I expect the Bush administration to not care about the environment. It is par for the course with them. But how do they get away with keeping the information from the public just to cover their collective asses?
The Bush administration is withholding a large quantity of evidence about severe harm caused to whales, dolphins and other marine life by high-intensity military sonar, according to a lawsuit filed today in New York federal court. Ocean mammals around the globe have been found dead or dying following the massive sonic blasts.
http://www.nrdc.org/media/pressreleases/050601.asp
Recent news reports have documented unusual localized whale beachings around the world along with speculation as to the cause. The dead whales show ear damage and hemorrhaging upon examination. It could just be a coincidence that this is occuring as the Navy is testing sonar that is extremely loud and the whales are very sensitive to noise. But in addition to hearing damage it is equally plausible that effects are causing internal ruptures leading to deaths and sinking instead of beaching which poses serious questions as to the full extent of killings.
They wrote, "In March 2000, for example, seventeen whales from at least three species, including two minke whales, stranded over 150 miles of shoreline along the northern channels of the Bahamas. These beachings occurred within 24 hours of Navy ships using mid-frequency sonar in those same channels."
"Post-mortem examinations found, in all whales examined, hemorrhaging in and around the ears and other tissues related to sound conduction or production, such as the larynx and auditory fats, some of which was debilitative and potentially severe. It is now accepted that these mortalities were caused, through an unknown mechanism, by the Navy's use of mid-frequency sonar."
http://earthhopenetwork.net/navy_sonar_whale_strandings_death.htm
From various articles that I have researched so far, it seems that the evidence as to the definative cause of the death of the whales and other ocean mammals is not known. Therefore, the sonar use by the military continues on.
However, I find it very suspicious that the Bush adminstration is covering up the evidence. It seems imply guilt.
The group said it was seeking thousands of pages of documents through the Freedom of Information Act related to mass strandings and deaths of marine mammals. It said the government has turned over only 12 documents totaling fewer than 25 pages.
http://premium.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/06/03/sonic.whales.ap/
I am glad that they are fighting for our right to be informed.