Ok all you mad fit BT ranters, step up please

Hey everyone.

All of you eloquent brilliant smart-asses, I have a favor to ask. I want you to read this, and then contact the Navy and the NC governor's office, the latter especially if you live in NC, visit family or friends here, or vacation here to dive, fish or boat. Or if you'd like to. So, among others--renee, writebrained, marmadaddy, southernaquagoddess, possum, stupidnickname, welshy, gullahcracker, the bear, tri take me away, chipmunkheart and the guy who does the limericks,(morey?)--help, please? Rant for a cause.

Navy:
Mr. Keith Jenkins
(Code EV21KJ)
6506 Hampton Road Blvd.
Norfolk, VA 23508.
Fax: 757-322-4894
Comments due by Dec. 28th

NC Governor Mike Easley

You may contact the Governor's Office by sending a letter to Governor Easley, by e-mailing the Governor's Office or by calling the Governor's Office at: 1-800-662-7952 valid in North Carolina only (919)733-4240, or (919)733-5811.

Background:

The Navy is trying to put an offshore active sonar warfare training range near (~47 miles) my county in NC. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is four inches thick and damn near content-free. Doesn't adequately address impacts to whales and other marine mammals, sea turtles, or the people who like to fish, dive and boat here. Their proposed notification plan is non-existent "We'll tell you 72 hours in advance" Their monitoring program is a joke--a guy on a boat with binoculars. Yeah, dudes that'll work in the dark, the fog and the rain. Sloppy, shoddy work.

And to add insult to injury, they are purposely making the public comments due on Dec 28th, right after the holidays. They also didn't notify any of the relevant state govt agencies, the governor's office or the local governments. Pissants. AND comments are due before they release their investigative report on the stranding of 35 whales, mostly pilot, but also a mother/calf right whale pair (critically endangered, there are like 200 left worldwide) in the Outer Banks in January. The stranding occurred at the same time the Navy was conducting an exercise. Gee... BUT they say that it will have negligible impact on whales and that right whales aren't present here, so they don't do a thing. They also say that sea turtles don't hear at that mid-range frequency, but my running buddy's husband, who is a sea turtle biologist for the state, says there isn't nearly the science available to make that statement. Their citations are scarce and they cite the same one study over and over. AND I have a friend who used to write for Jane's military digest in London who says it's not even necessary for national security. It's too long to type here, but if I find a military expert to submit public comment, I'll post it.

Below I've listed some links to more info:
Draft EIS:

http://projects.earthtech.com/USWTR/EIS/DEIS.htm

Here are some news clips:

Carteret News Times
http://www.carteretnewstimes.com/headln2.htm

Sonar range called off mark
http://www.jacksonvilledailynews.com/

Few support Navy test site
http://www.newsobserver.com/news

http://www.wral.com/apncnews/5352073/detail.html

Others

http://its1.enr.state.nc.us/newsclips/news_display.asp

NPR did a blurb in its morning drive news cycle yesterday, too. And we got Associated press pick-up.

This is my pitch to Melinda Penkava of NPR's The State of Things:

In a nutshell, the DEIS is a sloppily written and poorly reasoneddocument that grossly underestimates the impacts this would have onmarine mammals, fish, the environment, our economy and quality of lifeon the coast. There is also a strong argument to not have this anywhereon the East Coast and to have the Atlantic fleet go play with ourallies in the Med and the Baltic who conduct this sort of practice allthe time. It would make more sense to practice with experts, you know?

The whole thing stinks, really. I am irate.

And because the Navy is the Navy, they've been quite stealthy aboutthe whole thing and few people outside of the activist lefties I hangout with knew about it prior to this hearing. That is a shame, becausewhen I tell normal, non-lefty people, they are irate, too. Mychiropractor came to the meeting last night after I talked with her.It's like that. The more people know, the better to stop it, or at thevery least make them pay MUCH more attention to what it is they'redoing to my ocean.

If you made it this far, bless you. Back to cooking for my dinner party.
Christine

PS also, I am going to start a petition to get them to 1) extend the comment period until after that report comes out, 2) do at least one more public hearing, with actual notice this time, and 3) do their damn job and address this mess properly. When I figure out how to gather signatures electronically, I will ask ya'll to sign that, too. Thanks, folks!