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Whales Are Part of the Axis of Evil
Dr. M January 27, 2008
George Bush this week declared war on sea mammals, officially adding whales to the dreaded Axis of Evil. The Bush administration stated whales are a threat to the American way of life, democracy, and of course freedom. Joking aside, Bush this week gave the official go ahead for the Navy to conduct sonar training off San Diego this week. The navy admits themselves that whales will be harmed by the exercise. This is occurring despite a recent win in the federal courts by environmental groups to restrict sonar use off the coast under the Coastal Zone Management Act. Bush simply issued an exemption for the Navy from the CZMA.
There is no doubt that mid-level sonar use will lead to whale beachings. The International Whaling Commission states the "the evidence linking sonar to a series of whale strandings in recent years is "very convincing and appears overwhelming." The National Resource Defense Council notes
Each loudspeaker in the LFA system's wide array, for example, can generate 215 decibels' worth — sound as intense as that produced by a twin-engine fighter jet at takeoff. Some mid-frequency sonar systems can put out over 235 decibels, as loud as a Saturn V rocket at launch. Even 100 miles from the LFA system, sound levels can approach 160 decibels, well beyond the Navy's own safety limits for humans. Evidence of the harm such a barrage of sound can do began to surface in March 2000, when whales of four different species stranded themselves on beaches in the Bahamas after a U.S. Navy battle group used active sonar in the area. Investigators found that the whales were bleeding internally around their brains and ears
A similar event occurred of Hawaii in 2004 and North Carolina in 2005.
Retired Admiral Stephen Pietropaoli stated
"It's important that the Navy be able to send trained sailors to sea to protect us and our interests around the glob. They cannot do that if there are excessive, unnecessary restrictions on their ability to do realistic training at sea."
So what actual threat is there to the U.S. from hostile submarines?
These countries currently possess submarines in active service:
Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Croatia, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, North Korea, Norway, Pakistan, China, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, U.K., and Venezuela.
The top 10 countries by numbers are: USA (73), China (63), Russia (56), North Korea (26), South Korea (26), India (16), Japan (16) United Kingdom (16), Germany (14), and Turkey (13).
With at least 3/4 of the countries the U.S. has decent and solid diplomatic relations. Of the top 10, 3 or 4 might pose a threat. The Russian submarine fleet poses no significant challenge to the U.S. Navy. Most of their submarines are of much weaker capabilities than ours currently in service. At least 50% of the fleet was built in the 1980's and nearing the end of their operational lives. Historically, China as not been a threat with most of the fleet outdated by US standards. However, currently China is outbuilding the US 3 to 1 per year. This all according to the Center for Defense Information. In a Fox interview with former Secretary of the Navy, John Dalton, states the North Korean submarine fleet is no threat.
They are small subs, holding 10 to 20 people, are noisy, cannot sustain long distances, have to surface continually to recharge and don't have any nuclear capability.
The other countries below the top 10 suffer from similar issues possessing a mere handful of subs outdated, noisy, and with poorly trained crews. More than likely they would be heard without the use of sonar.
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Dr. M (1800 Posts)
Craig McClain is the Executive Director of the Lousiana University Marine Consortium. He has conducted deep-sea research for 20 years and published over 50 papers in the area. He has participated in and led dozens of oceanographic expeditions taken him to the Antarctic and the most remote regions of the Pacific and Atlantic. Craig's research focuses on how energy drives the biology of marine invertebrates from individuals to ecosystems, specifically, seeking to uncover how organisms are adapted to different levels of carbon availability, i.e. food, and how this determines the kinds and number of species in different parts of the oceans. Additionally, Craig is obsessed with the size of things. Sometimes this translated into actually scientific research. Craig's research has been featured on National Public Radio, Discovery Channel, Fox News, National Geographic and ABC News. In addition to his scientific research, Craig also advocates the need for scientists to connect with the public and is the founder and chief editor of the acclaimed Deep-Sea News (http://deepseanews.com/), a popular ocean-themed blog that has won numerous awards. His writing has been featured in Cosmos, Science Illustrated, American Scientist, Wired, Mental Floss, and the Open Lab: The Best Science Writing on the Web.
8 Replies to "Whales Are Part of the Axis of Evil"
You aren't quite right about all countries below the top 10. Sweden only has a couple of non-nuclear subs, but they are very good. USA rented one for a year to test their capacity to track conventional submarines, and it was a miserable failure on their side.
http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=3574&date=20060418
John Scanlon, FCD says:
So are coyotes, as evidenced by continuing use of lethal chemical landmines on federal lands despite 'collateral damage':
*EPA investigates Utahn's poisoning – 4 years after device shot cyanide in his face*
By Patty Henetz
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 01/18/2008 06:23:26 AM MST
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has begun an investigation into the poisoning four years ago of a Vernal man who touched what he thought was a survey stake, only to get a blast of sodium cyanide to his face and chest.
The cyanide device, called an M-44, is used by the federal government to kill predators. The poisoning has left Dennis Slaugh with severe health problems, his wife, Dorothy Slaugh, said Thursday. And it has reignited a campaign to ban all predator poisoning on federal lands.
wildlifer says:
I was working on Hatteras in '05 when we had the two pygmy sperm whale strandings. Both were euthanized after several hours of being beached.
~summer~ says:
Hilarious title. Thanks for the well researched on this topic.
FishGuyDave says:
So, even the IWC has a problem with this? Let me get this straight: an international organization whose purpose is to promote the regulation of WHALING opposes something, but the Bush Administration still backs it. Fantastic. It must be because we've gotta get those crazy Swedes before they get us, lest the smoking gun be a mushroom cloud of what, lutefisk?
Sheesh… January 2009 cannot get here soon enough.
Mrs Hilary Victoria Minor says:
How about voting a Whale in as President of the US of A and get it to subject Mr Bush to 235 decibels from a mid-frequency sonar system?
Karen James says:
The use of Navy sonar is a question to be raised at ScienceDebate2008 methinks!
Scott Simmons says:
Thank you, Judge Cooper!
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