Noise Pollution Becoming a Bigger Problem in the World’s Oceans

We’ve already sullied the oceans of the world with oil, chemicals and trash.  Now, you can add another type of pollution to that list – a type that cleanup crews, no matter how passionate, can’t control. Noise levels in the oceans have reached such high levels that whales, dolphins and other marine mammals can’t properly communicate.  It’s so bad, that some species of whales have actually died because of it.

From Mental Floss:

It’s not so much that the noise we humans produce underwater is greater than what we produce on land, but that creatures of the sea are so much more sensitive to it. Baleen whales emit low-frequency calls that can travel a thousand miles in water — an essential kind of long-distance calling plan for an animal whose kind are far more sparsely distributed than before commercial whaling took hold. Other kinds of whales and dolphins use high-frequency clicks to locate prey, and sound is important to all marine mammals “in ways that are clearly important to their survival, though not completely understood,” according to the BBC.

And it’s not just high-energy sonar from naval operations that’s drowning them out — the engines and propellers of large ships, whose movements across the open ocean are mostly unrestricted, can be a major problem, as well as the seismic blasts associated with offshore drilling operations (drill, Willy, drill!).

This video shows the effect of sonar on whales:

Can we do anything right, when it comes to our influence on our surroundings? Humans really are like a virus, spreading across the earth and negatively affecting nearly everything we come into contact with.  We really haven’t thought beyond our immediate needs, and how our actions affect the world.

Link [Mental Floss]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Bullet Proof Vest Saves Anti-Whaling Activist from Japanese Whaler’s Bullet

It’s on! Japanese whalers have fired a shot in their ongoing battle with anti-whaling protesters, literally. Protesters Captain Paul Watson, of the very proactively active group Seas Shepherd, allegedly got hit in his bullet proof vest after being shot at by Japanese whalers on the high seas of Antarctic whaling grounds. Sea Shepherd doesn’t pussy foot around- their plan is to use any means possible to disrupt the Japanese whale hunt. If the world isn’t going to outright ban whaling, we should at least open up the rules to allow anyone to shoot back at the whalers. Then film the battles and package as a TV show and coffee table book. I’d pay to see that. Link [The Earth Times]

Ripping Off Mother Nature For Design Tips Nets Better Wind Turbines

Biomimicry is the new hotness. Nature has done a pretty damn good job of figuring out the right way to design for efficiency and it’s the smart designer who can pull out those lesson to apply to their work. Wind turbines are now getting the whale flipper treatment. It turns out that the bumps on the edge of a whale’s flippers make it a more efficient paddler. When those bumps are added to wind turbines they are 20% more efficient at moving air and have 32% less drag. Those are huge numbers in efficiency jumps. When you have a wind farm that makes hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars a year, even a 10% jump in output adds up a lot of extra bottom line.

Smart green design is going to make a whole lotta folks a whole lotta money.

Link [Ecogeek]

Bush 0 Whales 1, Federal Court Rules Against Use of Navy Sonar

President George Bush got smacked down by Johnny Law this week when a federal court over-ruled a White House exemption allowing the U.S. Navy to use whale-damaging sonar. According to the court decision, Navy ships can’t use sonar within 12 nautical miles of California, must turn it off when whales are spotted and avoid places where they live.

I’m not sure they have quite thought this thru. Whales are sea mammals. Therefore they live in the sea. Therefore the ENTIRE sea is out of bounds for Navy vessels?

We think this is a remarkable development and we will be looking forward to seeing a case in court on behalf of the Leopard Gecko (Iraq desert) and the Steppe Eagle (Afghanistan).

In fact, we hope in future armed conflicts will have to consider the full Environmental Impacts from the start.

“Sorry George,” says Condy “there is a rare newt in Tehran. We’ll just have to relocate the war someplace else”.

Link [Terra Daily]