tagged w/ Environmentalism
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Los Angeles Times...
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PHOTO: Congress removed wolves in Montana and Idaho from the protection of the Endangered Species Act in April. (Associated Press)
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The new war on wolves
As soon as federal protection ended, the slaughter began.
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By J. William Gibson
December 8, 2011
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Congress removed wolves in Montana and Idaho from the protection of the Endangered Species Act in April. And this fall, the killing began.
As of Wednesday, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game reported that 154 of its estimated 750 wolves had been "harvested" this year. Legal hunting and trapping — with both snares to strangle and leg traps to capture — will continue through the spring. And if hunting fails to reduce the wolf population sufficiently — to less than 150 wolves — the state says it will use airborne shooters to eliminate more.
In Montana, hunters will be allowed to kill up to 220 wolves this season (or about 40% of the state's roughly 550 wolves). To date, hunters have taken only about 100 wolves, prompting the state to extend the hunting season until the end of January. David Allen, president of the powerful Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, has said he thinks hunters can't do the job, and he is urging the state to follow Idaho's lead and "prepare for more aggressive wolf control methods, perhaps as early as summer 2012."
Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead recently concluded an agreement with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to save 100 to 150 wolves in lands near Yellowstone National Park. But in the remaining 80% of the state, wolves can be killed year-round because they are considered vermin. Roughly 60% of Wyoming's 350 wolves will become targeted for elimination.
What is happening to wolves now, and what is planned for them, doesn't really qualify as hunting. It is an outright war.
In the mid-1990s, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released 66 wolves in Yellowstone and central Idaho, most of the U.S. celebrated. The magnificent wolf, an icon of wilderness that humans had driven to extinction in the United States, would now reoccupy part of its old range. But in the region where the wolves were introduced, the move was much more controversial.
Part of the reason was the increase, particularly in Idaho and Montana, in paramilitary militia advocates, with their masculine ideal of man as warrior who should fight the hated federal government, by armed force if necessary. They were outraged by what they saw as federal interference in the region spurred by environmentalists, and their ideas found a willing reception among ranchers, who view wolves as a threat to their livestock — even though they ranch on federal land — and hunters, who don't want the wolves reducing the big game population.
The factions have reinforced one another, and today a cultural mythology has emerged that demonizes the federal government, the environmental movement and the wolves themselves. Many false claims have been embraced as truth, including that the Fish and Wildlife Service stole $60 million from federal excise taxes on guns and ammunition to pay for bringing wolves back; that the introduced wolves carry horrible tapeworms that can be easily transmitted to dogs, and ultimately to humans; that the Canadian wolves that were brought in are an entirely different species from the gray wolves that once lived in the Rockies, and that these wolves will kill elk, deer, livestock — even humans — for sport.
The false claims may have had particular resonance because they built on a long tradition in Western culture. During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church ruled that wolves belonged to the devil: Demons could take the shape of wolves, as could witches. Puritans brought similar ideas to America. Cotton Mather called New England before it was settled a "howling wilderness." Asked to investigate Salem's alleged witches, Mather concluded in his book, "On Witchcraft" (1692): "Evening wolves" (werewolves and witches) were but another of the devil's tests as New England passed from "wilderness" to the "promised land."
And that attitude has persisted. Gary Marbut, president of the influential Montana Shooting Sports Assn., wrote in 2003 that "one might reasonably view man's entire development and creation of civilization as a process of fortifying against wolves."
Politicians from both parties in Western states have been eager to help with the fortifications. In Idaho, Republican Rep. Mike Simpson and the state's governor, Butch Otter, made removal of wolves from the Endangered Species Act a political priority. In Montana, Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg has made delisting wolves central to his 2012 Senate campaign against Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. In April, Tester in turn persuaded fellow Democrats in the Senate to approve his inserting a rider in a budget bill that delisted wolves.
In early November, Sen. Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, made his own political contribution. Thrilled at the testing of a drone aircraft manufactured in Montana, Baucus declared: "Our troops rely on this type of technology every day, and there is an enormous future potential in border security, agriculture and wildlife and predator management." A manufacturer's representative claimed his company's drone "can tell the difference between a wolf and a coyote." Pilotless drone aircraft used by the CIA and the Air Force to target and kill alleged terrorists now appear to be real options to track and kill "enemy" wolves.
How far we have fallen since the mid-1990s, when we celebrated the wolves' reintroduction. During the 2008 presidential election, candidate Barack Obama declared: "Federal policy toward animals should respect the dignity of animals and their rightful place as cohabitants of the environment. We should strive to protect animals and their habitats and prevent animal cruelty, exploitation and neglect."
The president now should make good on that promise.
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J. William Gibson is a sociology professor at Cal State Long Beach and the author of "A Reenchanted World." http://www.jameswilliamgibson.com
.Los Angeles Times...
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PHOTO: Congress removed wolves in Montana and Idaho from... more
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Welcome to Dharavi where residents are reaching for the sky. They want Dharavi to surpass London as a great city. Unlike the poverty tourism and accolades awarded to communitarian slum living by the likes of Prince Charles and Kevin McCloud, Dharavi residents think big. Sadhvi Sharma takes us through the streets and introduces us to aspirant families for whom Dharavi is a place of transition. The least we can do, she argues, is support their aspirations.Welcome to Dharavi where residents are reaching for the sky. They want Dharavi to... more
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If you have ever been to Disney then you know about its famous monorail system. But did you also know that the Disney monorail was the first daily operating monorail in the Western hemisphere, or that it carries some 50 million passengers per year? Other monorails have made an equally impressive impact, including the Tokyo monorail, which averages 127,000 passengers a day. With such proven results in moving large numbers of people, why are monorails only largely designated to shuttle services between airports and hotels?
(Photo credit: Getty Images)
The monorail, like the PRT, has had a difficult time getting the green light for developing new and more complex systems. Primary resistance has come from local government agencies deeming monorails a high-risk investment. A major disadvantage for the monorail system is its incompatibility with other types of rail infrastructure, which would make service on mainline (train) tracks impossible. This means an entirely new system would have to be installed, which would be both costly and time-consuming. There are several advantages however, of these systems – mainly that they require less space both horizontally and vertically than conventional railways. Monorails also have a smaller footprint and are seen as a more attractive alternative to traditional railways, they are quieter and safer as they are incapable of derailing.
Personal Rapid Transit systems, like the ones featured in this week’s video segment are similarly attractive as monorail systems in terms of public transportation services. Their quiet ride, safety and low environmental impact make them an ideal solution for mass transit. However, as with the monorails, they also face tough opposition from groups citing lack of research into urban integration and access considerations on elevated tracks.
If you could choose a new type of public transportation for your city, what would it be?If you have ever been to Disney then you know about its famous monorail system. But... more
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Developing safer, cleaner methods of transportation are key components of urban planning. A Brooklyn based architect, Dr. Mitchell Joachim, founded Terreform1, a group committed to exploring and solving the issues surrounding human transportation in an urban setting. Their designs imagine new ecological solutions to communities and vehicles while remaining energy and resource efficient.Developing safer, cleaner methods of transportation are key components of urban... more
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CNN...
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U.S. beefs up conservation efforts for endangered sea turtles
By Shelby Lin Erdman, CNN Radio
September 18, 2011 8:03 p.m. EDT
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PHOTO: Loggerhead turtles will be divided into nine distinct population groups based on where they live, according to new regulations.
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(CNN) -- The government has revised its rules on sea turtles to try to decrease the number killed every year and reduce the threats they face.
The new regulations place the Loggerhead turtle into nine distinct population groups, depending on where they live, instead of listing the marine animal as a single worldwide species. In all nine segments the turtles are listed as either threatened or endangered.
Officials at both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, both responsible for overseeing the turtle conservation efforts, say they can better address the challenges the turtles face with the new geographical division.
Loggerhead or marine turtles live in tropical and subtropical waters around the world. The new "distinct population segments" for the turtles are: The Northeast Atlantic Ocean group, the Mediterranean Sea, the North Indian Ocean, the North Pacific Ocean, the South Pacific Ocean, the Northwest Atlantic, which includes the Gulf of Mexico and our Atlantic Coast, the South Atlantic Ocean, the Southeast Indo-Pacific Ocean and the Southwest Indian Ocean.
Researchers estimate more than 4,500 loggerheads are killed every year by commercial fishing, but environmentalists believe the number is probably much higher.
Commercial fishing is one of the biggest risks for the turtles, whether they live in the Indian, Pacific or Atlantic oceans, said Jim Lecky, the fisheries director for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"They all continue to be challenged by a number of threats, incidental capture in fishing gear, longlines, gill nets, trawl gear, trap and pot lines, which tangle turtles and other species, and dredges; all have incidental mortality of sea turtles in those fisheries," he said.
But Lecky says that's not the only threat for the turtles. "They are all also challenged by losses of habitat, degradation of nesting habitat. There still is direct harvest of eggs in adults ... at some level and they are all subject to vessel strikes."
The turtles are facing all those threats, but at different levels. So the new rules will allow fine-tuning of sea turtle conservation measures and regulations.
"We believe that this revised listing of the Loggerhead will help us and our partners to better focus recovery and conservation efforts by allowing us to take a more regional approach. But, again, the separation of Loggerhead into these population groups will not reduce our current conservation efforts," said Sandy MacPherson, the national sea turtle coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
MacPherson also told CNN Radio, "These new listings will help us to provide more focused recovery and conservation, as well as more focused threat analysis and evaluation of conservation successes."
The Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement that Loggerhead populations "need more protection to survive this century."
The rule revisions also included designating five regional populations as endangered species, which the group characterized as "a wake-up call that a whole host of threats, from oil spills, channel dredging and commercial trawling to longline and gillnet fisheries, continue to kill off turtles faster than the animals can possibly hope to reproduce."
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CNN's Ninette Sosa and Barbara Hall both contributed to this report.CNN...
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U.S. beefs up conservation efforts for endangered sea turtles
By... more
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Traffic congestion is a major factor affecting the air quality in urban areas. With the average driver spending up to one year of their lifetime searching for a parking space, it is no surprise that vehicles in Paris emit 2 million tons of Co2 annually. Roughly 30% of all traffic in Paris is the result of cars looking for a parking spot.
How do you deal with traffic congestion?
Be sure to check out current.com/urbanmobility for more news, community discussions and upcoming videos about Urban Mobility.
Traffic congestion is a major factor affecting the air quality in urban areas. With... more
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What can you make with 65 old, used shipping containers? How about a huge building with an amphitheater, offices and a sustainable development educational center.
The complex of 65 shipping containers is the creation of the Los Angeles-based architectural firm APHIDoIDEA. Acronymically and rather clumsily named the eCORRE (Environmental Center of Regenerative Research Education), the building would primarily serve as an environmental education center for Long Beach, California. The complex includes a public plaza underneath raised and angled shipping containers in the middle of the structure.
http://design.spotcoolstuff.com/shipping-container-architecture/creative-long-beach-eco-centerWhat can you make with 65 old, used shipping containers? How about a huge building... more
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The T.25 is an innovative concept in car design. With an average operation cost 50% less than the average consumer vehicle and 40% less emissions, it would be the most cost and fuel efficient car on the market. However, design is not the most important aspect of creating a futuristic car. Improved efficiency in production and shipping are also taken into account when turning the world of car manufacturing on its head.
Now that you've seen one concept of car design, tell us what does your car of the future look like?
Be sure to check out current.com/urbanmobility for more news, community discussions and upcoming videos about Urban Mobility.The T.25 is an innovative concept in car design. With an average operation cost 50%... more
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600 million cars on the planet equals a lot of traffic. When you consider how much fossil fuel is required run these cars, in addition to the energy used to create them, it becomes clear that developing more efficient ways to build cars can be as important as reducing vehicle emissions.
In this week’s Urban Mobility segment, Gordon Murray, a former Formula One racecar designer, uses his knowledge of lightweight materials to construct a prototype road car that would drastically reduce the energy required for vehicle production by 60%.
After seeing Gordon’s factory design and concept car, what kinds of features would you like to see in the Car of the Future?600 million cars on the planet equals a lot of traffic. When you consider how much... more
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600 million cars on the planet equals a lot of traffic. When you consider how much fossil fuel is required run these cars, in addition to the energy used to create them, it becomes clear that developing more efficient ways to build cars can be as important as reducing vehicle emissions.
In this week’s Urban Mobility segment, Gordon Murray, a former Formula One racecar designer, uses his knowledge of lightweight materials to construct a prototype road car that would drastically reduce the energy required for vehicle production by 60%.[insert video segment]After seeing Gordon’s factory design and concept car, what kinds of features would you like to see in the Car of the Future?
600 million cars on the planet equals a lot of traffic. When you consider how much... more
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For more about thommo and conspoetry visit http://www.conspoetry.com
Please Help Me
"I am thommo and I am a human being. I write this open request for help to all other human beings on this beautiful planet we share. The world that I am currently living in appears to be broken. It's not irreparable, but it is not far off. That's why I need every one to help me.
In my world, all the resources are used for the financial gain of big corporations and a greedy few that control them. They hold power over the governments in my world and none of them are interested in the needs of their people, in fact, many of them are actively trying to get rid of us. Also in my world, the people are very sick. Unfortunately all our scientists are trained by and have their research paid for by the big corporations. They no longer strive to make life better for us all, merely to make more money. They create cures and then invent the illness. They no longer look to prevent disease, they look to 'treat' it, prolonging the suffering and maximising the revenue stream. They tamper with the genetics of our crops 'for the good of mankind' as if mankind and nature didn't have it pretty well sorted already! Soon all our food will be genetically modified and so will we. Our scientists keep quiet when harmful chemicals and drugs are added to our food and water because if they spoke out they would lose their funding. Our power needs are based on dangerous nuclear power and resource wasting fossil fuels. We have the technology in my world to produce all our power through renewable resources such as solar and geothermal. There is little money in free energy so the corporations block the scientists from finding ways to utilise it for the good of us all. I need your help to set the scientists in my world free so that they can do what they are supposed to"~
(Although I have a biased opinion, I am so proud of what Zaniwhoop has created. We could spend years debating what is wrong in fine detail, but that leads to inaction and nothing will change! An easy place to start is positive thought and it will have such a big affect on everyone. That will give people the strength to unite globally to say 'no more' to the power structure that currently exists. Think positively, act with love and make the change you want happen. Peace, love & respect)~ thommoFor more about thommo and conspoetry visit http://www.conspoetry.com
Please Help Me... more
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What would you do in the event of a zombie invasion?
A social experiment that asks people to look at their irrational fears juxtaposed to a very real crisis within our environment.What would you do in the event of a zombie invasion?
A social experiment that asks... more
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Interesting piece by Leo Hickman…
Watching from afar how the environmental debate plays out in the US can be perplexing for many onlookers. Arguably, nowhere is the so-called "culture war" between left and right so heavily fought.
What is often not fully absorbed by onlookers, though, is the underlying role that religious doctrine – or "pulpit power" - plays in the environmental debate in the US. On the one hand, you have the "Creation Care" movement which is prevalent in some quarters of the Christian Church. On the other, particularly among evangelicals, you often see a vitriolic reaction aimed towards environmentalism.
Just last month, a survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors found that 41% strongly disagreed with the statement: "I believe global warming is real and manmade." The survey also found that 52% of the pastors address the issue of the environment with their churches once a year or less, with evangelical pastors speaking less often on the environment than mainline pastors.
When, in 2007, I interviewed the Bishop of London in the midst of his "fast" from flying, I asked him about this issue. He was scornful of evangelicals who "justify and sanctify irresponsible, anti-social behaviour" though a very literal interpretation of the Old Testament's "mythological language".
Much of this debate seems to centre on the interpretation of one of the most contentious verses in the Bible – the so-called Dominion Mandate, or Genesis 1:28:
And God blessed them [Adam and Eve], and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the Earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the Earth.
An organisation in the US called the Cornwall Alliance has intentionally and prominently positioned itself at the very heart of this debate. It describes itself as "a coalition of clergy, theologians, religious leaders, scientists, academics, and policy experts committed to bringing a balanced Biblical view of stewardship to the critical issues of environment and development". Its board of advisors features many religious leaders and thinkers, but includes scientists such as the climate sceptic Dr Roy Spencer. Dr. E. Calvin Beisner, its spokesman, is a prominent media figure in the US, appearing on shows such as Fox News' Glenn Beck, where he dispenses his harsh criticism of environmentalism.
Continued at The Guardian...Interesting piece by Leo Hickman…
Watching from afar how the environmental... more
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Los Angeles Times...
Photo: A federally threatened desert tortoise looks out of its burrow in the Ivanpah Valley in the eastern Mojave Desert. Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times
Endangered tortoises delay Mojave Desert solar plant
April 28, 2011 | 12:18 pm
Tortoise allen j. schaben
The Obama administration has halted the building of two-thirds of a massive solar project in San Bernardino's Mojave Desert as a new federal assessment found that more than 600 endangered desert tortoises would die as a result of construction.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management assessment this week disputed the estimate by BrightSource Energy, developer of the 392 MW solar thermal plant, that only 38 of the reptiles would be disturbed by construction at the 5.6-square mile Ivanpah Valley site near Primm, Nev. [corrected: an earlier version of this post said 5.6 acres]
Questions concerning the California tortoises highlight the friction between wilderness conservation and the quest for cleaner power. Many environmentalists contend it would be preferable to subsidize smaller solar arrays on commercial and residential rooftops, or on industrial acreage, than offer government loan guarantees to large complexes on wildlands that require transmission lines to transport the electricity to urban areas.
The federal order suspends construction activity on most of the Ivanpah project until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service redrafts a previous scientific opinion on the effect on the tortoise, which may come as soon as next month. The Oakland-based BrightSource recently received a $1.6-billion federal loan guarantee for the project and intends to raise $250 million more after taking the company public.
In a statement, company spokesman Keely Wachs said the new government projections “are not consistent with the actual numbers of tortoise found on the project site. It appears that the largest concentrations of tortoise are outside the project and in areas that we designed the project to avoid."
The BLM's new assessment estimates that more than 3,000 acres of tortoise habitat would eventually be lost as a result of construction, and more than 160 adult tortoises in the project area will have to be captured and moved, in addition to 600 dying as a result of the project.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will use the new estimates to determine whether finishing the project puts the species in jeopardy. If not, the agency is expected to set new limits on how many animals may be killed, injured or harassed.
Environmentalists wanted the energy complex relocated because they said it will harm tortoises. But BrightSource made design changes intended to alleviate environmental concerns.Los Angeles Times...
Photo: A federally threatened desert tortoise looks out of... more
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Plastic is strangling our oceans and the life therein. Take a look at this brief but powerful video that chronicles how our "lifestyles" are killing marine life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McrJc5w5mhkPlastic is strangling our oceans and the life therein. Take a look at this brief but... more
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"Prescription for Survival": A Debate on the Future of Nuclear Energy Between Anti-Coal Advocate George Monbiot and Anti-Nuclear Activist Dr. Helen Caldicott
The crisis in Japan has refueled the rigorous global debate about the viability of nuclear power. Japan remains in a "state of maximum alert" as the experts scramble to contain radiation that is leaking from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. Nuclear energy remains a controversial topic in climate change discourse, as environmental activists argue how to best reduce the amount of greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere—often the debate pits one non-renewable energy against another as renewable energy technology and research remains underfunded. Democracy Now! hosts a debate today about the future of nuclear energy between British journalist George Monbiot and Dr. Helen Caldicott. Monbiot has written extensively about the environmental and health dangers caused by burning coal for energy, and despite the Fukushima catastrophe, stands behind nuclear power. Caldicott is a world-renowned anti-nuclear advocate who has spent decades warning of the medical hazards posed by nuclear technologies, and while agreeing about the dangers of burning coal, insists the best option is to ban nuclear power."Prescription for Survival": A Debate on the Future of Nuclear Energy... more
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Dolphins die after underwater Navy training exercise near San Diego
Three of the marine mammals were found dead this month during explosives training near the coast. The long-beaked common dolphins showed injuries consistent with blast trauma.
Genetic testing showed that the dead dolphins were long-beaked common dolphins, like these off San Pedro. (Pete Thomas, Los Angeles Times / March 25, 2011)
By Tony Barboza, Los Angeles Times
March 26, 2011
Three dolphins died this month during a Navy training exercise using underwater explosives near the San Diego County coast, authorities said Friday.
Scientists have yet to officially determine what caused the deaths at the Silver Strand Training Complex near Coronado, but examinations of the animals showed injuries consistent with blast trauma.
The unit conducting the underwater training exercises March 4 had scanned the area and spotted no marine mammals before starting a countdown to detonate the explosives about 10:45 a.m., said Cmdr. Greg Hicks, spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Third Fleet.
"They saw the dolphins before the explosives went off, but it came so late it would have put humans at risk to stop the process," he said. "After the detonation, despite all required protective actions taken to avoid marine mammal impacts, three dolphins were found dead in the area."
After the explosion, government biologists retrieved the carcasses and took them to a veterinary lab at SeaWorld to conduct necropsies.
Genetic testing showed that the animals were long-beaked common dolphins, said Sarah Wilkin, a marine mammal biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service, which is responsible for investigating sick, injured and dead marine mammals.
Samples from the carcasses are being analyzed to rule out other factors that could have contributed to the deaths, such as disease or poisoning.
Wilkin said the deaths should not have a significant impact on the species' population. There are an estimated 15,000 long-beaked common dolphins along the California coast. While protected under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, the species is not considered threatened or endangered.
Conservationists have wrangled with the Navy in the past about military operations, but experts said they knew of no previous incidents in the region of dolphin fatalities involving explosives.
Most of the controversy over the effects of military training on marine life in recent years has centered on sonar.
Environmentalists have argued that the Navy's sonar exercises can deafen and even kill whales and other marine life. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the military in 2008.
The Navy has been working with the National Marine Fisheries Service on permits and protocols for exercises at the Silver Strand facility, Wilkin said.
Environmental groups said the dolphin deaths show that the military needs to take further precautions to protect marine life from explosives.
"It underscores that the Navy trains with a lot of technology that is harmful to the marine environment, said Michael Jasny, senior policy analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "It is therefore imperative that it take every available step to prevent harm."
After learning of the deaths this week, Jasny wrote a letter to the Navy asking for a public investigation into the incident and for the suspension of similar explosives exercises until the chain of events is understood.
The Navy said the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit involved in the incident "conducted the underwater training in accordance with all operational training and safety guidelines as well as observed all protective measures and assessment protocols and monitoring of the area."
"Obviously, this was a very unfortunate incident," Hicks said.
A Navy investigation, he said, is underway to determine what went wrong and whether further measures may be required to protect marine mammals in future training exercises.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is also looking into whether two additional long-beaked common dolphins that washed ashore dead in La Jolla and Oceanside the following week are connected to explosives training exercises.Dolphins die after underwater Navy training exercise near San Diego
Three of the... more
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Reverb, led by Guster's Adam Gardner, is greening concert tours with one foot in the environmental world and one foot in the rock world.Reverb, led by Guster's Adam Gardner, is greening concert tours with one foot in... more
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dtriff
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added this
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11 months ago
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