A Canadian judge (Bless her.) Sunday told researchers they can’t bombard the arctic waters of Lancaster Sound with sound waves to try to learn what’s under the seabed.
Nunavut Judge Sue Cooper granted an injunction sought by parties seeking to stop the joint project of the federal natural resources department and the German Alfred Wegner Institute for Polar and Marine Research, the Toronto Sun reported. The seismic project was to have started as early as this week, the newspaper said.
The researchers intended to map the area under Lancaster Sound by bouncing sound waves off the earth below the sea.
Some of the general known effects of sound waves include:
Damage to rocket engines, hence the flood of water under the space shuttle to absorb the sound vibration at engine start.
It has been proposed as a source of cold fusion in heavy water.
It is used to atomize fuel in burners.
it is used to break up gallstones.
Can cause damage to eardrums and living tissues in vitro and in vivo.
So when scientists want to use sonar/sound waves to map Lancaster Sounds seabed without having a clue of what damage they could cause some knowing folks objected.
While two Nunavut government agencies had given their OK to go ahead with the sonic testing, some Inuit groups and environmentalists went to court, contending it could harm marine wildlife.
Judge Cooper sided with the testing opponents, saying there could be an impact on wildlife and consequently on the food supply of the nearby Inuit communities.
“On the whole of the evidence presented, I am satisfied that Inuit in the five affected communities will suffer irreparable harm if an injunction is not granted,” her decision reads.
The importance of Lancaster Sound, an arm of Baffin Bay should not be underrated. It is a major passage through the Arctic Archipelago, is 248.55 miles (400 km) long and some 62.14 miles (100 km) wide. It lies at the north end of Baffin Island and is connected to Barrow Strait on the west. As a result of the interaction of currents, the sound is rich in nutrients and supports a biologically varied community of birds, mammals and fish. At Bylot Island, which lies at its eastern end, it provides breeding grounds for some 3 million seabirds alone. The area has provided sustenance for Inuit cultures for thousands of years: ringed seals, walrus and polar bears, and Narwhals, Belugas, killer and bowhead whales. Arctic fox is trapped in almost every inlet, and arctic char is taken at the mouths of rivers.
“Thank you for protecting Mother Nature Judge Sue Cooper”
It is a lonely, dangerous and potentially health threatening job.
Rescuers are working tirelessly to save the wildlife impacted by the BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. They are faced with the overwhelming task of finding and saving thousands of oiled birds and hundreds of injured sea turtles and marine mammals.
We’d like to let them know that we appreciate the incredible work that they are doing. Please join us in sending a thank you letter to the wildlife rescuers on the Gulf Coast.
Hundreds of government and non-profit staff are working in the toxic environment and the hot oppressive weather to find and rescue injured wildlife.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service alone, has over 500 personnel actively engaged in the response, working to protect wildlife and their habitats, including 36 national wildlife refuges. They have saved 1,643 oiled birds. They have rescued and relocated over 2,000 sea turtle hatchlings. They are also assessing the damage from the oil spill in preparation for the work that will be needed to restore the Gulf of Mexico.
Of course, more staff and resources are needed to help with the wildlife rescue efforts. But, we shouldn’t ignore the great work that is currently going on.
Let them know that you support their work to save wildlife and that you appreciate their dedication. We will compile the thank you letters and send them to the wildlife rescuers.
Thank you for your help to save endangered species and their habitat.
The Endangered Species Coalition is a national network of hundreds of conservation, scientific, sporting, religious, humane, business and community groups across the country working to protect our nation’s wildlife and wild places.
According to the latest research whales are very intelligent, have close family groups, mourn and or as smart(maybe smarter) than the average human. We now know from field studies that a lot of the large whales exhibit some of the most complex behaviour in the animal kingdom,” said Lori Marino, a neurobiologist at Emory University.
The future of these gentle giants comes under global debate at IWC talks in Morocco on this Monday.
Will we let international corporations dictate another sea time disaster? Tell Obama to vote no.
Do not give Japan, Norway, Iceland or any country a license to kill whales, especially whales that are threatened.
According to the latest research whales are very intelligent, have close family groups, mourn and or as smart(maybe smarter) than the average human. We now know from field studies that a lot of the large whales exhibit some of the most complex behaviour in the animal kingdom,” said Lori Marino, a neurobiologist at Emory University
The future of these gentle giants comes under global debate at IWC talks in Morocco on this Monday.
Will we let international corporations dictate another sea time disaster? Tell Obama to vote no.
Do not give up our sea animals Japan, Norway, Iceland or any country a license to kill whales, especially whales that are threatened.
An underwater tour of the Gulf of Mexico by submarine and scuba, highlighting the vast diversity of marine life throughout the Gulf, from the surface to depths of nearly 2,000 feet. The tour begins in the northern Gulf, tracks south along the west Florida shelf, to northwestern Cuba and finally west to Veracruz, Mexico. This video was produced for the opening ceremony of the first “State of the Gulf of Mexico Summit” held in 2006 in Corpus Christi, Texas.
This video was also shown at the May 19, 2010 U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, “Deepwater Horizon: Oil Spill Prevention and Response Measures, and Natural Resource Impacts” as part of the testimony of Dr. Sylvia A. Earle.
Chair and Program Coordinator, Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies and a marine biologist Sylvia Earle has been an explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society since 1998. Named “Time” magazine’s first “hero for the planet” in 1998, Earle has pioneered research on marine ecosystems and has led more than 50 expeditions totaling more than 6,000 hours underwater. She was the former chief scientist for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Resource
Video courtesy of YOUTUBE.com/1planet1ocean
An undercover investigation found officials from six countries were willing to consider selling their votes on the International Whaling Commission (IWC for payment of their expenses and the favors of prostitutes supplied by Japan.
IWC wants to saction whaling
Japan is desperate to break the 24-year moratorium on commercial whaling. This months meeting of the IWC will decide if thousands of whales, including many endangered species will continue to be hunted and slaughtered for “scientific purposes.
Japan denies buying the votes of IWC members.
Delegates from the involved countries have been documented:
Admitting that they voted with the whaling countries,because they accepted large amounts of aid from Japan. One delegate claimed he was not sure if his country had any whales in its territorial waters; while other countries are landlocked .
Cash payments were handed to delegates in envelopes at IWC meetings by Japanese officials who picked up the tab for the travel and hotel bills. of co operating members
A supply of call girls were offered to one delegate when fisheries ministers and civil servants visited Japan for meetings.
People, animals and environment are stressed out over the spread of the oil onto the beaches and wildlife sanctuaries in the Florida Keys. Our NC staff arrived in the “Keys” yesterday to read the headlines of a local paper ” Oily slicks will arrive here within the next two days” To observe history in the making, knowing you are possibly photographing the wildlife for the last time before their entire health and habitat are altered maybe forever is a bitter sweet experience. The oil is 75 miles off shore.
Even a dime size drop of oil could kill a bird, when a bird encounters oil on the surface of the water, the oil sticks to its feathers, causing them to mat and separate, impairing the waterproofing and exposing the animals sensitive skin to extremes in temperature. This can result in hypothermia, meaning the bird becomes cold, or hypothermia, which results in overheating. Instinctively, the bird tries to get the oil off its feathers by preening, which results in the animal ingesting the oil. This ingestion can cause severe damage to the bird’s internal organs. The focus on preening overrides all other natural behaviors; including feeding and evading predators, making the bird vulnerable to secondary health problems such as severe weight loss, anemia and dehydration. Many oil soaked birds loose their buoyancy and beach themselves in their attempt to escape the cold water.
BP is currently using in the marshes a snare and absorbent boom to trap the oil.. With the tide changes, They still claim that the booms work “pretty effectively at picking up oil as the tide comes in and out.
Hello what planet are they looking at this spill from?
When oil hits the marshes, it covers the grasses and plants,
leaving the plants with high and low brown tide markings as the water recedes.
The oil soaks into the soil of the marsh lands and barrier islands, eroding the fragile ecological makeup of the wetlands. Oil poisons and suffocates all it covers.
Even with a minor spill, oystermen reported oil-covered oysters ten years after a spill, because of oil seeping into soil.
Some scientists know think we should nuke the oil hole to close the well. Yummy radioactive fish and glowing oil balls falling from the sky-how wonderful!
Using the camera to share a message of hope for the resilience of our oceans, Brian Skerry’s labor of love has been telling the stories of the ocean for thirty years. His images and words covey his deep love and respect portray for endangered wonders of the ocean life, but convey his message of hope, the timeliness, and relevance.
Brian usually lives amongst his subjects for eight months of the year in the field, enduring extreme conditions to capture the complete story of his beloved wildlife above and below the sea. He has lived on the bottom of the sea, spent months aboard fishing boats and dived beneath the Arctic ice to get his shot. He has spent over 10,000 hours underwater.
Brian Skerry has been a photographer for National Geographic Magazine since 1998.
“Thank you for your timeless awesomely beautiful, tender portraits of some of the oceans most endangered creatures as seen in the photographs you shared at the TED presentation.” (Click link )
The once beautiful rare sea turtle is covered in the Gulf of Mexico’s oil. this one is one of the lucky ones that survived to find the caring hands of a wildlife team. It was forced to fight its way through miles and miles of toxic oil. The nesting season for threatened and endangered sea turtles has just begun. The oil has made its way to the loop current that can take it has far as the east coast where the southern migration of the sea turtles from New England to the Caribbean is underway.
These turtles are precious, and Defenders of Wildlife and its consorioum going to go to court to court to save them.
For years, the federal government has been issuing “categorical exclusions” to help fast-track oil and gas exploration and drilling in the Gulf of Mexico – effectively priming the pump for the massive oil slick now jeopardizing the survival of threatened and endangered sea turtles and other wildlife.
Just last week, Defenders of Wildlife and their associate groups called on the Senate to pass legislation to address climate change and the sea level rise that threatens to devastate sea turtle nesting ground without providing incentives for more dangerous offshore drilling.
On Monday May 17, Defenders filed suit in federal court to stop the federal government’s continued use of these “categorical exclusions” and demand an end to the cavalier disregard for the disastrous impact that offshore drilling and exploration can have on sea turtles and other imperiled species.
Thank you for your caring and generous contribution.
Kemp’s ridley and loggerhead sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico are just now beginning to nest on the beaches where they lay their eggs each year. These and other endangered sea turtles are found throughout the coastal and offshore waters of the Gulf.
Possible this is the first time in 200 to 300 years that a Grey whale has been seen off the coast of Israel. It is an adult mammal a mature whale measuring some 12 meters (39 feet) and weighing around 20 tons.
grey whale
The Grey whale was first sighted off Herzliya in central Israel on Saturday May 8. It is possible that it traveled thousands of miles from the north Pacific through the melting ice of the Bering Straights looking for food. It appears to be underweight, and might have gone astray.
“It’s an unbelievable event which has been described as one of the most important whale sightings ever,” said Dr Aviad Scheinin, chairman of the Israel Marine Mammal Research and Assistance Center which identified the creature.
Once the Grey whales were plentiful in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, but the population of the Atlantic Grey whales became extinct in the 17th or 18th centuries. Until this sighting the only remaining colonies live in the western and eastern sectors of the north Pacific.
The Pacific Greys annually travel 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometres) round trip from the northeastern Pacific rim in October to warmer waters around the Gulf of California and back.
So it is possible that this whale when autumn came, began travelling south, keeping the land mass on the left and heading for the Californian Gulf with the aim of “turning left” into the bay.
But instead, it reached Gibraltar and turned left into the Mediterranean and ended up off the shores of Israel, Scheinin said.
“The question now is: are we going to see the re-colonisation of the Atlantic?” he said. “This is very important ecologically because of the change of habitat. It emphasises the climate change that we are going through.”
So far, the whale seems to be happy enough in the waters off the shores of Israel, he said.
“It is pretty thin, which indicates the trip was quite harsh, but we think it can survive here,” he said. “Grey whales are very generalist in what they feed on.”
Is this the first of many Greys to relocate? Keeping waterways clean can foster the re-habitation of many species.
Louisiana’s oil spill came at the worst time possible nesting season.
This is migration, spawning and nesting time for migratory song bird, endangered brown pelican and upwards of 25 million birds a day transit the region in their northern migration. More than 70 percent of the country’s waterfowl frequent the gulf’s waters, including the brown pelican, which is in its nesting season on Breton Island, in the spill’s projected path. That population of birds is still recovering from a previous oil spill that devastated the population.
How many will animals will we lose this time?
Federally protected marine mammals including the endangered whales, dolphins and all species of sea turtles are at the greatest risk. A pod of sperm whales has been sighted near the spill but has so far avoided the area. Endangered sea turtles are more vulnerable to nest they swim to shore to lay eggs on protected beaches.
No animal is safe from being coated with oil as they rise to the surface to breathe. Unable to breathe or by eat uncontaminated sea food they and their young are doomed. If feathers are covered in oil birds will starve, they will fly no more.
There seems to be way too many of these “accidents” of late. Now BP Oil has waited far too long to begin clean up especially since 5,000 barrels of oil are pouring out into the Gulf daily. Gulf is on fire 1800 degrees manmade fires with 1800 feet plume of toxic gases polluting even the air of the Gulf after a rupture in the well over one week ago.
Tonight (without divine intervention) it will invade the coastal wetlands.
Our government wants to open more of this drilling off the shores of our most pristine lands along the coast of Alaska and in our national parks like the Grand Canyon.
Tell your senators to forget it and develop clean sustainable energy instead or your children may not know much of the wildlife we have grown to love and admire.
federal natural resources department and the German Alfred Wegner Institute for Polar and Marine Research, the Toronto Sun reported. The seismic project was to have started as early as this week, the newspaper said.
Hundreds of government and non-profit staff are working in the toxic environment and the hot oppressive weather to find and rescue injured wildlife.
Nature's Crusaders 
You must be logged in to post a comment.