The Killing of Earth's Whales by Sonar

The Killing of Earth's Whales by Sonar
US Navy, and NATO test Low Frequency Active Sonar
(LFAS) system to
detect diesel and nuclear submarines.

The information you are about to read in this article
is not pleasant,
and is very sad. It questions the wisdom of the
scientific quest, and
makes you want to stop this unbelievable madness.

"Insights", as a Conscious E-Zine, presents issues and
ideas that are
not always pleasant, but need to be expressed due to
their severity,
and need for awareness.

The internet has become a global voice and by
presenting this
awareness we can better question our own actions, and
how that may
impact our surrondings and our planet. It is clear
beyond doubt that
current ideology is allowing not only the killing of
ocaen life, but
indigenous people, forests, rivers and waterways, and
ultimately our
own species. As writer and publisher for "Insights" I
too try to
express my opinions, as we all should, now that we
have access to a
global communications medium. If you think that our
planet is not in
serious trouble then this article will pin point a
devastating look at
what technolgy and poor thinking is doing to the
oldest living
creatures on Earth.

I wish with all my heart I could weild the power to
stop this
activity. I want it to stop. We should all want it to
stop. Why must
it continue? Please use this information to help
others become informed.
Willard Van De Bogart - Publisher "Insights"

"BEWARE, THE BEACHED CANARIES*" What Stranded Dolphins
and Whales are
Trying to Tell us About a Global Emergency Beneath the
Sea"

By Bobbie Sandoz

(*The death of canaries taken into coal mines warned
the miners of
trouble below.)

In the last few months, hundreds of dolphins are
washing up dead along
European shores while dolphins and whales are again
playing with
people in Hawaii after two years of ignoring them
following our
government sonifying these high level beings in their
own Marine
Sanctuary. This grateful return of their friendliness
toward humans in
Hawaii is clearly an act of forgiving the
unforgivable. In January,
hundreds of dolphins stranded along our eastern coast,
while a
superpod of orcas off California circled a group of
boats to flirt and
play with the people aboard, then remained afloat on
the surface as
the sun set on their fins. A similar contrast occurred
last summer
when a group of San Juan Orcas appeared in time to
appreciate a human
concert given in their honor, showing particular
interest in Amazing
Grace, or forgiveness without merit, while hundreds of
their gray
whale cousins washed up dead on west coast shores.

Although these events contribute to an uneasy yet
growing pattern of
marine mammal strandings juxtaposed to their kindness
to us, there has
been little media coverage of this disturbing
phenomenon or a true
investigation of why it is happening. Are we so
indifferent that we
don't really care or is there a massive cover-up....or
both?

To add to the disquiet of these events, independent
scientists
strongly disagree with government-funded "experts" on
the true effect
of an extremely intense and apparently lethal force
going into the
ocean called low frequency active sonar (LFAS) that
appears to be
leaving a trail of corpses in its path. Yet, in spite
of the
controversy over its safety, our government is pushing
forward to
deploy this risky technology in 80% of the world's
oceans in an
apparent effort to get it underway before the public
learns more about it.

Will we remain cooperatively in denial, uninformed,
and dangerously
silent in the face of this potential planetary
holocaust as we have in
the past, or will we awaken in time to stop this
serious threat to all
marine life? And, if we fail to respond, what will the
consequences be
for our own survival and souls?

In view of a possible cover-up buttressed by our
indifference, could
it be that the intelligent dolphins and whales are
making their way to
our public and popular shores before dying in order to
serve as
"beached canaries" that warn of something amiss in
their hidden world
beneath the sea? If so, will their massive deaths at
our feet pull us
out of deep moral slumber or fall on the cold hearts
of an uncaring
species? **The LFAS Story** Following a brief yet
troubled period of
LFAS testing at levels far below those planned for
actual use that
resulted in trauma and death, this reckless technology
is in the
process of being pushed toward premature deployment in
80% of the
world's oceans.

Sadly, slick propaganda programs dispensed by in-house
"experts" have
succeeded in convincing a slumbering media and
uninformed populous
that the dolphins and whales are unaffected by
intensely explosive
blasts ripping through their ocean home with sustained
intensity for
hundreds of miles, causing damage and death in their
wake.

Thus, in contrast to government claims of safety,
outraged boat
captains, swimmers, independent researchers, and
environmentalists
have observed this technology to be highly disruptive
and deadly to
marine life, even at the considerably lower decibels
used during brief
public testing than those planned for actual extensive
and classified use.

Even more frustrating, the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS),
established to protect marine life, appears to be
aligned with the
government-funded "experts" promoting LFAS. They also
appear to be
ignoring required protocol in order to prematurely
slip the U.S. Navy
a permit to harass and kill whales which will serve as
the green light
needed to unleash this risky technology into full and
unfettered,
classified deployment.

Eerily, the NMFS is also the organization assigned to
oversee the
testing done on the "beached canaries" stranding on
our shores. Yet,
while they publicly serve as the protector of marine
life, behind the
scenes they seem to prefer keeping these strandings in
the category of
an "unsolved mystery" to risking discovery of a
possible connection to
sonar exposure by checking their ears for rupture or
their tissue for
signs of explosion and shredding. Instead of
conducting these
revealing tests, they offer vague explanations that
don't hold up,
while focusing their search for answers solely on
viruses, red tides,
and other toxic algae that were neither in the problem
areas nor have
caused this kind of cetacean carnage in the past. In
view of this
seeming bias in favor of LFAS and the dual role it
creates for the
NMFS, should they ever concede to test the ears or
tissue of stranded
marine corpses for sonar exposure, the public would be
wise to insist
that non government-funded and independent researchers
bear witness to
their exams.

It's also important to notice that the brain and
tissue fissures,
lesions, and ruptures as well as mass starvation
consistently found in
these and other recent marine mammal corpses resemble
the symptoms of
sonar exposure described by the Marine Mammal
Commission when in 1997
they predicted that lung and tissue hemorrhage and
trauma in marine
mammals (and fish) as well as cavity explosion and
hearing loss
causing subsequent starvation was likely to occur if
LFAS was employed
worldwide as proposed.

So why is the connection between these known symptoms
of sonar
exposure (similar to microwave explosions) and those
found in stranded
marine mammal corpses being ignored -- especially when
sonar
activities are rumored to be taking place in several
of the affected
areas?

And, now that we are on the brink of full deployment
of this
unexamined force, will the American public awaken in
time to make the
connection, check its validity, and if there is a
connection, stop the
madness? Or, will we remain drugged by our usual
denial and the
silence of fear and apathy as we have during other
holocausts at human
hands, enabling yet more government crimes against
nature and others
as well as ourselves?

Could this be the pivotal point at which humans decide
if we will
orchestrate our own self-destruction with our
typically passive
response to impersonal government actions or rally as
caring
individuals in time to uncover the path of our more
conscious,
courageous, and higher selves as well as a safe and
golden future for
our world, ourselves, our children, and our
grandchildren?

I was pondering these questions one day as I swam in a
bay amidst 50
dolphins who approached and circled me, then stayed to
play for over
an hour. I was surprised by their visit in view of my
mood, since they
usually avoid me when my thoughts are weighty. But, on
this particular
day they swam near me to play, show off their babies,
and engage me in
beguiling and flirty gazes. I reflected on my decade
of friendship
with these high- level beings and the notable lessons
I had learned
from them that I had not learned from humans about how
to be a more
loving and joyful human being. I wondered as I swam if
my species
would have the wisdom to allow the sweet grace of
these bright and
loving beings to serve as mirrors reflecting our need
to seek a higher
place in ourselves where we might act as kindly toward
others as
cetaceans do. I also thought of the American Indian
elders predicting
that whatever happens to "the great beast" -- or whale
-- will also
happen to humanity, and I wondered which fork in the
road of our
forecasted futures we would take -- the Apocalypse or
golden age.

Then it occurred to me that as humanity stands at the
portal of the
new millennium, it is in our power to select which
road we will
travel. We can continue to kill the saints and sages
in our midst or
change the course of human history by surrendering our
self-centered
ways to their more lofty and loving teachings.

Yet before we can claim this higher potential, we must
address what
kind of species we truly want to be and which future
we wish to
create. We must then commit to becoming and creating
whatever we
choose. I also realized that to succeed in doing this
we need look no
further than to the model of loving kindness the
dolphins and whales
offer or the manifesting tools the dolphins revealed
to me in
"Listening to Wild Dolphins" which I have woven into
my suggestions
for how we can respond to the LFAS challenge.

PATTERN OF STRANDINGS THAT MAY LINK TO LFAS ACTIVITY:

EUROPE - In February, 2000, 100s of dolphins began
washing up on
European shores.

THE ATLANTIC COASTLINE - On January 21, 2000, Katie
Couric asked on
"The Today Show" why hundreds of dolphins are beaching
along the
Atlantic coastline. Although brain and other tissue
lesions have been
found in these cetaceans, one of the symptoms
predicted by the Marine
Mammal Commission in 1997 for LFAS exposure, ears are
not being
checked. In view of the far-reaching effect of sonar
exposure
predicted by independent researchers, some suspect
apparent NATO sonar
in the general area may be the cause.

FLORIDA - On January 3, 2000, Associated Press
reported that
scientists were trying to determine why dolphins have
been washing up
dead on northwest Florida shores over the last month.
Although a
previously severe outbreak of red tide did not kill
dolphins, it
appears that only red tide and other toxins are being
examined as a
possible cause, rather than also include an
examination of their ear
canals to prove or disprove the important variable of
possible sonar
exposure.

THE VIRGIN ISLANDS - In early October, 1999,
scientists in the water
heard sonar sounds, followed by multiple cetacean
strandings in the
area. Government-funded ear canal testing expert Dr.
Darlene Ketten
from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, was summoned
by many groups
to run ear canal tests, but results have not yet been
revealed. If
they are, citizens must determine if anyone other than
government-funded scientists were present in order to
neutralize any
conflicts of interest.

THE CANARY ISLANDS - A total of 21 whale strandings in
1985, 1988, and
1989 were linked to visible US Navy maneuvers. These
were the only
times that whales were reported to strand in the
Canary Islands.
(Nature, 1991) Award-winning French biologist Dr.
Michael Andre, free
from our government's influence, learned from
necropsies while
studying the decline in sperm whales in this area that
two of the
whales (who were involved in the increasing whale
collisions with
boats in the area) were deaf as suspected.

THE ATLANTIC COAST - In 1987, dolphins exposed to 235
decibels of
sonar stranded and were found to suffer from tissue
and lung
explosion. (This information was allegedly found by
Dr. Joe Geraci and
buried in reports on file.) Since this revelation,
there has been a
great deal of resistance to obtaining autopsies that
check for these
types of problems, also predicted by the Marine Mammal
Commission in
1997 (possibly based on Dr. Geraci's findings) to be a
consequence of
LFAS.

THE HARO STRAIT, SAN JUAN ISLANDS - In the Summer of
1996, 195
decibels were sent into this key waterway used by
orcas, porpoises,
seals, and other mammals, followed by an increase in
strandings of
these mammals. ABC News recently reported that the
previously thriving
orca population from this area is now in enough
trouble to be
considered eligible for the Endangered Species list.

THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA NEAR GREECE - In 1996, twelve
Cuvier's beaked
whales documented to be exposed to NATO sonar at
150-160 decibels were
found stranded. At the same time about 200 stranded
dolphins were
suspected of suffering from tissue explosion. (Nature,
1996) LFAS
levels to be used by the U.S. are reported to be 180
decibels in areas
near shore and could go considerably higher, once
deployment is
underway and this program is classified.

THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS - In 1998, three whale calves and
one dolphin
calf were found dead or abandoned during and
immediately following
sonar testing, even though in 15 years of research
this phenomenon had
never been observed. One of these was a distressed
whale calf who
breached 230 times and pectoral slapped 658 times in
front of Dr.
Marsha Green's research team in a four-hour period
before the sun set
on his distress. In addition, a pod of dolphins was
observed by
naturalists familiar with normal dolphin behavior
huddling unusually
close to the shore near the surface and vocalizing
excessively while
the sound was on.

CALIFORNIA- Since the open testing in California began
in 1997, sonar
exposed whales immediately began to strand in
increased numbers. In
addition, there was a report of uncharacteristically
aggressive
behavior which is known to be a symptom of LFAS
exposure. More
recently, The Malibu Times reported in January, 1999,
that more than
150 gray whales were found dead due to starvation
along their
migratory route where testing took place in 1998.
Starvation can be a
result of deafness, but ears were not checked in these
cetaceans, even
though the cause of death has remained a mystery.

AUSTRALIA - Rumor has it that the Australian
government has questioned
a connection between observed US Navy and NATO
maneuvering and
strandings off their shores.

UNKNOWN - In view of indications that brain and body
tissue explodes
and body cavities (bladders, lungs, and ear canals)
rupture when
exposed to sonar blasts, it is plausible to assume
that most affected
marine mammals will sink to the ocean floor, rather
than make their
way to a beach in order for us to view their plight.
And who knows
what the effect this risky technology has on the
thousands of other,
smaller forms of marine life, less able to withstand
such a powerful
force.

For More Information and Evidence of LFAS Problems:
GENERAL INFORMATION:

* Low-frequency sonar raises whale advocates'
hackles CNN 3 Part
Series
* Listen to LFAS Viewpoints
* Ocean Mammal Institute
* Natural Resources Defense Council

LEGAL INFORMATION AND CURRENT LAWSUIT AGAINST THE US
NAVY:

* LOW FREQUENCY SONAR LITIGATION

TECHNICAL INFORMATION:

* LFAS Update Web Page

ASK YOUR LOCAL ABC AFFILIATE TV STATION TO AIR: "WHEN
THE WHALES STOP
SINGING"
This excellent news special report on the Navy's Low
Frequency Active
Sonar (LFAS) was filmed by Dan Noyes of KGO TV News:
ABC TV in San
Francisco. Ask your ABC station manager to call KGO
News in San
Francisco to request a copy of this two part special
to air in your
vicinity. KGO News has agreed to send out copies of
this video to
other ABC stations, and to give them permission to air
it. It is a
short video, only 10 minutes long, and can be run as
part of a news
program.
INTERVIEW AUTHOR AND PANEL OF INDEPENDENT EXPERTS ON
LFAS
These people sincerely hope they are wrong about their
concerns
regarding the potential danger of LFAS, but believe
people should know
what they have uncovered in the event they are not
wrong:
Dr. Marsha Green (OMI/Marine Biologist/ Professor)
610-670-7386
Lanny Sinkin (Attorney) 808-961-9100
Dr. Lee Tepley (Physicist) 650-961-7440
Dr. Linda Weilgart (Independent Marine Biologist)
902-479-1861
Cheryl Magill (LFAS Activist) 650-429-2116
Bobbie Sandoz, MSW (Author) - 808-524-6775
Dr. Naomi Rose, (Director, Humane Society of the
United States - HSUS)

WAYS TO RESPOND

We must first face the seriousness of the threat LFAS
poses to marine
life and ourselves. For only then, will we break our
silence and
engage in clear but gentle action with the urgency
this issue deserves.
We must then let our Congressional representative,
ultimately
responsible for this program, know of its possible
consequences and
insist that they stop all forward movement of this
program until it
can be proven that it will not cause the massive
destruction concerned
non-government scientists and citizens fear.
We must then insist on extensive and highly monitored
necropsies of
currently stranded mammals, including full ear exams
-- since such
tests could expose possible sonar exposure. Only by
having this
information will we know if the sonar technology is
connected to these
deaths as many environmentalists suspect.
We must then insist that the National Marine Fisheries
Services (NMFS)
halt all movement toward deployment of this unexamined
power.
We must demand that the possibility of a conflict of
interest on the
part of NMFS be seriously scrutinized in view of their
apparent bias
and seeming partnership with the U.S. Navy in this
risky government
operation they have been charged with overseeing.
We must send copies of all correspondence on this and
other protests
to the media, our president, and congressional
representatives --
since such letters give witness to our concerns and
constitute our
greatest power to influence or reverse government
decisions we do not
approve.
Some, including myself, will view this issue as
important enough to
organize a peacefully powerful march in Washington
since visibility
and numbers are imperative to change in this country.
Hopefully, responsible media will invite the listed
panel of
independent experts who have uncovered evidence that
points to
potentially serious and illegal errors and omissions
made in the
process of testing and activating this technology they
consider far
more dangerous than claimed.
Teachers may wish to introduce this topic in their
classrooms and
invite students to uncover, lobby for, and implement
solutions. In
doing this, we enlist the spirits and insights of this
national
treasure to help us become our best selves while
teaching the art of
kindness, cooperation, and friendship with our global
family. *Those
aligned with spirit can inspire continuous prayer for
all concerned --
including those in control of this formidable
technology who genuinely
believe in its merits and their right to employ it
without sincerely
inviting the public's awareness, opinion, or approval.
Hopefully,
clergy of all faiths will be moved to hold prayer
vigils to bring this
matter to a unifying, loving, and safe resolution.
Although everyone
was surprised that we moved through the millennium
without incident,
few noted a possible connection between this
unexpected peace to a
massive and powerful prayer vigil organized by
Marianne Williamson and
James Redfield.
Many will want to participate by using one of the
manifesting tools I
learned from the dolphins for creating the world we
desire. To do this
we need to identify exactly what we want instead of
what we don't want
and then place all of our energies, prayers, and focus
on drawing that
picture to us. This focus becomes even more powerful
if we unite our
combined energies as the dolphins do to create a large
and harmonious
group holding a common dream with love and joy in our
hearts.

If we succeed in gathering together a large enough
group to lovingly
concentrate our intention on this dream until it is
fulfilled, we will
discover a power beyond anything we have yet witnessed
on this planet.
And once we learn to do it, we will no longer feel the
need to quarrel
and fight among ourselves and against others -- or
develop weapons
considerably more dangerous than the "enemies" we
fear.

Nor will we continue to allow our businesses,
government, or military
to treat us like children, while excluding us from the
management of
our lives, our country, and our world as they fund and
implement plans
without our knowledge or permission. Once we exercise
the power of our
own voices and visions to reclaim self-governance, we
will no longer
view big business interests or our government and
military as separate
from ourselves or dangerous to our lives or planet.

How perfect that we can use this unique yet effective
manifesting tool
the dolphins have shown us to safely return their
ocean home to them
and self-governance to ourselves. Let's experience
this radical new
power by taking our first steps on the path to a
better future and the
world of our dreams.

Author: Bobbie Sandoz
March, 2000
Phone: 808-524-6775 Fax: 808-538-0423
Website:

* Bobbie Sandoz Web Site

E-Mail: bsandoz [at] aol.com

Another Indication:

Subject:Bahamas, the Navy, and dead whales
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000
From: "Steuer, Karen"

Dear All,
As some of you will be aware, there has been a mass
mortality of
cetaceans in the Bahamas over the last few days. As of
Saturday, at
least 12 beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris and
Ziphius
cavirostris), 1 minke whale, 1 dolphin, and 1
unidentified
balaenopterid (Brydes or fin) had died, with other
ziphiids stranding
live and being pushed back out. Mortalities occurred
between Grand
Bahama and the Abacos; given the number and isolation
of islands in
the area, it is very likely that not all carcasses
have been located.

The mortality coincides with US Navy exercises in the
area; the
exercises appear to have involved explosives
detonation, although
active acoustics work *may* have been conducted also.
There is no
confirmation that the latter occurred in this area, or
whether LFA
activity was involved. (LFA = Low Frequency Active
acoustics, a highly
controversial anti-submarine technology which has been
the subject of
much debate in the marine mammal field. Recall that a
NATO LFA
exercise in the Med is widely believed to have been
responsible for a
mass mortality of beaked whales a few yearsago).

As of this morning (Monday), five ziphiids had been
secured and
necropsied by Ken Balcomb (who lives on site) and Nan
Hauser/Hoyt
Peckham (Center for Cetacean Research and
Conservation, Maine; who
flew down on Saturday).

Darlene Ketten (Harvard/WHOI) arrived yesterday to
extract ears from
these animals and any others which become available.
Charley Potter
(Smithsonian Institution) is also on site.

An aerial survey will attempt to locate other
carcasses today.
Needless to say, there are a lot of unanswered
questions here, and we
should be demanding answers ASAP: Did the Navy submit
an EA to NMFS on
this exercise? If so, did NMFS comment or simply allow
this to go
ahead? Was LFA or other acoustics "experimentation"
involved? Does the
Bahamian government have a role in this?

I'll let you know more as we hear it at our end --
suggest we start
applying pressure to NMFS and the Navy ASAP to ensure
that this
doesn't continue until we get some answers.

Karen L. Steuer
Director, Commercial Exploitation and Trade Program
International Fund for Animal Welfare

HERE IS MORE!
Whale Deaths Immediately Follow US Navy Sonar Buoy
Tests In Bahamas
http://sightings.com/politics6/testbaham.htm