The U.S. Navy Doesn’t “Save the Whales”

The U.S. Navy and the Bush Administration are taking on the almighty creatures of the ocean.

The Supreme Court today began hearing a case that questions who (or what creatures) get dibs on the ocean waters off the coast of California, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

The case is this: Last March 2007 conservationists brought a lawsuit against the Navy over its use of MFA sonar in training missions off the coast of southern California. They said that the sonar is too loud and disruptive for the ocean environment, and in some cases causes mass strandings of the animals, which include blue whales, pygmy sperm whales and bottlenose dolphins.

The Navy, meanwhile, wants to keep training. Says the Monitor, “It is the only place on the West Coast offering all the land, air, and seafloor features needed to train US air, sea, and undersea forces simultaneously in an integrated operation.”

Soon-not-to-be President Bush swam into the argument by exempting the Navy from some environmental regulations on the Coast, in the interest of national security. A court of appeals still laid restrictions on the Navy, telling them to reduce sonar power and pay more attention to marine animals in the water. But this still gives the Navy some exemption from the environmental standards of the coastal area.

Enter the Supreme Court.

This case centers around the conflicting interests of promoting national security and preserving the environment. What do you think? Are there times when the government be exempt from environmental regulations in the interest of national security? Personally, I say the Navy should find another area to hold training operations. Let the whales swim in peace.

Related Post:

Judge Orders Navy Sonar Restrictions to Protect the Whales

Photo Credit: trmdttr at Flickr under a Creative Commons License

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