Judge Protects Whales, Tells Navy No SONAR

The LA Times reported this morning that U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper has banned the U.S. Navy from using high-powered sonar in scheduled training exercises off Southern California. She ruled Monday that it could "cause irreparable harm to the environment." The Navy requested dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the Natural Resource Defense Council, which the Honorable Ms. Cooper rejected. This proceeding, along with a sister complaint filed by the California Coastal Commission both argue that the high powered blasts of mid-frequency active sonar used by the Navy has been linked to mass die offs, strandings and panicked whales after similar exercises off Greece, The Bahamas and Hawaii. The Navy will appeal the injunction under grounds that disrupts the training of sailors before they are sent overseas.