The US Military’s Willful Slaughter Of Life In The Pacific Ocean
Dane Wigington geoengineeringwatch.org The United States military has become a runaway juggernaut of environmental devastation and destruction. From the global climate engineering assault (that is poisoning the entire planet and ripping Earth's climate and life support systems apart), to the insane, blatant, and willful slaughter of ocean life, the actions of our military are truly beyond rational comprehension. Though many have chosen to primarily blame Fukushima fallout for the shocking North American west coast marine life collapse, there is much more to the story. Recently disclosed emails prove the US Navy's intent to break the law in their ongoing destruction of marine life. How bad is the die-off? The recent headlines below should be a stark wakeup call. “Dead animals litter California beaches… Alarming phenomenon” — “Graveyard of washed-up sea life” — “Influx of malnourished sea creatures” — Experts: We’re really starting to worry… The animals are starving to death… Covered in sores… Stunted growth… Weak immune systems As Pacific sardine collapse worsens, scientists worry about ecosystem ripple Scientists: West Coast bird die-off “is biggest ever recorded” — Stomachs completely empty — “Staggering… Alarming… Unheard of… Never seen anything like it” — “Unprecedented in size, scope, duration” — “Deaths could reach many hundreds of thousands” “Mind Blowing”: Die-off in Pacific far worse than anything ever seen before — Expert: Alarm over what’s happening in ocean — Deaths puzzling gov’t scientists, “I’ve never heard of such a thing anywhere in world” — Reports: Beaches full of bodies… Countless carcasses Collapse of kelp forest imperils North Coast ocean ecosystem What part has the US military likely played in the unfolding catastrophic die-off? The truth is beyond shocking. The important excerpts below are from a just released report from The West Coast Action Alliance. "PACIFIC OCEAN (Sept. 15, 2014) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63) fires a Harpoon missile during a sinking exercise as part of Valiant Shield 2014. Air and sea units from the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force participated in the sinking exercise of the ex-USS Fresno." The West Coast Action Alliance examined the Navy’s Northwest Training and Testing EIS(Environmental Impact Statement) and the Letters of Authorization for incidental takes of marine mammals issued by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service. We found some startling numbers. These numbers apply to the coastal waters of Northern California, Oregon, Washington and Southeast Alaska, as well as inland waters including the San Juan Islands, First, a comparison of baseline to proposed numbers of activities listed in the October 2015 EIS revealed the following: 72% increase in electronic warfare operations, 50% increase in explosive ordance disposal in Crescent Harbor and Hood Canal, 244% increase in air combat maneuvers (dogfighting) 400% increase in air-to-surface missile exercises (including Olympic National Marine Sanctuary), 400% increase in helicopter tracking exercises, 778% increase in number of torpedoes in inland waters, 3,500% increase in number of sonobuoys, From none to 284 sonar testing events in inland waters, From none to 286 “Maritime Security Operations” using 1,320 small-caliber rounds (blanks) in Hood Canal, Dabob Bay, Puget Sound & Strait of Juan de Fuca, 72% increase in chaff dropped from aircraft (contains tiny glass fibers and more than a dozen metals,) 1,150% increase in drone aircraft, 1,150% increase in drone surface vehicles, 1,450% increase in expendable devices. These are just a few. Further ongoing military exercises include on North America's west coast include: 2 ship sinking exercises each year with 24 bombs, 22 missiles, 80 large caliber rounds and 2 heavyweight high explosive torpedoes, 30 air-to-surface bombing exercises, including in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, 160 gunnery exercises with small, medium & large caliber rounds, missiles, and high explosive warheads offshore, includes Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, An active-duty Navy pilot confided that fuel dumping incidents occur more often than the public realizes; they happen about once a month. A “take” is a form of harm ranging from disturbance to injury to death. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act there are two classifications, called Level A and Level B. Level B is mostly harassment, and Level A is injury (or death.) Most takes allowed are in the harassment category, but harassment causes behavior changes such as abandonment of feeding, nursing, and migration habitat. If a marine mammal that relies on echolocation to find food can’t hear, it has to work harder to feed itself. If it can’t take in extra food, it loses weight. A study on the increases in metabolism in bottlenose dolphins showed that after the animals had to work harder to find food or be heard, it took another 7 minutes per episode for oxygen consumption to return to normal levels. That translates eventually to starvation if they cannot find enough food to make up the difference. The problem with Level A harassment is in documenting injuries or deaths; frequent mass strandings have occurred days after naval activity in an area, but in nearly every case the Navy disavows being the cause. They do not allow federal wildlife agency experts aboard their ships because of security concerns about civilians; however, civilian fitness instructors are found on many Navy ships. None of the mitigation measures require the Navy to tow hydrophones to listen for marine mammals before commencing exercises; the Navy’s technology for observing whether marine mammals are present is the same that has been used since the 17th century: two lookouts at the bow of the ship. How can the military machine be so completely out of control? Because, so far, the US population as a whole does not want to be bothered with uncomfortable or "depressing" news and information. Because, so far, most are not at all interested in showing some responsibility toward the greater good by actually investigating what is going on in the world, let alone doing their part to affect positive change. What further details do we have about the US military's ongoing assault against ocean life? The exceptional report from the WCAA continues below. Seal pups are very vulnerable to the "harassment" of the US military's ongoing naval exercises The noise threshold for hearing damage in humans is 85 decibels. For every 10-decibel increase, the intensity of the noise increases by a factor