Thursday, July 22, 2004
Human Noise Harms Whales:
So, they have confirmed that human noise such as sonar and propellers are causing whales to beach themselves. What really surprises me about this whole mess is the fact that it's taken thirty years to scientifically confirm what anybody should have found obvious. Considering that whole pods have beached themselves might suggest a problem with navigation. Whales navigate in large part by sonar. What might have changed in the sonar picture in the last 50 years significantly enough to harm there capacity to navigate. Us !!!! The noise caused by humans is at an all time high. Pipelines, cables, navy vessels, merchant vessels, the list goes on. Conservation areas have been suggested by I highly doubt that this would work significantly. Sonar waves carry a very long way. For the plan to really work would require preserves truly massive in size. We are not evolved enough to make that happen. What must really be done is for us to develope new technologies which would prove more symbiotic with the environment as a whole. More sail assisted vessels might be a start, the less need for mechanical propulsion- the less noise created under water. Governments must create economic incentives for shipbuilders and buyers to start along this path in a major way. Hydrogen fuel cells are coming along nicely for cars thanks in large part due to the influence of fuel prices on the marketplace. Similar effort must be put into the oceans before it is too late- I suspect that it may already be too late to save many of the historical species that will be wiped out. The whales are only one of the visible symptoms of a very sick eco-system.
So, they have confirmed that human noise such as sonar and propellers are causing whales to beach themselves. What really surprises me about this whole mess is the fact that it's taken thirty years to scientifically confirm what anybody should have found obvious. Considering that whole pods have beached themselves might suggest a problem with navigation. Whales navigate in large part by sonar. What might have changed in the sonar picture in the last 50 years significantly enough to harm there capacity to navigate. Us !!!! The noise caused by humans is at an all time high. Pipelines, cables, navy vessels, merchant vessels, the list goes on. Conservation areas have been suggested by I highly doubt that this would work significantly. Sonar waves carry a very long way. For the plan to really work would require preserves truly massive in size. We are not evolved enough to make that happen. What must really be done is for us to develope new technologies which would prove more symbiotic with the environment as a whole. More sail assisted vessels might be a start, the less need for mechanical propulsion- the less noise created under water. Governments must create economic incentives for shipbuilders and buyers to start along this path in a major way. Hydrogen fuel cells are coming along nicely for cars thanks in large part due to the influence of fuel prices on the marketplace. Similar effort must be put into the oceans before it is too late- I suspect that it may already be too late to save many of the historical species that will be wiped out. The whales are only one of the visible symptoms of a very sick eco-system.
# posted by Wil Smith : 6:40 p.m.
