Posted on 08/31/2007 9:54:20 PM PDT by neverdem
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 31 — A three-judge panel of a federal appeals court here ruled Friday that the Navy could use high-intensity sonar during military exercises in the Pacific, despite worries about its potentially lethal effect on whales and other marine mammals.
The 2-to-1 decision, by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, stays a temporary injunction on the sonar’s use that was handed down in early August by a federal district judge in Los Angeles. It is the latest turn in a lengthy seesaw battle between the military and environmental groups over this so-called midfrequency sonar, intense underwater blasts of sound that the Navy uses to track quiet-running submarines.
Judge Andrew J. Kleinfeld, writing for himself and Judge Consuelo M. Callahan, said that while the sonar might be “quite harmful” to marine mammals, the current state of the world necessitated military readiness.
“The public does indeed have a very considerable interest in preserving our natural environment and especially relatively scarce whales,” Judge Kleinfeld wrote. “But it also has an interest in national defense.”
Judge Milan D. Smith Jr. dissented, largely on the ground that the Navy had not demonstrated that it was likely to prevail at trial of the underlying suit, brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council and other plaintiffs.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Did anybody notice any detriment to sea-life during WWII?
I’m ambivalent regarding this.
Do any of these liberal idiots have any idea how much damage to sea life would occur if a nuclear powerplant were to be hit by a torpedo? Not to mention thousands of pounds of fuel leaking into the ocean from torpedoed wrecks.
I’m also sure that randomly tossed depth charges and hedgehogs would also damage a lot more sea life than precision guided ones.
Morons. Absolute morons.
Are these activist groups the zenith of these freaks’ lives? Do they eventually get real jobs?
Another Bush judge screw up?
Judge Milan D. Smith Jr.
Nominated in 2006
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/judicialnominees/m-smith.html
This is an amazing ruling, considering it came from the 9th Circuit. The Navy folks should count themselves the recipients of divine providence.
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The thing would like to know is did the “Natural Resources Defense Council and other plaintiffs” also bring suit in the courts of the other countries whose navies use it?
I wonder if they flew into China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, etc to file suit in their courts about this pressing danger to the worlds water mammals?
If it is even that much of a danger, why after WWII were there any water mammals left?
Let me preface this by saying I am completely on board with the US Navy on this, but...I suspect the high intensity sonar they are talking about was not available in WWII.
Any sub-drivers out there who can confirm this? I think technology has created the ability to focus a very, very high intensity sound that has the ability to travel further underwater than was ever conceivable back then.
Thanks for the ping!
Good Lord...what would cause two comments to be removed by a moderator in a thread like this?
IIRC, an army of liberal lawyers just signed on to FR with that screename, and commenced with spouting nonsense like do you know for sure if the Russian and Chinese Navies use similar sonars, etc.
Another troll was zotted. LOL!
Ah...well then.
The answer to that is yes, they do, their sonars just aren’t quite as good.
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