NRDC BioGems Defender,
I am thrilled to report that we have just won a crucial victory in
federal court that temporarily blocks the U.S. Navy from deploying
its dangerous LFA sonar system across 75 percent of the world's
oceans. As I told you in a recent message, this new technology would
blast hundreds of thousands of square miles of ocean habitat with
noise so intense it can maim, deafen or even kill whales and dolphins
at close range. A federal judge has now agreed with us that the Bush
administration likely violated a number of environmental laws when it
granted the Navy a permit to deploy this deadly system.
I want to thank the tens of thousands of BioGems Defenders who took
online action against the Navy's plan and the thousands who sent us
their emergency financial support. You made this tremendous victory
possible! But even as we celebrate a job well done, please understand
that this ruling is only a preliminary injunction. It is a beginning,
not an end. We must now redouble our efforts and prepare for what
promises to be a long courtroom battle ahead. We will be fighting for
a permanent injunction that gives whales and other marine mammals the
kind of lasting protection they so richly deserve.
Sincerely,
John H. Adams
President
Natural Resources Defense Council
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You can read more about this victory for whales at:
http://www.nrdc.org/media/pressreleases/021031.asp