It’s both fascinating and frustrating (in a bizarre, trainwreck kind of a way) that so much talking about protecting, preserving, and cleaning up the Sound happens when the public is watching . . . but then projects like this get approval, mostly when no one happens to be looking.

Rep. Sharon Nelson, who represents the 34th Legislative District, recently wrote an opinion piece for the Seattle PI available online. In the piece, Nelson says, “If we’re going to save Puget Sound, we have to stop doing things like building new strip mines where killer whales feed.” Apparently, there are a lot of other folks who feel the same way.

Now, that may sound like a complete no-brainer. It certainly does to me. But then, I honestly don’t care whether or not some mega-corporation gets the results they want for their mega-dollars spent lobbying to build pet projects on top of local people who hate the very idea of those projects. On the whole, I personally wouldn’t ever greenlight this project—no matter how many (temporary) local jobs it supposedly means—for the potential damage to the health of Puget Sound, critical shoreline habitat for already-declining chinook salmon, and the safety of our few remaining resident killer whales. Admittedly, I’m a transplant to the Puget Sound area, but in the nearly ten years I’ve lived here, it’s seemed pretty clear to me that the human residents here DO care about the water, the environment, the salmon, and yes, the whales.

The frustrating part of environmental sell-outs like this, is that this sort of thing is too often done behind the public’s back. If you’re interested in getting involved to help preserve Puget Sound and our local marine habitat, here are a few sites to get you started with more information:

• Preserve Our Islands
• The Center for Whale Research
• PugetSound.org
• Puget Soundkeeper Alliance

There are a good many other local organizations, as well, where you can make a difference. Honestly, just picking up trash off a stretch of local beach helps make a difference.

We still have whales today, because years ago, people cared enough to start making sure they were protected. If there are going to be whales in another few decades, it’ll be because we cared enough to do the same.

The whales were discovered Saturday, on a rocky area of coastline of Sandy Cape.  Members of the local community and about six Department of Primary Industry and Water members worked in vain to try to save the stranded animals, that had been badly injured by the rocks.

Warwick Brennan, a department spokesman said that the whales’ chances of survival were much less in that sort of environment than if the had come ashore in a sandy area.

There were about thirty whales milling around not too far from the stranded whales that had to be shephered out to sea to prevent them from also meeting the same fate.

According to this article and Brennan, this is becoming a more common occurance in the area, with stranded whales appearing almost every twelve days.  It is believed that the whales get in to this sort of danger when persuing prey into shallow waters.

The Faroese people defend themselves by saying that this is a tradition that dates back to the 16th century, and a practice that has helped the people survive the harsh winters.  The whale meat is not sold but divided among the community.  The salughtering has become more intense since the collapse of the fishing industry in the region.  They say they need to continue this barbaric butchering of whales or the community will starve.

In an ironic twist, chief medical officers of the Faroe Islands are recommending that pilot whales no longer be considered fit for human consumption because they are toxic.  Apparently the whale meat contains too much mercurey, as well as high levels of PCBs and DDT derivatives, all unsafe for humans.

According to this article, research on the impact of the pollutants on the Faroese people, has shown that mercury especially has caused lasting damage.  Such as damage to fetal neaural development, high blood pressure, and impaired immunity in children, as well as increased rates of Parkinson’s disease, circulatory problems, and possibly infertility in adults.

This is an example of the unsustainable lifestyles people have adopted throughout the ages in order to survive.  It is now time for the Faorese people to reconsider their practices and possibly adopt a new way of life.  One that respects the animals in the ocean, and one that will not put themselves at the risk of extinction from consuming poisoned wildlife.

At least 200 narwhal whales in Canada’s Arctic, trapped by winter ice that is setting in around them and facing starvation or suffocation, must be culled, officials said Friday.

Hunters from the village of Pond Inlet on Baffin Island discovered the animals trapped near Bylot Island, about 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) from Pond Inlet, on November 15, and checked on them periodically.

The local hunters are allowed to harvest only 130 whales each year for food, according to standards set by the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans.

But department spokesman Keith Pelley told AFP: “It’s unlikely the animals are going to survive the winter, so the hunters have been given authorization to cull them.”

The hunters have been on the ice slaughtering the whales since Thursday and are likely to accomplish their task over the coming days, he said.

It’s a cold, harsh world for whales, indeed.

Meanwhile, in Australia, the Environment Minister, Mr. Peter Garret, the former lead singer of Midnight Oil, is revealing the details of a $4 million anti-whaling program.  Mr. Garrett said that the Australian government was undecided about whether to send a ship to shadow the Japanese hunting fleet.

Mr Garrett said he intends using diplomatic efforts together with the results of the new research project to influence the IWC and force Japan to stop hunting, “I’m not under any delusions as to how difficult and challenging this task is,” he said.

For more on this story read here.

Whoa! Hold it there!  Diplomatic efforts have not worked thus far, and it seems that the only people who are trying to actively do something are folks at Sea Shepherd.  It’s not the research that is the issue, it is the fact that whales are being slaughtered illegally for profit!  Now that Peter Garrett is in a position of power, a position where something could be done, why not do something?  Diplomacy can only get you so far, and activists are putting their lives at risk because governments are unwilling to do anything.

Mr. Bush and his administration have done a great deal to undo policies that protect our environment during his time of reign.  Now is your chance to let him know just what you think him.  Check it out, leave a letter, get it all off your chest.  It’s almost over!

“Environmental groups brought the lawsuit and said the intense sound waves can harm or even kill 37 species of marine mammals, including sea lions and endangered blue whales, by interfering with their ability to navigate and communicate.

Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the opinion for the court’s conservative majority, said the overall public interest in the case tipped strongly in favor of the Navy.

In reading part of his ruling from the bench, Roberts agreed with the administration and criticized the judges in California for “second-guessing” the views of the Navy.

The Bush administration argued that there has been no documented case of sonar-related injury to marine mammals in the 40 years of exercises off the southern California coast.”

There was, however one voice of reason:

“In her written dissent, Justice Ginsburg cited the substantial and irreparable harm to marine mammals, saying sonar has been linked to mass strandings and hemorrhaging around the brain and ears.

She said the training exercises serve critical interests, but they do not authorize the Navy to violate the environmental laws.”

You can read the entire article here.

This ruling is very disappointing to whale conservationists, and it’s another sad reminder of what the US Government holds as a priority.  Our national security is important but so is the security of the wildlife that we trespass upon.  Hopefully with the incoming administrassion, some of these inhumane rulings will be reassessed.