Scott Dodd's Blog
Other reports from the court: Opinions on NRDC's "Navy v. whales" case
October 15, 2008
Posted by Scott Dodd in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Last week, NRDC argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to protect whales and other marine mammals from being harmed by military sonar.
I reported on the oral arguments and tried to provide an observer's perspective. Since then, a lot of other parties have offered their own analysis and expertise. Here's a look at how the case is being perceived in various corners:
- Science Daily highlights scientific evidence that sonar is linked to whale strandings -- something the Navy tried to downplay in its arguments to the court. "Sonar is killing more whales than we know about," proclaims Professor Chris Parsons of George Mason University.
- SCOTUSblog focuses on the separation of powers doctrine that lies at the heart of the legal questions in NRDC v. Winter and finds some Supreme Court precedents that could sway things the Navy's way. The blog also has a recap of oral arguments.
- Hounded, Cowed, & Badgered (an animal welfare law blog) says that using national security arguments to trump environmental laws "is another appearance of the Bush Administration's argument that, in these post-9/11 times, security interests are so surpassingly important that all other interests must fall to the wayside. ... The acceptance of this argument in this case by the Supreme Court would have dire consequences for whales and for all animals protected by federal law."
- At change.org, writer Stephanie Ernst asks, "What is the point of passing laws to protect wildlife and the environment when the groups and institutions that cause them the most harm are exempt from obeying those laws?"
- The environmental politics blog Red Green and Blue similarly asks: "Are there times when the government (should) 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."
- Georgetown law professor Lisa Heinzerling tells The New York Times that NRDC faces "long odds" persuading the justices to uphold the National Environmental Policy Act. The Supreme Court has heard 15 cases under the act, and the plaintiffs have lost them all. Further, she said, there are "just not justices on the court for the most part who are out to save the whales."
- Hawaiioceanlaw.com maintains a detailed resource page on the case, with links to briefs and filings. And at the Supreme Court website, you can read the full transcript from last Wednesday's hearing for yourself.
- At Discover magazine's Reality Base blog, Melissa Lafsky thinks the case looks bad for whales. "Without clear evidence that Navy missions are causing each and every whale in the sea to throw itself on the beach in a ritual mass suicide, the Court won't be inclined to put the kibosh on training missions that could strengthen our coastal defenses."
- For NRR's All Things Considered, Supreme Court reporter Nina Totenberg said that attorney Richard Kendall, arguing NRDC's case, "took the real beating Wednesday" and provides some excerpts. You can also listen to her report from the court.
- Science Blog reports that as the Supreme Court was hearing the case last week, scientists at the World Conservation Congress were reporting that even the background noise in our oceans has gotten so loud that it's killing whales. "Some forms of noise pollution are so powerful that 'a whale can be killed outright by the shock,' said Carl Gustav Landin, head of marine programmes for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)."
- And as if things weren't bad enough for the whales, the Christian Science Monitor's bright green blog reports that greenhouse gas pollution and ocean acidification could be making the sonar problem even worse, highlighting a newly published study titled: Unanticipated consequences of ocean acidification: A noisier ocean at lower pH. "Unless we curb our fossil fuel use," CSM says, "it's only going to get louder down there."
Previously:
Report from the Court: NRDC and the Navy face off
Who speaks for whales?
Whales get their day in court
More about the case on Switchboard
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