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| Porpoises die along coast; sonar suspected |
| 2003-05-13 |
| At least a half-dozen dead porpoises have washed up along the Washington and Canadian coasts in recent weeks, according to the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor. The announcement yesterday came one week after whale watchers noticed a shrill pinging sound and saw porpoises and a pod of endangered killer whales fleeing from the waters southwest of San Juan Island. The U.S. Navy confirmed that a destroyer, the USS Shoup, used its sonar when it passed through the area. Ken Balcomb, the center's director, said the porpoises' carcasses would be examined to determine the cause of death. Balcomb said he suspects that sonar played a role. |
| Posted by:Dar |
| #10 I just hate it when animals die without a reason ... without a porpoise. |
| Posted by: ColoradoConservative 2003-05-13 17:00:16 |
| #9 Can you hear sonar out of the water? Seems like an odd report from the whale watchers. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-05-13 12:52:28 |
| #8 I'm with LH. Those damn Dolphins need to get a job, instead playing aroung in the Ocean all day. I'm sure the Navy has a use for them. (Other than killing them with sonar)Some goood old-fashioned military discipline is just what these hooligans need. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2003-05-13 12:49:46 |
| #7 If it comes down to putting a destroyer on the rocks or porpoise survival, well....sorry, Flipper. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-05-13 12:25:56 |
| #6 CC--This issue has gone back several years, so it's not something either party can blame on the other--if either party had anything to do with it in the first place. The British, in any case, have started deploying a system that is supposedly friendlier to the animals, according to this article. |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-05-13 12:15:36 |
| #5 Um, having a bad day, LH? Guess I shouldn't have posted such a politically-charged topic! :-) |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-05-13 12:04:21 |
| #4 no tis all the lefts fault - the porpoises wouldnt even have been near the coasts if they hadnt assumed that Evil Trial lawyers (TM) would have helped them sue if anything happened - and they should have been out working for a living - perhaps high marginal tax rates were at fault? or the miniumum wage? Its all Daschles, fault, and evil Hillary(TM). And Monica - oh, yeah, Monica. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-05-13 11:22:22 |
| #3 No one will notice. The lethal effects of the newer SONAR systems was reported a few years ago and no one noticed then either. It's unfortunate and sad. Who doesn't like dolphins? If they do notice, the granola-eating, tree-hugging hippie solution will be useless. A practical, responsible solution is to increase funding for newer systems which work better and have less effect on the environment. At any rate, a system that scrambles dolphin brains from a distance isn't going to be particularly effective for anything requiring stealth. I'm sure we can do better. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-05-13 11:21:47 |
| #2 and my post about the Chesapeake bay was off-topic? |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-05-13 11:18:50 |
| #1 Do you suppose the left will pin this on the President? Oh, yeah, no doubt about it. |
| Posted by: ColoradoConservative 2003-05-13 10:50:15 |