Bush is an asshole. Has he ever been sonared? He's certainly beached himself
Testing can continue off Southern California, despite effects on whales.
SAN DIEGO — While a federal judge ordered the Navy on Jan. 3 to adopt measures that would lessen the impact of sonar on whales during exercises off Southern California, President George W. Bush has exempted the Navy from those restrictions by executive action.
A court injunction issued Jan. 3 would have required the Navy to create a 12-nautical-mile no-sonar zone along the coast and have trained lookouts watch for marine mammals before and during exercises. Sonar would have been shut down if mammals were spotted within 2,200 yards.
However, Bush stated that Navy training exercises using high-power sonar ’are in the paramount interest of the United States.’ While on a state visit to the Middle East, Bush signed an exemption to enable the Navy to ’train effectively and to certify carrier and expeditionary strike groups for deployment in support of worldwide operational and combat activities, which are necessary for national security,’ the president stated in a memo announcing his action.
District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper had barred the Navy from employing sonar in the Catalina Basin, an area that is home to what she called “a high density of marine mammals.” This area extends from Santa Catalina Island south to San Clemente Island.
Cmdr. Jeff Davis said the Navy does not believe the ruling “struck the right balance between national security and environmental concerns.”
The Natural Resources Defense Council had sued to force the Navy to lessen the harm of its sonar exercises. Critics contend sonar has harmful effects on whales, possibly damaging their hearing and navigation ability. The council’s lawsuit alleges the Navy’s sonar causes whales and other mammals to beach themselves.
The Navy has said its sonar exercises are vital for training and claims it already minimizes the risk to marine life.
Before the Jan. 3 court order, the Navy had used or planned to use MFA sonar during 14 large-scale exercises off the Southern California coast between February 2007 and January of 2009.
The Navy’s assessment was that approximately 170,000 marine mammals would be exposed to sonar in these exercises, with more than 450 instances of permanent injury to some whales.
