U.S., Australia war games may hurt whales

This video is called: Lethal Sounds: Deadly Sonar Harms Whales. It says about itself:

Deafeningly loud sonar is a proven danger to marine life, but its use throughout the world’s oceans is spreading.

This powerful movie, brought to you by the Natural Resources Defense Council and narrated by Pierce Brosnan, shows what sonar does to whales caught within its range, and explains how whales, dolphins and other marine animals can be protected from deadly sonar.

Reuters reports:

CANBERRA – Military exercises planned by Australia and the United States next month off the Australian coast could result in large-scale whale deaths or injuries, the International Whaling Commission said.

Powerful warship sonars could also cause widespread whale beachings, the commission’s Scientific Committee said in a report released at this week’s IWC meeting in Alaska.

The report, released as Japan leads a push to overturn a global moratorium on whaling, urged both Australian and U.S. military chiefs to take action to prevent the exercises causing “injurious or lethal effects” among whales.

More than 120 military aircraft, tanks and 30 warships, including nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines will take part in the Talisman Sabre exercise.

Held every two years, the exercise will involve about 7,500 Australian soldiers and 20,000 U.S. marines and sailors in Queensland state. …

Environmental and peace activists are planning demonstrations during the June 18-24 exercises with a “Peace Convergence” on the training area.

Update July 2009: here.

Update June 2011: here.

Up to 34,000 military personnel from the US, Australia, Britain, New Zealand and Japan arrived in northern Queensland this week for the biannual Talisman Sabre war games which began on Thursday. Delegations from India and South Korea are observing the exercises, while 18 other nations from across the Indo-Pacific were invited: here.

United States wars damage the environment: here.